Greetings from Edmonton

[Micra In The Mountains]

Hi there! After a few months of lurking on your forum, we decided to finally join and start contributing. Around this time last year my wife and I were considering purchasing a small, inexpensive no-nonsense car to replace our aging 2001 Suzuki Esteem wagon.

After looking at our options, going to several dealerships and attending the local auto show, we decided to purchase the Micra S in May 2015 with the 4 speed auto package (included air conditioning and cruise control), full undercoating and rust protection, remote car starter and that's pretty much it. Since then we've put about 8000+ km on our little guy, having taken him several times to Jasper, Calgary, Drumheller, Waterton Lakes National Park (near the Canada / US border) and some of the smaller towns in the Edmonton area. He even helped us move some of my wife's sister's belongings to her new home in Calgary; that split-folding rear seat sure came in handy!

We are quite happy with our little friend, and so far no rattles or defects except for that one factory recall about the lower dash panels snagging on people's shoes (our Nissan dealership fixed this for free, although we never snagged our shoes on anything down there). Fairly comfortable on long trips, just an auxiliary outlet on the stereo to connect our smart phone headphone jack for driving music and no need for in-car connectivity or a back-up cam (we wondered why a car so small would need one anyway). No built-in navigation required (we have our trusty Garmin GPS or a smart phone with Google Maps for that), no power door locks and honest-to-goodness genuine retro hand cranks for the windows (my wife and I are both nostalgic!). At our current gas prices over here (about 72 cents per litre for regular gas as of this writing), it's just about a $30 fill and a full tank lasts for about 3 weeks with daily driving to/from work.

Actually our Micra reminds me of my old 1995 2-door Suzuki Swift back in the day, really basic economical transportation although that car was a tin can compared to the Micra and was not as stable at 120 kph+ or in cross winds. The Micra's proven to be quite a winter-beater as well, with decent snow tires, traction control and ABS. Overall, we are looking forward to many more cross-country adventures in our little car for many years to come. Have a great week everyone, and stay safe out there!




Note the bug net covering the front grille!

[ptbo micra]

Welcome to the forum!

[Wynter]

Welcome also. Thanks for sharing your story and posting that awesome photo! So beautiful. I'm glad to read you're happy with your Micra. I also have a grey S model. Took a while to get used to some things, and reading posts like yours helps. Enjoy!

[MetroMPG]

Welcome to the forum! Always good when a lurker de-lurks.

And I'll say it too: that's a nice photo.

Actually our Micra reminds me of my old 1995 2-door Suzuki Swift

Ha! I still have one of those, only mine's the 3-cylinder version (Pontiac Firefly).


( From: 2015 Micra SR automatic week long test drive: Darin's notes & impressions )

Considering both are basic entry level cars, the Micra is heads & shoulders above it in all respects other than fuel economy. (Though that wasn't Nissan's goal with the Canadian Micra.)

[Micra In The Mountains]

Welcome to the forum! Always good when a lurker de-lurks.

And I'll say it too: that's a nice photo.



Ha! I still have one of those, only mine's the 3-cylinder version (Pontiac Firefly).


( From: 2015 Micra SR automatic week long test drive: Darin's notes & impressions )

Considering both are basic entry level cars, the Micra is heads & shoulders above it in all respects other than fuel economy. (Though that wasn't Nissan's goal with the Canadian Micra.)

That's awesome, I'm getting some major flash-backs now...My Swift was white with grey bumpers, 5-speed manual with the 1.3 litre 4-cyl carburated engine making about 70 hp....I remember driving up some of the steeper sections of the Coquihalla at 110-120 kph, 3rd gear, gas pedal all the way to the floor, little engine revving almost to redline....scary but interesting times!

We managed about 260,000+ km on the Swift before we traded it in (got about $1500 for it) for a 2001 Suzuki Esteem wagon (our current Micra replaced that car). We're hoping our Micra would be good for at least that distance...

[Micra In The Mountains]

Welcome also. Thanks for sharing your story and posting that awesome photo! So beautiful. I'm glad to read you're happy with your Micra. I also have a grey S model. Took a while to get used to some things, and reading posts like yours helps. Enjoy!

You are most welcome Wynter; please check out our post in the "long distance highway driving" thread for our opinions & some tips on highway, steep hill and mountain driving with your Micra...

[Daox]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the Micra. Its good to hear you're enjoying it.