Nissan has launched the 2018 Micra with new features. The updated model comes at a starting price of Rs. 5.03 lakh (ex-showroom).

Safety features like dual airbags, driver seat belt warning indicator, speed warning indicator and rear parking sensors are now offered as standard on both the 2018 Micra and Micra Active. Both models get ORVMs with turn signals and a 6.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system with phone mirroring. Additionally, the 2018 Micra gets a rear spoiler and a rear-view camera.

The 2018 Micra Active is powered by a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that produces 67 BHP @ 5,000 rpm and 104 Nm of torque @ 4,000 rpm and is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The 2018 Micra is available with either petrol or diesel engines. The 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol makes 76 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 104 Nm @ 4,400 rpm and is mated to a CVT. The 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder diesel puts out 63 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 160 Nm @ 2,000 rpm. It comes paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Variant-wise ex-showroom prices:

2018 Nissan Micra

XL CVT Automatic fashion Edition - Rs. 6,19,499

XL (O) CVT - Rs. 6,42,001

XV CVT - Rs. 7,61,485

XL D (O) - Rs. 7,21,475

XV D - Rs. 7,90,935

2018 Micra Active

XL - Rs. 5,03,328

XL (O) - Rs. 5,40,899

XV - Rs. 5,98,119

Nissan India has added a new Sunshine Orange colour to the Micra hatchback. Additionally, the car now comes with all black interiors. The new colour options will be offered on all variants of the Micra and the Micra Active, and will be available without any price hike. In addition to the new Orange shade, the Micra can also be opted in Brick Red, Turquoise Blue, Blade Silver, Onyx Black, and Storm White.

The all-black cabin of the Micra gets piano black inserts on the centre console, a full black dashboard, and black seats that are stitched with a contrasting blue thread. Meanwhile, the Micra Active variant will get a black instrument panel cluster and finisher, black seat fabric and a silver-colour door armrest finisher.

Off-late, various manufacturers have been ditching their beige interiors and going towards the all-black theme. Such interior treatment looks a bit sportier and is easy to maintain as well, especially in comparison to the light, beige shades.

The Nissan Micra sells around 600 units per month, and the company expects to broaden the customer base with the new exterior and interior colours. The Micra is available with a petrol, a diesel, and a petrol automatic powertrain. The automatic variant gets an X-Tronic CVT gearbox.

Nissan India has tweaked its India line-up, which is now a lot leaner. This means that many model variants have been shelved due to low customer demand. Some of the Nissan cars on offer in India now have half the number of variants that were available earlier.

The biggest change has been made in the Micra line-up. The petrol Micra will now only be offered with a CVT gearbox. Moreover, the company has discontinued the base XE and top-end XVP variants of the Micra diesel. The Micra XVP came with four airbags, but was totally devoid of any customer demand. As a result, Nissan Micra diesel is now offered in two variants: XL and XL (O). On the other hand, the petrol Micra is available in the XL CVT and XV CVT trims.

The Japanese manufacturer has also shelved the base XE trim of the Micra Active. The other three trims (XL, XV and XV S) haven't been fiddled with. Unlike the new Micra, the Micra Active can still be opted in a petrol manual variant.

The Nissan Sunny petrol can now be opted with a CVT option on the top-end VX trim, which was earlier offered in the mid-level XL variant. Moreover, the XV D variant that came with leather seats has been discontinued. As a result, leather seats are now only a part of the petrol XV variant.

The company has also shelved off three variants of the Terrano - 85 BHP diesel XL, 110 BHP diesel XL and 110 BHP diesel XV. This means that the Terrano is now available with only one petrol variant (XL) and three diesel variants (85 BHP XE, 85 BHP XL Plus, and 110 BHP XV Premium).

The Nissan Micra Active, which is in essence a pre-facelift Micra with some cosmetic changes, is available with a petrol engine only. However, it appears that the company could soon offer it with a diesel power plant as well.

Motoring website, Anything on Wheels has spotted the Nissan Micra Active with a Pure Drive dCI badge on its tailgate, being tested in Chennai. While the pictures show the car in XL trim, the website claims that there was a VX variant following it. Since the Active is almost identical to the original Micra, it is likely be powered by the same 1.5-litre, K9 engine, which did duty in the car previously.

Details about the launch of the car are unknown and it is difficult to say whether Nissan will display it at the Auto Expo.

