Hey folks, I got a new car! Well it's my first real car, but my second car over all. I had my aunt's old 2003 Kia Rio RS for a couple of weeks before I got this. It couldn't pass inspection so I decided to go with the cheap lease of a brand new car and no dealing with inspection/safety, buying parts, etc and I get a full warranty and the new car smell! For a guy going to school full time and only working part time, this was the ideal choice for me, and for anyone in my situation. The Micra isn't sold in the US, only in Canada. With the discontinuation of the Versa Sedan after MY2014 here in Canada due to slow sales (that car is awful...), Nissan Canada decided to import the cuter, smaller, sportier, and fun to drive Micra. The US has deemed the car too small, which is odd because it's not much smaller than the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, or the Mitsubishi Mirage. So for MY2015, the US has the Versa sedan as their most affordable new car, while we have this. I'll say eventually if the Micra does so well here in Canada that Nissan USA may import it down there. We're pretty much the Micra guinea pigs, lol. But yeah, I personally much rather this car over the Versa sedan anyway as I am more of a hatchback guy and I don't have my own family so no need for a family car. The only other two cars in this class and price range available here in Canada are the Mitsubishi Mirage, and the Chevrolet Spark, which both have higher starting MSRPs ($10500 and $11500 give or take, respectively). I don't like the look of the Spark, looks too much like the awful Aveo, and the Mirage, that car was way to depressing for me to like it. Interior is awful and only a 70HP 3 cylinder with a CVT? C'mon. The Micra is really the only sub-$15000 car that actually still looks and feels like a car, and not a cheap, dreary, penalty box on wheels. The Micra is based off of Nissan's modular small car platform, dubbed the V-platform. The Micra has been based off this platform since 2002, when the platform was introduced. It also underpins a variety of sub-compact and compact models in Nissan's line-up such as the Versa Note and Sedan, NV200 van, new Sentra (I do believe...), Cube, and the Juke. There are probably other cars based off this platform sold outside of North America. For the Micra, it uses a double wishbone front suspension setup, with a typical torsion-beam semi-independent axle in the rear. Nissan gave the Micra anti-sway bars in both front and rear to help improve the handling of the car around corners. It rides very well, similar to more praised offerings in the B-segment class like the Mazda2, Fiesta, and the Fit. There is body roll present however during sharp cornering which is typical. Engine is the HR16DE 1.6L inline-4 cylinder producing 109HP and 107lb/ft of torque. Power is delivered through the choice of a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic w/OD. No Xtronic Jatco CVT in this car, thank god! I would take an aging 4 speed auto over a CVT any day. The acceleration is more than adequate, it's not a GT-R or 370Z, but it's peppy! In conclusion, I love this car and would recommend to anyone!

• published: 15 Nov 2014
• views: 15303