[bravo82in]

Micra Owership review
Why a new car?
We needed a car to do daily city service. We own an Alto since 2007 which was doing a fine duty, except the mileage part (15-16kmpl in city) plus being without power steering it was a pain to drive in cities bumper to bumper traffic. Thanks to the Government’s constant petrol hike gave us enough reasons to upgrade to a diesel hatch, and I wanted a car my dad could drive easily and was equally easy to maintain.

What Car?
Thanks to fellow BHPians to help me choose this car. Details are available here. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...s-vw-polo.html

Dealer experience
It was just too good. No exaggerations no tall claims about their machine. He humbly excepted all the short comings with Micra (compared to VW Polo), namely 1. GC(153mm) 2. Paint quality 3. Service interval of 5k vs 15k of polo 4. Steering is too light for highway cruzing. It was his honesty that pulled me towards Micra.

Which variant?
Micra comes in 2 variants the Diesel and Diesel premium (Base plus climate control, alloys and fog lamps). Price difference 50k. Fog lamps is something I don’t need. Climate control is something I don’t care, then 50 k for a set of 4 alloys wheels? Went for the base diesel finally.

The Bargain
No offers no bargains on a diesel car. But he agreed for Teflon, under body coat, mud flaps and mats.

Which color?
6 color options- White, black, silver, orange, cherry red, and green. Orange and green were too loud and ruled out. White, black and silver were too dull to show the true curves of the car. Cherry red was the only option left

The booking and delivery
Cherry red diesel was available in stock, booked it immediately (22/10/11) and delivery was delayed till 24th Oct. (Dhanterus being an auspicious day to buy cars). The delivery process took less than 30 min. and was pretty smooth.

Initial Driving experience
The car is a breeze to drive in cities bumper to bumper traffic. Steering is ultra light. Small turn radius makes parking a child’s play. Pick up can put a petrol car to shame. Turbo lag oh what’s that? Gear shift is accurate and clutch is light (compared to Atlo and Estilo)

Highway manners
In one word- BAD. The brakes are inadequate, Steering is too light for highway cruzing. Absence of ABS further decreases your confidence. Anything beyond 120 kmph is a strict no no.

The space and comfort
The front seats are quite supportive, have adequate space, no more elbowing with the co passenger. Rear bench can seat three average size adults comfortable.

The Air conditioning
Didn’t get a chance to bake the car in sun and test it but with 4 on board it cooled the cabin in less than 2 mins. Real test will come in summers.

The Ride quality
The suspension is soft tuned. It irons out small potholes easily, but goes crazy over large ones. Over all ride quality is very good for city drive and well built highways.

Average Kya Hai?
The most important question and my prime reason for buying this car. In city I am getting a mileage of 19-20 kmpl and on highway if u kill the Narain Karthikeyan inside you and don’t speed over 80kmph the mileage turns out to be 33kmpl. Yes! You read it right 33kmpl. I have tested it thrice on a stretch of 50 kms and every time it was b/w 32.4 to 33.7 kmpl. The sale executive told me he is getting a FE of 26 kmpl on a mixed drive and I thought he was joking.

Accessorizing (Reliance Autozone, Gurgaon)
1. Sunfilms. I have installed Vkool basic for side and rear films and Llumar for front windscreen ( Rs 11.5 k)
2. Alloys and tires: Neo alloys and Michelin tires 175-65-R-14 Set of 4 (Rs 23k) with exchange
3. Hella Horn: Rs 1200
4. Steering Cover: Rs 550
5. Parking sensors: RS brand Rs 1500( 50 % off )
6. Gear shift lock Rs 1100 yet to be installed, plate was not available

Service experience
Took my car for its first service at 1000km. It is actually a general check up and washing. Service centre is 40 kms from my place. I didnt book in advance and reached the there at 11 am( and wondering if I am later. Maruti and Tata refuse after 10.30 am). And then comes the shocker. Mine was the only car that came for service that day. On enquiring I was told on a lucky day they get max of 5-6 cars.

