[RSR]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

With a flooded-out Polo, now seriously considering the Micra.

When I bought the Polo, it was the solid and stable alternative to the sexy wink from the sidelines of the Micra.

...

At the beginning of the decision-making process, it looks like it is going to be a basic i10, or a little more flashiness with the Micra.

Any up-to-date Micra impressions? Anyone want to say "good choice?" Anyone want to say "Don't do it?"

Thad, I'm very sorry to hear that your Polo was affected badly by the terrible recent floods. Did you look at any alternate way of getting the Polo back in shape (if the VW dealer workshop has given you a shockingly high quote)? I remember that you once mentioned Raghav's Ignite Garage is quite close to your place.

On the Micra, it's a wonderful hatchback that's fun to drive in typical urban conditions. All-round visibility is great, the steering is nice to hold and effortless to twirl around in a hurry, the turning circle radius is unbelievable for a car of its size, the diesel has brilliant drivability (no turbo-lag at all) and the CVT is just what the doctor ordered if you travel during peak hours in Chennai. The Micra gets a standard driver airbag even on the base variant, its interiors are spacious, comfortable (although the rear seat is set a bit low) & made from good quality materials. It gets goodies like Bluetooth connectivity, electrically retractable mirrors, true keyless entry & push button start-stop etc., and the boot is reasonably sized with a practical shape.

What you may miss is the "large car feel" the Polo offers. While it's only slightly bigger than the Micra, the Polo does feel more solid and behaves like a much larger car on the road. This doesn't mean the Micra is bad in this department, just that the Polo is certainly better.

I was impressed when I checked out the face-lifted Micra, and test drove the diesel & CVT variants. This car is built to take the stress out of motoring, and to make everyday driving simple, easy and enjoyable - and it does accomplish this brilliantly!

My conclusion - it's a good choice!

One word, though. You mentioned you're also looking at the i10. If it's the old i10 you're talking about (and not the Grand i10), then please remember that Hyundai very foolishly don't offer even a single airbag or ABS on any variant now (i.e. after the 1.2 litre engine was discontinued). This is simply inexplicable and unjustifiable in this day and age, and I say this as the owner of an i10 (without airbags & ABS) that has served us brilliantly for over 6 years now!

When compared to the old i10, the Nissan Micra Active does offer 2 airbags & ABS (on its XV S variant) in the same price range.

Both of them lack equipment like Bluetooth connectivity, electric mirrors, rear wash-wipe, true keyless entry etc. that're present on the Grand i10 and facelifted Micra. Between the two, I'd prefer the Micra Active over the old i10, mainly because of its XV S variant that has 2 airbags & ABS.

[tsk1979]

If lack of parts is your concern do not buy the micra. Nissan may be as bad as vw s far as part availability is concerned. We needed some door part and it took a month and that too after shouting matches with the dealership.

Why not take a look at baleno or ford. Even bolt is a good vfm.

[isodope]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Any up-to-date Micra impressions? Anyone want to say "good choice?" Anyone want to say "Don't do it?"

Don't do it!

I've just sold my Micra (XV petrol/3 years, 17000 km) for Rs 2.6 lakhs. No, really, that's the best price I could get for it before I let it roll over into 2016. Also, a couple of posts above, there's a mention of the new Micra. That new Micra will not be made in India, so I don't see how Nissan is going to sell it here. If it has trouble obtaining spares for a car that produces here and exports, I have zero hope of obtaining spares for a car that won't be made here. I also don't have any hope of the new Micra making it here at a competitive price; look what they're offering today. Add tax to it, because they'll import it in some form or another.

Buy another Polo, I say. Talk to VW at the company level, ask for a big discount since you're an existing customer who had to give up his car because of the floods. (The same floods that also drowned the Nissan factory, when you stop and think about it. That means drowned Micras, too - new ones.) VW was selling the top-spec diesel for Rs 8 lakh, on-road, in Maharashtra, as a Diwali offer, so it can certainly offer that to you now. VW needs to earn goodwill. To quote our Prime Minister, "may the force be with you."

