My review - 2015 Micra SV Auto

I never, ever thought I'd see myself getting one, but here it is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2akrFtJg5L8

I have test driven many small cars including the Toyota Corolla, Yaris, Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Sonic, Dodge Dart, Ford Fiesta, Focus, Mazda3, and the VW Jetta. I had my heart set on the Mazda3 sedan GX, and I was about to test drive the new 2015 VW Golf hatchback, but my parents insisted I go and look at the much cheaper Micra, so I did.

At this time, I owned a 2003 Kia Rio that was on its way to the crusher. Car needed an additional $1000 worth of work to be road-worthy. Needless to say, I got rid of that POS.

I took the Micra out for a spin. I fell in love. I was so impressed by the ride and handling, the spacious interior for the size of the car, and the peppy, and rather pleasant sounding 1.6L engine (I didn't think Nissan was going to put the Versa's engine in this tiny car). Yes, lots of plastic on the dash but that's expected for the price. I know some of you may like the CVT in Nissan's other vehicles, but I hate CVTs, and was grateful this had a regular 4-speed automatic. I couldn't care less about the gear count, just the fact that it had GEARS. Just sounds better when driving.

The Ford Fiesta has always been known to be the best driving sub-compact car on the market, and I have driven one so I know how it feels. It was a black S-model sedan. Didn't even have SYNC. I really liked the ride and handling of that car, very fun to drive, but the price of the 4-year lease on that bare-bones model car was like $50/month more than the upgrade Micra SV's lease price on 4 years. But the Micra rides and handles almost IDENTICAL to the Fiesta, I swear! As a matter of fact, it's even more fun to drive than the Fiesta.

I picked up my 2015 Micra SV auto in Red Alert back in October. I have it on a 4 year lease. It really is the cheapest new car out there compared to everything else. The base Ford Fiesta S auto hatchback and Chevrolet Sonic LS sedan auto with crank windows, no keyless entry, nothing were a difference of $50 in the monthly 4-year lease payments, as I have mentioned before. My car being the upgrade SV has power windows, locks, air, cruise, tilt, bluetooth, remote entry, and more!

I couldn't ask for a better value for my money!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2akrFtJg5L8

Hey Adam - welcome to the forum!

I embedded your YT video in your post. I actually saw that a while back - nice job. (I'm the one who commented about the AC/defrost disable mod.)

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But the Micra rides and handles almost IDENTICAL to the Fiesta, I swear! As a matter of fact, it's even more fun to drive than the Fiesta.

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Thanks for that comparison. I've read good things about the Fiesta's handling, but have never driven one. I've also heard several people say that the Fiesta hatchback is actually fairly cramped inside compared to other small cars. I do like its looks though.

Oh, and I would love to try the new 1.0L turbo Fiesta, but of course they're marketing it as a premium option, and only in manual shift so they're not selling very many of them.

Glad to have you here.

Darin

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Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Hey Adam - welcome to the forum!

I embedded your YT video in your post. I actually saw that a while back - nice job. (I'm the one who commented about the AC/defrost disable mod.)



Thanks for that comparison. I've read good things about the Fiesta's handling, but have never driven one. I've also heard several people say that the Fiesta hatchback is actually fairly cramped inside compared to other small cars. I do like its looks though.

Oh, and I would love to try the new 1.0L turbo Fiesta, but of course they're marketing it as a premium option, and only in manual shift so they're not selling very many of them.

Glad to have you here.

Darin

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The micra's rear seat is larger than the Fiesta's. That's Nissan for you, always giving you a huge rear seat (think: Versa, Micra's big brother). I would honestly rather a 1.0L turbo Micra over a Fiesta, lol. I would also like a Spec-V 1.6L turbo Sport Micra too with a 6-speed manual (Fiesta ST competitor).

Honestly, the amount of problems my friend has been having with his 2012 Focus and his parent's 2012 Escape, I would rather not buy a Ford, lol. They now the 1.0L in the Focus now, same thing as the Fiesta where you have to "upgrade" to it and you only get a manual. Very interesting to put that tiny engine in a ~3000 pound car. I am personally not sold on tiny turbo engines. Turbos are not a replacement for displacement. I think the fuel mileage will probably be the same as the 1.6 and 2.0 Fiesta/Focus engines respectively. To make boost, it uses extra fuel. A 1.6 or 1.8 turbo would best suit the Focus.

A few years ago my wife and I rented a 4 door Fiesta when we were on vacation in L.A., we were quite satisfied with the way the car handled and kept up with traffic on the freeways, although we weren't too impressed with the electronics (navigation, etc.) - we found it a bit complicated & not intuitive enough to learn within a few days of driving. Later we rented a Focus while in Florida, we couldn't get the voice to stop nagging at us so we had to pull over and shut the ignition off to get it to shut up....We miss the days when all a car did was get you from point A to B and that's it...