Nissan Micra review

Like its almost identical twin, the Micra feels solid on the move – it’s a dependable car to drive and doesn’t throw up any particular shocks or curveballs.

The suspension is well damped, easing out bumps and providing a smooth ride without wallowing through corners. Even on potholed British tarmac it smothers obstacles and deals with speed bumps nicely.

If there’s something we don’t like, it’s that the steering misses the mark slightly – it’s very granular, turning each corner into a series of inputs rather than offering a smooth flow. But it’s not a driver’s car, so it would be churlish to hold that against it.

Higher trim levels do get paddles behind the wheel to alter regen though, and that adds a nice little bit of engagement on a twisty road. Renault still hasn’t rolled out right-hand drive R5s with paddles and a one-pedal drive mode. Bit strange.

Is it all scrabbly around town?

Thankfully carmakers seem to be going away from the surges of torque offered by most EVs up to now – they’ve realised we’re not fooled into thinking that perky acceleration turns anything into a sports car. In fact, the Micra’s 0–62mph times confirm that, with even the more powerful 148bhp car taking eight seconds to get there from rest.

There’s a trio of driving modes to help out too – Sport is best left alone, with a jittery response to throttle inputs that leaves you feeling edgy. Eco mode leaves you with such insipid power levels (almost half the normal amount) that even the keenest economy run driver might feel the car is a bit lacking. Although in mostly town driving in Eco mode we did see a very impressive 4.8 mi/kWh. Comfort mode is your safest bet.

What about the dreaded safety assistance tech?

One neat trick that has been ported over from Renault is the ‘My Safety Perso’ button next to the steering wheel that you can configure to turn off all the safety stuff that you hate most with a couple of presses. It’s useful (because the beeps are particularly annoying), but you’d think it wouldn’t have taken someone at Nissan very long to think up a better name.