Jalopnik reviews the Micra (K13, JDM)

[MetroMPG]

Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky got his hands on a current generation pre-facelifted March (Micra) while on a trip to Nissan's HQ in Japan.

He liked it... waaay more than the "coma inducing Versa."

Now, the car he drove had the 1.2L, 3-cylinder engine (non-supercharged), putting out 79 hp. The Canadian car will be 1.6L and 109 hp. And his had the CVT. So while it was undoubtedly way more fuel efficient than the car we're getting, notice how much he still seemed to enjoy it despite its modest power output...

Summary...

- the car has character - "friendly, eager & capable"
- interior, while plasticky, has "novel shapes & contrasts" to keep it interesting
- good outward visibility
- comfy ride (though the Canadian Micra may be firmer)
- handling: genuinely fun to drive - light & nimble

It's a small car that doesn't feel like you're doing penance for not having wads of cash to spend on a car. It's a charming little guy.

Torchinsky makes no bones about it: he thinks it'd sell well in the U.S., if priced right.

Read the full review: http://jalopnik.com/5962372/2012-nis...alopnik-review

There's a bunch of interesting reader comments under the article as well.

[Daox]

This made me laugh.

You probably want to limit your racing for pinks to food trucks, but beyond that it's usable.

[Daox]

I wonder how his review would have been had he driven the Micra with the 1.6L engine.

[Darcane]

A glowing review from the Torch is a good thing. Sounds like a fun little car.

Unfortunately, with it not coming to the states, there's not much chance of us south of the border getting one. In a link you posted earlier, the real reason it's not sold in the US is mentioned:

"Loing says Nissan considered also selling the Micra at its 1,100 U.S. dealerships, but decided to keep it out for two reasons. Bringing the car to U.S. regulatory specs would cost too much, he says. And adding it to the U.S. lineup would cannibalize the Versa, which is the best-selling subcompact in the United States.

Nissan sold 12,297 Versas in Canada last year, including the sedan and Versa Note hatchback, compared with 117,352 in the United States."

Since US and Canada regulations are similar, I doubt cost was the real reason... no, they don't want it to compete with their own "coma-inducing" Versa.

[Daox]

Yep, that is the case. We can dream though.

[MetroMPG]

A glowing review from the Torch is a good thing. Sounds like a fun little car.

The Jalopnik team doesn't follow the usual narrative in their reviews. They're a little off-kilter, and I like them for that. E.G. they also expressed some love for the 2014 Mirage in a different review, even though they didn't give it a good overall score. They both like & "get" small cars.

As for the US... Despite what they're saying, I bet the Nissan USA folks will be watching the Canadian Micra experiment pretty closely. Also, the company stated several times in the past that the Micra wasn't coming to Canada either.