2008 Nissan Micra review
February 5, 2008 by rjw
2008 Nissan Micra review
Model tested:
- 2008 Nissan Micra City Collection, 5-door, 4-speed automatic, 1.4-litre, $16,690
Distinctive styling. Keenly priced. Good fuel consumption
Turgid open road performance. Small boot. Too cutesy for some.
CarAdvice rating: 
- by Robert Wilson
It’s not often that I burst into a peal of Clarksonian laughter on seeing a press car but when I clicked the key in the Nissan holding yard and a Micra winked back at me I let out a guffaw that could have been used on a Top Gear trailer.
My transport, metal attire and self-image for the next week was short, rounded – and pink. The two frog-like headlamp eyes that poked from its stubby bonnet lit up in camp anticipation. Instantly I reverted to 15-year-old schoolboy mode “That is so gay!” I proclaimed to the rows of impassive vehicles.
Other car makers want their cars to be all things to all people. Not Nissan, at least not with the Micra. It is unambiguously a city car and aimed squarely at women. And not the glorious variety of women in general, but girly girls. That’s why it only comes as a four-speed automatic, which, I soon discovered was nothing special when teamed with its 1.4-litre 74kW and 137Nm engine.
If the Hello Kitty collection included a car the Micra would be it. But at least it’s good value at $14,990. For that it comes with the auto, ABS brakes , front airbags and air conditioning. A $1700 City Collection option package adds side and curtain airbags, a six-disc CD player (as obsolete as the gramophone in the age of the iPod, if you ask me) and 15-inch alloy wheels. A pity there’s no electronic stability control. Its inclusion would have scrubbed all the bitchy phrases from this review.
I thought this test was a bit odd.
Its a city car and the major testing down on the Hume. WTF?
Next i want you to review a H1 Hummer in the tight streets of Sydney….SAME?
Outstanding value in a premium Japanese built quality vehicle
Cheeers
F-0
We bought a Micra in January, trading a superb Honda Civic Hatch. The Micra is perfect, easy to drive, solid feel, good looking too! It’s my 21st car and my wife and I love it.
Thanks Bella loved your comment! – I am also a 21 year old girly girl and took the micra for a test drive and loved it! Not sure if I should go for the london rose (pink) or if I should be more tame and go for the silver. thoughts?
As a recent Micra buyer, I’d like to make a few points in response to this (and other) reviews I’ve read:
- I’m as far from a girly girl as a girl can be, but I love the look of the car.
- Why are reviews of this car being done by blokey blokes who are obviously not the target audience, and of course will whine about lack of power and handling??
- This is a city car (the upgraded model is called City Collection for goodness sake!), so I have taken any feedback on how this car does at attempted high speeds on freeways and highways as being redundant
- Well done Nissan for marketing a car to urban women among the countless makes and models marketed specifically to men
Lastly, people rely on reviews when shopping around for a car. So in the future a little more objectivity might be appreciated.
(To Micra Lover – if you go for the Pink, you might drastically reduce your buying audience if you decide to sell the car in the future – just advice of course)
Cheers
KJ
As a new car sales man at a Nissan Dealership… I can honestly say within 2 months when the micras were released… it has outsold more then tiida did since its first intro.
This review is very harsh on the micras. they are great little cars if you are a constant city driver. And yes a lot of young girls are the ones that do buy the car… mainly around 18-23 yo buy the micras.
And I have sold Micras to blokey blokes as well because they are stubborn and a bunch tightarses.
SO to Robert Wilson, i suggest you do much more research on the car before you judge it on first appearance. 3.5 rating? your having a laugh.
Micra Lover – Silver would have a much greater resale as its a neutral colour and not a “fashion statement”
To Micra lover, I suggest you choose either the New York blue, Monaco Platinum or the Tokyo silver.
ANd make sure you upgrade to the city collection
Hi guys AND GIRLS
I have been looking for a car for the misses for a month now trying to find a decent second hand car. to cut a long story short she seen the micra and is in love.
My question is how does it go on the freeway. The buy that tested it hated it but does anyone that owns one use it on the freeway. My misses drive 30k’s on the freeway to and from work each day.
She currently drive a Daihatsu Terios which is a turd on the freeway it is doing 4200rpm at 110kph i couldn’t imagine the micra being any worse ???????
Steve you can still drive any small car on the freeway especially the micra… my wife drives it on the m4 on the daily basis and it has given her any problems… these guys have taken it to a remote country area and started thrashing it on the country road
I picked up my London Rose Nissan Micra on Saturday and I am in love :D and its perfect!!!
I think Nissan hit this nail square on the head with this car: they knew their target market really well. And as someone who falls squarely within the target market (I wouldn’t go as far as to say “girly girly”, but definitely young, urban, stylish female with disposable income who appreciated 7 airbags but has no idea what 1.4-litre 74kW and 137Nm engine means, and does not care). It’s the perfect car for city driving because it’s little, zippy, and turns easily (great for tight city u-turns – that’s right fellas, I’m the one who zipped into the last parking space while you were still trying to figure out how to turn you ute around HAHA!). It might not have the boot space, but that’s not what it’s made for – if you need more space, buy a bigger car.
Best of all, you can’t beat the price – most other cars of the same class try to up-sell things like the safety package, sound system, allow wheels etc etc etc, which pushes the price up well into $20,000. Nissan just bundled them all into the city edition, making it much more economical. GOOD JOB!
And PS – love the look!
This is all you need for a city car.I still have two and a half years to go before considering a replacement for the Tiida so will reconsider the Micra then.Hopefully there will be a New Model out by that time.
This car is so wrong!!! One of my friend’s Mrs. got it. And one day he had to drive it somewhere!!! So embarrasing….
Unfortunately the new Suzuki Alto looks a bit like this…and comes in pink too!!! >-(
Came to the local dealer and tried test drive the car for missus last week. It impressed me of the solid build. Handling was good too, it handled bumps pretty well. Comparing to similar other small car that I have tried like Honda Jazz, the Micra is a hell lot better
I have a Micra that I have driven on all the motorways, wonderful car,I find it most comfortable.Love it!!!!!!
I used to love my Nissan Micra but i have found that Nissan doesn’t honor the warranty. The carpet is substandard and comes apart. Now they are refusing to replace it, it’s already been replaced twice, approx every 3 months.
I would never ever recommend Nissan to anyone.