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by RSR

Thad, I'm very sorry to hear that your Polo was affected badly by the terrible recent floods. Did you look at any alternate way of getting the Polo back in shape (if the VW dealer workshop has given you a shockingly high quote)? I remember that you once mentioned Raghav's Ignite Garage is quite close to your place.

Yes, but T-BHPians convinved me that, with a fully flooded car, it is probably better to let it go.

On the Micra, it's a wonderful hatchback that's fun to drive in typical urban conditions. ...

What you may miss is the "large car feel" the Polo offers. ...

I was impressed when I checked out the face-lifted Micra, and test drove the diesel & CVT variants. This car is built to take the stress out of motoring, and to make everyday driving simple, easy and enjoyable - and it does accomplish this brilliantly!

My conclusion - it's a good choice!

Beautiful summary. Useful to anyone looking for an update on this thread! Thank you

If it's the old i10 you're talking about (and not the Grand i10), then please remember that Hyundai very foolishly don't offer even a single airbag or ABS on any variant now (i.e. after the 1.2 litre engine was discontinued). This is simply inexplicable and unjustifiable in this day and age, and I say this as the owner of an i10 (without airbags & ABS) that has served us brilliantly for over 6 years now!

I think it would be the Grand, for all the reasons that you mention.

Thank you for all your comments. It's lookss good for the Micra, but then we get to the other side of the coin...

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If lack of parts is your concern do not buy the micra. Nissan may be as bad as vw s far as part availability is concerned.

Sadly, I've been wondering about that and thinking the same. Without having seen either of them close-up yet, it also looks like the i10 Grand gives the sweet little Micra a run for its money on most things.

Originally Posted by isodope

Don't do it!

I've just sold my Micra (XV petrol/3 years, 17000 km) for Rs 2.6 lakhs. No, really, that's the best price I could get for it before I let it roll over into 2016. Also, a couple of posts above, there's a mention of the new Micra. That new Micra will not be made in India, so I don't see how Nissan is going to sell it here. If it has trouble obtaining spares for a car that produces here and exports, I have zero hope of obtaining spares for a car that won't be made here. I also don't have any hope of the new Micra making it here at a competitive price; look what they're offering today. Add tax to it, because they'll import it in some form or another.

Buy another Polo, I say. Talk to VW at the company level, ask for a big discount since you're an existing customer who had to give up his car because of the floods. (The same floods that also drowned the Nissan factory, when you stop and think about it. That means drowned Micras, too - new ones.) VW was selling the top-spec diesel for Rs 8 lakh, on-road, in Maharashtra, as a Diwali offer, so it can certainly offer that to you now. VW needs to earn goodwill. To quote our Prime Minister, "may the force be with you."

I hear you, as per above. I don't think VW would give me a 50% discount, which is almost what I need, and on top of that, I'd be in the same position if the same thing happens again.

Love the look of the Micra, but I guess it's a maybe not.

[i74js]

Is there a possibility for sump guard in Micra? I am told it is not available in both petrol and diesel trims !

[an_and]

I would recommend avoid the Micra. The price cut probably is because of a new model to be launched. As someone said, parts is a serious issue. If you are looking at an automatic hatchback, the options now are quite a few - right from ford figo to the baleno, and even the humble amt - which is actually not so bad.

[i74js]

Originally Posted by an_and

I would recommend avoid the Micra. The price cut probably is because of a new model to be launched. As someone said, parts is a serious issue. If you are looking at an automatic hatchback, the options now are quite a few - right from ford figo to the baleno, and even the humble amt - which is actually not so bad.

On what basis you are making this statement:

- Recently I have seen news on T-BHP that Nissan has tied up with myTVS for better service to customers; indicating their seriousness to India
- There is no news on induction / replacement of existing Micra in near future anywhere in public domain

There is no match between AMT and CVT, I am sure you are aware of it. Baleno CVT is not available fully loaded, can't be compared with Micra XV trim which has all the necessary bells and whistles.

Would be good if you can elaborate your thoughts with some evidence or personal experience.

[an_and]

Originally Posted by i74js

On what basis you are making this statement:

- Recently I have seen news on T-BHP that Nissan has tied up with myTVS for better service to customers; indicating their seriousness to India
- There is no news on induction / replacement of existing Micra in near future anywhere in public domain

There is no match between AMT and CVT, I am sure you are aware of it. Baleno CVT is not available fully loaded, can't be compared with Micra XV trim which has all the necessary bells and whistles.

