Nissan Note

Like the Renault Modus with which it shares its underpinnings, the Nissan Note is a small car with big ideas, based principally around clever interior packaging. The catch is that no-one seems to give a toss.

• Comfort

  There's plenty of headroom throughout the Note, and even rear legroom is surprisingly good. A decent range of engines including Renault's 1.5 dCi diesel also ensure an acceptable level of refinement on the move.

  

• Performance

  Small engines abound in the Note, and none is particularly quick. Stick with the 1.5-lite Renault-sourced diesel that's marginally slower but dramatically more frugal.

  

• Cool

  The Note is substantially cooler than the Modus with which is shares its vitals because Nissan has made a far better fist of the styling. But even so this is a car that singularly fails to raise the heart rate.

  

• Quality

  Nissan and Renault's joint venture is perhaps not up to the standards of some of the Japanese firm's lone projects, but it's still reasonably robust in the cabin and the mechanicals ought to be trouble free.

  

• Handling

  Long in the wheelbase and relatively low to the ground, the Note handles pretty well. There's no real body roll to worry about, although it is inclined to understeer when pushed.

  

• Practicality

  There's a remarkably large amount of passenger space for such a small car, while the already impressive 437-litre boot can effectively be tripled in size by folding the rear seats flat.

  

• Running costs

  All Notes will be quite cheap to run, but there isn't an engine option that'll get you into the lowest possible CO2 tax band, which might irk some potential buyers of what is, after all, just a slightly larger Micra.