The on road Service
Nissan has a tie up with TVS for road side assistance. I had an (unfortunate) chance to avail it. On my way back from Gurgaon I noticed some abnormal noise from the engine. It was 8 pm and I was to drive another 120 km on NH2. Worried I called up Nissans ORS no. The TVS guy reached me in 15 mins. The culprit was the loose engine cover, the guy who installed the horn had forgotten to tighten it. This TVS guy is Nissan trained and can do road side repairs, and was carrying extra new battery, suspension parts tyres and even 10 liters fuel. It’s not just towing service that they provide. I was told they even take care of food and boarding needs if required. Great going Nissan. I got 2 calls within 30 mins to confirm if repairs have been done to my satisfaction and the car is running fine after repairs.

The GC Issue
The stated GC of the car is 153 mm. I was bit worried about this but till date I have scrapped not even a single bumper

What is missing
Highway manners (or ill manners), Absence of USB and Steering mounted controls, absence of passenger airbag, absence of storage pockets in rear doors. No head/ neck rest for rear passengers.

[starter]

Thanks Bravo for a nice and crisp ownership report.
The only thing that i can't believe my eyes are those mileage figures that you are talking. 33 on highway!! You serious??
That figure puts even my bullet to shame
Cheers,
Deepak

[bravo82in]

The key less entry
The car is truly keyless. With the keys in your pocket or within 3 feet range, just push the sensor on door handle to unlock the car. Ones inside press the clutch and push and release the start/stop button. and u are ready to go. At night when u enter only 2 lights illuminate. The display with the 'press the clutch sign' and the start stop button. Convenient isint it.

[DeKay]

Congratulations Bravo!
You have purchased a very good car. Those alloys look very good. You did the right thing by going for the base model.
And like starter said, it is unbelievable the mileage you're getting! keep us all updated on that.
Also, how is the overall build quality of the car? Polo territory or not?

[W.A.G.7]

Boy, oh Boy !!! Am I glad to read this review Finally after a wait of one long year my Micra has company on T-bhp, that too in the very same red colour !!.

Congrats, it's a hoot to drive in the city, you will enjoy it ! 19-20kmpl, in city for a diesel is on par of course. Me getting 14-15kmpl in city for the petrol.

Whatever points you mentioned are 100% correct. Anything above 100 on an open highway and it starts getting scary. This car is mainly suited for pottering around the city in the 3rd/4th gear.

Their dealer experience has always been exemplary for me too. They do take care of everything. Service costs are negligible. Both my services costed me ~1200/- INR, so you can be rest assured that service costs will be very low.

Enjoy the car

[bravo82in]

Originally Posted by DeKay

And like starter said, it is unbelievable the mileage you're getting! keep us all updated on that.

The mileage figures are what the cars computer says. even on pushing the car hard on highways and going upto 120 kmpl the fig was 24kmpl. Ill do a tank full to tank full check to see if its accurate.

Originally Posted by DeKay

Also, how is the overall build quality of the car? Polo territory or not?

Certainly not, Micra is far behind.

[noopster]

It's a comprehensive review all right but at the end of it I couldn't get a sense of whether you actually love the car or hate it.

And 33 kmpl is really hard to believe. I think there is some mistake in your calculation. ARAI mileage is 23. Possibly in a one off case under extremely carefully controlled conditions, you may have touched that figure but it is not sustainable.

[bravo82in]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Boy, oh Boy !!! Am I glad to read this review Finally after a wait of one long year my Micra has company on T-bhp, that too in the very same red colour !!.

Congrats, it's a hoot to drive in the city, you will enjoy it ! 19-20kmpl, in city for a diesel is on par of course. Me getting 14-15kmpl in city for the petrol.

Whatever points you mentioned are 100% correct. Anything above 100 on an open highway and it starts getting scary. This car is mainly suited for pottering around the city in the 3rd/4th gear.

Their dealer experience has always been exemplary for me too. They do take care of everything. Service costs are negligible. Both my services costed me ~1200/- INR, so you can be rest assured that service costs will be very low.

