Nissan Micra N-Sport review – Supermini's fun on the run

The latest, sportier Nissan Micra N-Sport is much more enjoyable to drive and has just won the Small Car category at the 2019 Scottish Car of the Year Awards. Here, we tell you all about this supermini's spec, performance and price.

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Lifestyle

Mike Torpey

20:54, 6 NOV 2019

NISSAN cruised into this year determined to make its Micra supermini more appealing than ever to prospective buyers.

A trio of new engines were at the forefront of the initiative, along with a special N-Sport specification designed to maximise the car’s fun-to-drive personality.

Pair the most spirited of the new powerplants, a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol unit producing 117PS, with the new trim grade and you have a car the Japanese manufacturer is rightly excited about.

And that’s been recognised by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, who have awarded the Micra the Small Car gong at the Scottish Car of the Year (SCOTY) ceremony.

We may not be talking “serious” performance here – acceleration is to 0-62mph in a blink under 10 seconds – but it has pretty good “warm hatch” characteristics for a car of this size.

There’s also a half-decent 180Nm of torque, plus an additional 20Nm on the overboost. More important than bare figures is the car’s dynamic performance – and that’s down to a number of physical changes.

Versions featuring this engine have a lower ride height plus revised suspension tuning and sharper steering, the combination helping the Micra become more agile.

Buyers also get a new chrome exhaust along with 17in alloys – part of a package that makes this a really stylish small car, and one with much more interior space, especially in the rear, than the superminis of old.

Go for the N-Sport trim and the seats are part leather/Alcantara, there’s a chunky leather flat-bottomed steering wheel, a rear spoiler, body-coloured front door handles, rear privacy glass and a soft-touch upper dash.

That is in addition to a rear view camera, parking sensors, automatic headlights, daytime LED running lights and a smart carbon-style finish on the door caps and wheels.

Concealed rear door handles add to a smooth, clean profile and what is a reasonably sized boot expands to top 1000 litres when the 60-40 split/fold rear seats are down.

It is definitely worth paying the extra £250 it costs to specify the test model’s Solid White paint job, which works really well with the black alloys and black strips that run the length of the car.

N-Sport also brings in the latest NissanConnect display with a seven-inch touchscreen, DAB digital radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and smartphone integration.

Safety features include lane drift warning, hill start assist, emergency braking with pedestrian recognition and a speed limiter.

Not only is this a head-turning car – light years ahead of its predecessors – but it feels rewarding to drive, is nimble, has positive feedback from the steering and has a slick six-speed manual gearbox.