The 4th generation Micra was the first made-in-India Nissan car. Launched in July 2010, Nissan India has put 43,000 units of the Micra on Indian roads. These numbers aren't very inspiring considering the fact that Nissan India has managed to sell less than 1,200 Micras per month on an average, over the last 3 years. On the other hand, the car maker has done very well on the exports front, with Nissan India exporting a few lakh units of the hatchback, to countries across the world.

To boost sales of its entry level car model, Nissan has facelifted the Micra. Also, the pre-facelift model of the car has been re-positioned as the Micra Active, a cut price model that'll sit in the B segment hatchback space leaving the Micra facelift to populate the B+ hatchback segment. This strategy will allow Nissan to straddle two different segments at two different price points, similar to the approach that Ford India has followed with the Classic (previous generation Fiesta) and the new Fiesta sedans. 

With the Micra Active, Nissan is looking to take on cars such as the Hyundai i10, the Maruti WagonR and the Honda Brio. This also explains why the car is a petrol-only model. The Micra Active is priced at 3.5 lakh rupees, going all the way up to 4.71 lakh rupees.The facelifted Micra petrol model starts at 4.79 lakh rupees, going up to 6.39 lakh rupees while the facelifted Micra diesel model starts at 5.99 lakh rupees, going up to 7.14 lakh rupees. All prices are ex-showroom Delhi figures. 

With the Micra Active and Micra Facelift combined, Nissan is targeting volumes of 2,500 units a month. While these numbers seem conservative given the high overall volumes generated by the B and B+ segments, they are more than double of what Nissan was managing with the pre-facelift model. The Nissan Micra is now available in 11 variants, including a CVT automatic equipped model on the facelifted version's petrol variant. 

Click here to read Team-BHP's comprehensive official review of the Micra CVT.

The Micra Active comes in 4 variants: XE (3.5 lakhs), XL (4.01 lakhs), XV (4.39 lakhs) and XV Safety (4.71 lakhs). The Micra Active is available with a single engine-transmission combination with the 1.2 liter-3 cylinder 68 PS-104 Nm petrol engine and a 5 speed manual gearbox doing duty in the car. The car has seen a weight reduction of 30 kilograms while the engine has been detuned. Both these factors come together to make the car more fuel efficient. An ARAI rated fuel economy figure of 19.49 Kmpl is what the Micra Active comes with. The top end variant of the Micra Active gets ABS+EBD and Twin Airbags. 

To achieve the lower price tag for the Active version of the older Micra, Nissan has made a few key changes. Stylistically, the car's front grille loses chrome while the re-profiled bumpers lose the fog lamps. Plastic wheel caps, front seats with fixed headrests and revised dashboard colours are the other key changes on the Micra Active. The higher variants of the car get a factory fitted stereo with USB and AUX connectivity options  

Coming to the facelifted Micra, the hatchback's engine options are unchanged. The 1.2 liter petrol (76 PS-104 Nm) and the 1.5 liter Renault K9K turbo diesel (65 Bhp-160 Nm) motors are the two engine options on the Micra facelift. While both engines get a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard, the top end petrol model is also available with a CVT automatic gearbox. The CVT automatic gearbox is a first-in-class feature as all other automatic cars in the B+ segment hatchback space come with traditional torque converters. The Micra CVT manages an ARAI certified 19.34 Kmpl. ARAI fuel economy figures for the petrol and diesel models of the Micra facelift are 18.44 Kmpl and 23.08 Kmpl. 

In terms of looks, the Micra Facelift gets new headlamps, a more aggressive front grille-bumper job, LED tail lamps, LED Stop lamp, a new rear bumper and new alloy wheels. On the inside, the car gets new upholstery on the reshaped seats, satin inserts on dashboard and door panels, and a glossy black finish for the center console. On the features front, a reverse parking camera, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, height adjustable driver seat, adjustable head rests for the rear seats and steering mounted audio controls are the few major additions. 

Other significant features on the car include key less entry, a start-stop button, automatic climate control and electric wing mirrors with fold function. Nissan has finally given the diesel powered Micra ABS+EBD while the single driver's side airbag now gets company in the form of the passenger side airbag. The petrol variants of the Micra facelift are priced as follows, XL: 4.79 L, XL (O): 5.42 L and XV CVT: 6.39 L. The diesel Micra is priced at 5.99 L for the XL model, 6.43 L for the XL (O), 6.9 L for the XV and 7.14 L for the XV Premium. All prices are ex-showroom figures with the L suffix indicating a lakh rupees.