Have fun in a Micra (Nissan Micra GX 1.3 3dr)

Member Name: Shamsher78

Product:	Nissan Micra GX 1.3 3dr
Date:	03/04/02 (1736 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap to run, Doesn't go wrong - very reliable

Disadvantages: Looks, Image

“Is it really possible to have fun in a Micra?” I know this is what your thinking. Let me tell you about my experience with a couple of Nissan Micras.

Soon after passing my driving test I had a 1.0 litre 3 door Micra at my disposal and six months later a 1.3 litre 3 door. I should point out I had no choice in what car I was driving and to be honest I certainly would not have been driving a Micra had I any choice, but I didn’t mind broadening my horizons.

My 1.0 litre was in a lurid shade of green called Apple Green and it certainly caught the eye but usually not for the right reasons! Oh and by the way, yes I’m male and at great risk of offending many people, it seemed to me that there weren’t very many young male Micra owners out there. I don’t think that has changed. My second 1.3 Micra was a nicer shade of silver called Starburst Silver I think. The interior design on the seats weren’t quite to my taste

With both my Micras I got a three-year warranty but never needed to resort to it. I feel sorry for Nissan service centres, they don’t get much work apart from routine servicing especially with Micras. Nissan is up there with the very best when it comes to reliability and of course the Micra is British built.

Now reliability may not be the be all and end all, but I would definitely not buy a car that had a poor reliability record. Neither of my Micras had any problems at all, not even a light bulb failed. Some of my peers at the time drove VW Polos and Citroen Saxos which granted, looked better and had more ‘street cred’ but did they enjoy their car when it was off road?

The Micra’s biggest failing is its looks, otherwise it is an accomplished fairly roomy supermini, which has since been overtaken in design by other manufacturers. Its appearance was described to me as ‘dinky’ and ‘toy car like’. Enough said. A few people said it wa
s cute though!

On the inside the upholstery aside, the ergonomics are very good, the height adjustable steering wheel has an adequate range of adjustment and a comfortable driving position is easy to find. There is a fair bit of headroom too. The power steering is nicely weighted and the steering wheel has a nice chunky feel. The controls all feel well made and solid. The instrument panel is well laid out and easy to read. Unlike many cars the view out of the rear window is very good. Standard equipment is on a par with competitors, including front electric windows and you get a one-speed rear wiper. It has a standard driver’s side airbag and my 1.3 had remote controlled central locking.

There is the standard Nissan immobiliser and the stereo (rear speakers included with the GX model) has a code function that is activated whenever the radio is disconnected from the battery so don’t loose your radio code!

Both engines were 16-valve twin cam, which basically means the engine ‘breathes’ better, (read more efficiently,) which helps to improve fuel consumption. Fuel consumption of my 1.0 was excellent, but it wasn’t very quick, well what do you expect from a Micra? The 1.3 was quite good too, I simply used to drive it harder to make the most of the better performance and have fun! I regularly obtained figures of around 40 mpg around town in the 1.0 Micra. 0 to 60 in the 1.3 is 12 seconds flat.

Driving both cars was fun surprisingly enough. Or maybe I’m easily pleased! Either way the only thing I didn’t like about the handling was the ride was too soft for me, but probably fine for most people and it rolled a bit round fast corners but that is to be expected for a car of this shape I guess because it has a high centre of gravity. You get the standard understeer round fast corners as well. Nissan’s engineers probably made the right decision going for a soft ride in favour of sharp handlin
g given the average Micra driver’s profile.

What did I find annoying? Let’s see, no intermittent setting on the front wipers, only one rear fog light and reverse light, the boot is small (but the seats have a useful 60/40 split for folding). I think I’m clutching at straws!

I have since moved on to more exciting cars but remember the Micra fondly.

Overall if you want a very reliable and safe car that is competitively priced and you aren’t too bothered about how it looks I would definitely recommend this car to you. If lack of ‘street cred’ bothers you then why are you reading this anyway?! On a more serious note it is a brilliant little car apart from its looks, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some people think it looks just fine so make your own mind up. It’s cheap to run and insure (group 5 for the 1.3) and all I know is I had lots of fun and trouble free motoring in both my Micras.

Summary: