Welcome to your next learner car: this is the new, electrified Nissan Micra
Welcome to your next learner car: this is the new, electrified Nissan Micra
Renault 5-based supermini returns for a sixth time with up to 253 miles of range
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Take a good, long look at the new Nissan Micra's pristinely moulded flanks and immaculate wheels while you can. Everyone's favourite learner car has returned as an electrified supermini, ready to be silently dinged into oblivion by an entirely new generation of drivers.
We jest, of course. This, the sixth generation of the Japanese carmaker's venerable B-segment hero, utilises the new 'AmpR Small' platform that underpins the award-winning Renault 5. Though here it's treated to a distinctly Nissan silhouette.
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A silhouette designed in London and carrying a few elements of Micras gone by. Like the so-called 'iconic' headlights you'll remember from the third-gen 'K12'. Unlike that Noughties car, the new one certainly looks less surprised by everything around it.
The arches have been phattened to give it more SUV-like presence, while 'a distinctive lower lip suggests a lower centre of gravity'. There's also what Nissan calls an 'ice-cream scoop': an indent that runs from the front door in a line to the rear door. It is apparently 'reminiscent of the shape a scoop would make if dragged across the surface of untouched ice cream'.
You won't get any ice cream colours, sadly, though Nissan said there are 14 available, as well as two-tone options. Wheels are huge too: 18in, available in three designs depending on your spec.
Speaking of which, there'll be two battery options available from launch: a 40kWh version offering 121bhp (90kW), 166lb ft, and a claimed range of up to 195 miles. This entry-level e-Micra weighs in at 1,400kg.
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The second one deploys a bigger 52kWh battery for bigger numbers all round: 148bhp, 181lb ft, up to 253 miles of range and a kerbweight of 1,524kg. Both cars get heat pumps, V2L tech, plus battery heating and cooling as standard. And while the little battery can charge at up to 80kW, the big one can use a 100kW hose that'll top up from 15 to 80 per cent in half an hour.
And when you want to use up those electrons, Nissan promises 'brilliant driving dynamics, and a best-in-class ride and handling'. Well, as 'best' as the Renault 5. It gets the same setup as its French cousin – independent front, multi-link rear, passive dampers – along with regenerative braking and three drive modes that run from comfort, sport and eco. If this is a wholesale carryover from the R5, it'll be great to drive.
Great to sit in, too. There's the obligatory massive high-res touchscreen plonked in the middle – a 10.1in configurable unit – while the driver gets their own 10.1in display. And because this is a Japanese supermini, there's a moulded outline of Mount Fuji in the storage area between the front seats. Those seats btw, are available in various materials depending on spec, while the ambient lighting stretches to 48 different colour options. Storage mirrors the R5: a 326-litre boot, extendable to 1,106-litres if you fold the rear seats down.
Google's been hardwired into the bones of the new Micra, which means everything from the sat nav to your music, phone, and even vehicle functionality is run by the American tech giant. Enlist the services of the Google Assistant, and you'll be able to ask it to change the temperature, adjust the air-con, heat the seats or navigate to a particular destination. Like your local learner centre.
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Speaking of which, there's a tonne of safety kit bundled in, like adaptive cruise, emergency braking and so on, as well as all the other stuff you'll probably not turn off in this car. Not if you're attempting to reverse around a corner.
'We are proud to oversee the return of the Micra name to Nissan's range in Europe,' said Nissan's AMIEO regional VP Arnaud Charpentier. 'It's a name with over 40 years of history. It will electrify the streets wherever it goes.'
Nissan's hoping that history will pay off: the new Micra arrives at a time when the beleaguered Japanese carmaker is fighting for its very life. Only last week, it announced further job losses, shutting seven factories and pausing all post-2026 new car development.
This Micra then, along with the incoming new Leaf, Juke and a new city car, will shoulder a very heavy burden. Expect it to be parallel parking on a street near you later this year when European sales kick off.
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