Oh Canada, the true North strong and available at a very reasonable entry level price. Not free, not exactly, but certainly inexpensive.
While Canadians seem determined to spend simply ridiculous amounts on smartphones and bucket-sized fancy coffees, we like our cars cheap and we don’t care if they’re cheerful. Minimalism on wheels, that’s the Canadian way, and it’s why the best-selling car in the U.S. is the Toyota Camry, while the best-selling car in Canada is always something like the Honda Civic.
It’s a different market North of the border, and very occasionally, the manufacturers actually seem to clue in and give us something unique. Nissan’s done this before, with the excellent and much-missed little X-Trail crossover, and now they’re back with another nameplate from the past.
Say goodbye to the Versa sedan, and hello to the Micra hatchback. It costs just $9,998 to start, and its here to put a smile on your face like an unopened box of Timbits in the company breakroom.
Design:
Equipped with 15” steel wheels as standard or 16” alloys on the top-end SR models, the Micra isn’t just cheaper than the outgoing Versa sedan, its better looking. There’s something about a pugnacious little hatch that just looks right on the city street, and the little Nissan’s happy face and cartoonishly high greenhouse give it a carefree demeanour.
Looking for LEDs, active aerodynamics, or sticky low-profile tires? No thanks — the Micra eschews bling in favour of a few subtle details like horseshoe-shaped creases in its roof, and sculpted styling lines down the sides.
It just looks right, and then there are a few things you can do to make the Micra truly yours. The first is to give it a name and imagine it speaking in a stereotypical Bob and Doug Mackenzie accent — Good Day, eh? — or maybe that’s just me.
The second is stuff like coloured mirror caps, door stripes, and door handles, a bit like the dress-up items you can stick on a Mini Cooper. No, they don’t add any horsepower, except in your imagination.
Environment:
While small in footprint (just 3,827mm by 1,667mm – smaller than the aforementioned Mini), the Micra is actually quite roomy inside. It’s a bit like your first studio apartment: there’s not a surfeit of space, but it feels quite large.
Part of that’s down to the very tall roofline and large greenhouse, allowing for an upright seating position that makes you feel like you’re in a larger car. Rear seat space is big enough, believe it or not, to fit a toddler-sized rear-facing car seat; adults fit just fine too.
The trunk isn’t very large, much smaller than the old Versa sedan’s capacious boot. However, it’s surprisingly deep, meaning you can pack hiking backpacks or perhaps even a hockey bag back there (no goalies, please). The seats fold down for a little extra room, but not flat like a Honda Fit would.
Performance:
Powered by a 109hp, 1.6L four-cylinder engine, the Micra is all about making do with what you have on hand. A five-speed manual wakes things up a little, but the $1,000 optional automatic transmission is going to be the volume choice.
A four-speed gearbox, it’s one of the few Nissan cars you can get without their fancy-pants fuel-saving CVT technology, and sounds a bit old-fashioned. Only four speeds?
These days you can get a Jeep with nine cogs in the box!
As with other aspects of the Micra, the automatic is just what you need, and no more. Stick it in Drive, and off you go, keeping up with traffic and not getting in anyone’s way.
Start hitting the corners and the Micra’s short wheelbase and featherlight curbweight impart a nimble sort of feel that’s actually quite fun. It’s worth noting that Nissan plans to campaign a race-prepped Micra at the gruelling Targa Newfoundland, and you can tell from the way the road-going version leapfrogs through the corners, they’ve started off from a good platform. It’s actually good enough to have you wishing for a sport-tuned version from Nissan’s NISMO motorsports
division.
Hitting the highway reveals a car that has to downshift to get up some of the steeper hills, but is perfectly capable of cruising across the country at the drop of a hat. The tall profile and light weight makes the Micra somewhat susceptible to strong crosswinds, but for the most part it’s planted and comfortable.
Moreover, there’s something really engaging about driving a plucky little car like this. You pat the steering wheel in encouragement as the 1.6L engine spins towards redline, passing a semi-trailer. You bomb through traffic and zip into a parking space with ease. You crank up the tunes and boot it across town, burning not-much in terms of fuel.
Features
That loss-leader price figure of just under $10K doesn’t get you air-conditioning or an automatic transmission, but it’s not totally bare-bones. All the mechanical safety equipment from ABS to airbags is standard, and there’s a basic stereo with an auxiliary jack for your smartphone.
Step up to the mid-range SV and you get Bluetooth hands-free for your phone, air-conditioning and the ability to option a colour display screen and a USB jack for an iPhone.
The top-spec SR model gets you those larger alloy wheels, and a backup camera as standard.
Fuel economy for the Micra is solid at 8.6L/100kms in the city and 6.6L/100kms on the highway. If those figures don’t impress, remember that this is under Transport Canada’s new testing methods, which achieve figures 10-15 per cent worse than previous.
They’re much more realistic — on the Coquihalla, at speeds of around 120km/h and the air-conditioning on full-blast, the little Micra actually beat its highway score by several tenths of a litre.
Green Light
Nimble feel; inexpensive price tag; comfortable interior.
Stop Sign
Just-the-basics engineering; choppy ride with larger alloys.
The Checkered Flag
Good cheap fun, the best kind there is.