Would be good if you can elaborate your thoughts with some evidence or personal experience.

OK. The reasons for my statement - I was in the hunt for an automatic myself, and the micra was a very serious contender. I went and visited the service centers - standing outside and speaking to customers on their service experience, talking to the engineers who come out on a lunch break - and their advice was avoid the micra. The service engineers told me that spares are not readily available, there are long delays in getting parts - the same was corroborated a few posts earlier as well.

Part about the new micra - it is in the news that they are readying a new model, as this one is quite old. I am sure that there is a thread on the same on tbhp as well. It is my guess that the recent price cut is to get rid of stocks so that the new model can be launched. And it is a guess at best.

The part about amt - I entirely agree with you that the AMT is no comparison to the CVT and please do not look at it as if I am equating the two. CVT is absolutely wonderful to drive. I was just laying out the options available to a person who wants to get rid of the clutch on what is available.

I have driven a honda cvt extensively, a skoda octavia automatic 4 - speed as well (for over two years), and now finally zeroed in on the wagon r amt as my second car for the city. There are a few compromises, however I am very pleased with the compromise for the value that I am deriving out of my car. Thus the statement that amt is not so bad as well - based on pure personal experience.

Baleno CVT might not be as fully loaded - but on basic requirements of safety- will match the nissan. But, I believe, in the long term ownership of the car, a maruti will prove to be a better car than nissan any day. Again this is based on my interactions with customers of nissan and the general feedback available on this forum as well.

At the same time, even the ford figo is a hoot to drive, and loaded to the brim with features. The only feature that the ford misses on vs the micra is the keyless entry, otherwise - it simply kills the micra in terms of features and driving pleasure. And it should be available with good discounts.

[isodope]

Originally Posted by an_and

Baleno CVT might not be as fully loaded - but on basic requirements of safety- will match the nissan.

Comparing apples to apples, the Baleno does not match the Micra according to Euro-NCAP crash tests. It gets four stars only with the radar-guided brakes, else it gets three. The Micra has got four stars for the European version.


There's a new Micra coming out and it will not be produced here. There's already a lot of trouble sourcing parts for a car produced here and exported to other countries, imagine the trouble that you'll come across once production stops.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by an_and

I went and visited the service centers - standing outside and speaking to customers on their service experience, talking to the engineers who come out on a lunch break - and their advice was avoid the micra. The service engineers told me that spares are not readily available, there are long delays in getting parts - the same was corroborated a few posts earlier as well.

I don't want to be pulled into any controversies and again I am not fan of any particular brand; I would just like to say for last 5 years (touch wood) I have never had a situation where parts would have been a issue for me.
I have been using a Micra petrol 2011 model. I have used service centers in Bangalore and now in Pune.
I would definitely say service experiences are not top notch like Maruti, but not as bad as people states here.
May be parts availability is city specific, not sure; still I am saying I have not faced it till date provided my part changes are mostly to consumables.

Regarding buying experience, if you don't push too much on resale and got bored out of Maruti's (like me), then Micra would have been a nice little bug to play around.

[dailydriver]

A 20km run in a (Ola) Micra gave me an opportunity to look at the car in a little detail.

The front passenger seat was comfortable and had sufficient lower back and thigh support. The rear wasn't, mainly because of the lack of a proper headrest. The ride and handling too had no negatives per se; a later ride in a Swift confirming the point that the former had a more pliant ride than the latter.

Nearing close to 1.5lakh kms on the odo, the car could pull easily in all the gears and could pick up speed when needed. However, that could also be because the driver knew the car's characteristics well. NVH levels were on par for a diesel engine.

In a nutshell, I found that the car was no slouch.

What left me disappointed was that it had no USP - it excelled nowhere in particular. The dash and interior left a lot to be desired, the gray colour being the main put off. With a pedigree that couldn't appeal to the mass Indian buyer and its inability to distinguish itself from the also-rans, it is no wonder that Micra couldn't garner a significant market share.