After praising the virtues of my Micra, there are some things that make me wonder if the convenience package was really worth it...
-The backup camera image washes out in daylight, a problem that's made worse with my polarized sunglasses. It works beautiful at night and in underground parking; the backup lights provide ample illumination. However, using the backup camera tends to make me park crooked. If I ignore it and back into a spot by just looking rearward, I get it straight every time, and get just as close to a curb or car behind me as I would have with the camera. It's nice to have, but not necessary in a car like this. In the future, I'm going to use it for a quick check for obstructions while backing out of my driveway (ie; small kids, bikes), but will use my traditional skills for backing into a parking spot.
-The only good thing about the MP3 player is it starts playing wherever I left off. It doesn't do playlists, can't seem to play the songs in the proper order, and doesn't automatically pause whenever I receive a bluetooth telephone call.
The convenience package cost $500. I wonder if the same $500 would be better spent on an aftermarket head unit. For example, this one is only $350, leaving $150 left over for a backup camera: http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...da371510f7en02
Other thoughts:
-I haven't really needed air conditioning in my metallic silver car; it doesn't really draw the heat that darker coloured cars draw. There's been a couple of real humid days this year I was glad I had it, especially with passengers front and rear, and it really makes things more comfortable when it's pouring rain, but I think if a person was to get a Micra without air conditioning, they'd be fine with a white or metallic silver Micra.
-So glad I got the stick shift over the automatic; even though the auto has the engine rev lower at highway speeds, it's way more fun and I get to keep the RPM's lower at lower speeds, improving my city and heavy traffic mileage. That said...
-The spot to rest one's clutch foot (where a dead pedal is needed) is a little too big, making the pedal space almost too small for my size 13 steel toes. I can do it, but I often change into sneakers before driving.
-Fold-and-tumble back seats wouldn't work for me; whenever I need to fold down the back seats for extra storage, I put all the stuff I keep on the back seat (ie; rain gear, sweater, back pack, coveralls, code book) on the back seat floor then fold the back seats down. The available 60/40 configuration works quite well for my real world needs.
-The lack of in-dash cubbies is simply unforgivable. One of the hallmarks of this class of Japanese cars is the array of clever cubbies.
-The advertising sucks. An office temp having a bad day could do better. Even I could do better, and I couldn't imagine competing with an office temp having a bad day. A car with global roots dating back to the best decade known to humanity should have advertising that demonstrates these facts.