Enjoy the car

I am really enjoying the car. The car was meant for Dad but I am using it more Try pushing it in 5th gear from 40kmph and the pick up will not suffer.
No frequent gear shifts.
I calculated the service cost of Micra b4 booking and it was in the territory of 12-1500 INR for every 10 k km For Polo it was b/w 5-6500 every 15k km. The reason is use of synthetic oil in Polo.

One query Is the FE shown on display accurate? Did u recheck it with our Desi method of tank full to tank full? I m quite surprised at the 33 kmpl figures i am getting.

[bravo82in]

Noopster over all i love the car. The FE figures were even hard for me to believe, Its the one displayed by the cars computer(or what ever it is called). I have checked it thrice on a 50 km highway run, with one stop at toll plaza and one through a 500-700 metres of crowded area. Yes i was bit cautious not to race beyond 2000 rpm / 80 kmph and not to push the accelerator hard. But the figures sustained for over 50 kms and that too thrice.

[karty_83]

Congrats bravo This happens to be the first diesel micra on team-bhp. Really happy to read this review. 20kmpl in city is fantastic.
I had read elsewhere that the brakes aren't inspiring and you have mentioned the same to. The high way mannerisms seems to be the only dampener.

[kkg]

Highway manners
In one word- BAD. The brakes are inadequate, Steering is too light for highway cruzing. Absence of ABS further decreases your confidence. Anything beyond 120 kmph is a strict no no.

Firstly, congrats for your new car mate.Micra is a excellent choice.

Your observations regarding the highway manners are spot on. I had an opportunity to drive my in-laws's micra diesel few days back on highway. A total of around 100kms, and the vague+light steering was only the sore point. The engine is marvellous, pulls cleanly even with full load form any speed plus no turbo lag like in swift but its the steering and some body roll that spoils the game. Brakes too are kind of mushy, not confidence inspiring for sure.Better to stay below 100kmph in micra on a highway.

But, its the cute design and the FE that makes one smile. Enjoy it.

[himavanth_m]

33kmpl. I am shocked. That is great news. And all this before the second service. Wonder how much more you will get after the 2nd service. Just waiting to hear the mileage on tank full to tank full method to be sure.

Now let me congratulate you on your buy. The red looks great. and the Alloys too I must say are an excellent choice by you and it matches the red color perfectly.

One question though. I could not find the OEM tyre size for micra diesel on micra website. But from the looks of it, you have upsized the tyre for the alloys, but still have the OEM size tyre for spare. Could you please clarify this as well as let us know the OEM Size of the tyre.
If the size is different, then how big is the difference between OEM and your alloys. and finally, How do you plan to tackle the problem due to different size in the boot in case of a puncture considering the difference is tyre diameter in case there is a difference.

[Thad E Ginathom]

The Micra is a curvy lady of a car, and I continue to find her very seductive. Anyway, not in the market just now, and keen to see what Nissan do with future models, especially with regard to safety features, which many of us really hope they will increase, especially on higher variants.

It's tough to recall now, but Nissan had a UK advertising campaign with one feature being "Can't take a small car on the motorway? With a Nissan you can!" I don't think that was an Obama kind of "yes, we can" --- I drove an old micra for a few weeks in UK, a couple of years ago, including several long trips, and was very happy with it. Light steering was not a complaint: it didn't even have power steering!

Very nice to see an ownership report here: will be watching

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations on a cute looking car, red really looks good.

33 Km / Ltr is pure awesome and that too on a Diesel car. This is reason enough for someone to buy this car, forget the lack of features or the GC. Fully paisa vasool. One of my former colleagues had bought a petrol Micra and even that gives very good FE figures. If i remember it correctly its above 20 on highways.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the New diesel micra. I was in the hunt for a petrol car. It was a battle between Micra XL and Liva G. Ended up with Liva G.

The Micra is good driveability, space equipment list, the dealer was honest, etc etc. If it was not for the weird clutch lever pedal placement, it would have been Micra. Liva G clutch is very light and love that for the city use.

Enjoy many more happy miles with the oil burner!