Is Micra suitable for high speed highway driving, long distance

[Micra In The Mountains]

Hi there, we recently (in February 2017) drove our 2015 Micra from Edmonton to Las Vegas & Death Valley and back; if you would like to hear how our Little Guy handled the snow storms, driving rain storms, high mountain interstate highway driving at 80+ mph, some desert off roading and the Las Vegas traffic, come check our our post under the Micra Photography topic. Hope this info helps!

Link to trip description & photos: http://micra-forum.com/showthread.ph...ll=1#post17842

[MetroMPG]

Thanks!

I added the link to your post with travelogue and pics.

[GreatWhite]

As a tall driver I would prefer a vehicle with more room. Over 100KMH it will use more fuel which is typical of all Nissan vehicles.
So I prefer my Volkswagen Jetta TDI naturally. We keep this little guy for city. IMO, If you can run a Smart car all over Alaska, why not a Micra all of NA!

[IMPUL]

I wish they would design a gearbox for cruise at 120 ish that's what kills it. They design it for city speed > 80/90 km/h efficiency so above that it's in the power band and wants more fuel.

If I could cruise at 2000ish rpm maybe 2500 tops is be happy.
But I think that's a lot to ask of an n/a 1.6 .. A turbo with 200hp no problem..

But it is what it is .... ( until it gets an sr20vet with 6 speed MT)

[GreatWhite]

I wish they would design a gearbox for cruise at 120 ish that's what kills it. They design it for city speed > 80/90 km/h efficiency so above that it's in the power band and wants more fuel.

If I could cruise at 2000ish rpm maybe 2500 tops is be happy.
But I think that's a lot to ask of an n/a 1.6 .. A turbo with 200hp no problem..

But it is what it is .... ( until it gets an sr20vet with 6 speed MT)

I quite agree. It is what it is and its a great car. a 5 or 6 speed auto would be great but then Nissan kept costs down to keep it at 10K entry. An option would be fantastic

[IMPUL]

I quite agree. It is what it is and its a great car. a 5 or 6 speed auto would be great but then Nissan kept costs down to keep it at 10K entry. An option would be fantastic

Or make your own options...

[Rupert Rabbit]

I recall when the original Versa went from manual 5 speed to manual 6 speed people got exited. What Nissan did was to close up the gear ratios and the new 6th gear was pretty much the same as the old 5th gear. I had a 1994 Dodge version of the Mitsubishi Mirage with the 5 speed manual. It didn't have a tach but you could tell that the 5th gear was really tall. There was no power in 5th but it was perfect for highway cruising. I managed on one perfect day, to get 65 MPG on a trip from central Vancouver Island, thru Vancouver and Washington State to Portland Oregon and then the last 80 miles to the coast on less than a tank. Sunny, 23C and 25 kmh tailwind, speed about 65MPH on the freeway.

[FrostyyCarter]

Hey Rupert, whereabouts are you on Van Isle? I work in Courtenay, but live in Campbell River. I pass by a few micras every morning.

[AlphaMicra]

I recently put new summer all season tires on my 15" alloys, and decided to go with a 185/65R15, like the base model Versa. I had to bring in the rims and convince the tire shop that they were for a base model Versa. The results on the highway are pretty dramatic, the speedometer seems more accurate, I don't have to constantly keep the needle at 130km/h to keep up with traffic, 120km/h seems to work fine. The trade-off is that the car has lost just a bit of its edge in the corners and in accelerating, but the car is so light, it's barely noticeable. Also makes the car look better with chunkier tires, IMHO.

[Rupert Rabbit]

Hey Rupert, whereabouts are you on Van Isle? I work in Courtenay, but live in Campbell River. I pass by a few micras every morning.

Hi Frosty: I live in beautiful downtown Comox.