Nissan Micra

Okay but interior quality and economy shortfalls – My wife purchased her ST-L auto 1.2 Micra new in 2013 in New Zealand. It has now done 26,500 km. Mechanically it has been reliable, with one leaking rear damper replaced under warranty. It is fine to drive, it lacks power on hills but using the fourth gear lock out helps there. Around town, which is really its suited environment, its quite nippy,… Read more

handles well and keeps up with the traffic flow. The fail is economy. 8.4l/100km from a 1.2 three cylinder petrol borders on unacceptable. I know its an auto and around down driving inherently impacts economy, but that's only a part excuse. The other bug bear is the interior. The cloth seat material on the drivers seat is developing wrinkles which is unsightly.That's not the worst though. despite having factory Micra floor mats all its life, the top layer of floor covering has worn through near the pedals, and also on the left foot rest. That looks extremely tatty and is not good enough with such low mileage. We will keep the car a while longer as my wife likes its size and ease around town, but I'm not impressed with Nissan interior quality. By the time we sell it will either need repairs to these defects, or they will have an impact on resale value.

Outstanding little car - Great around the suburbs – My daughter bought this car back in late 2012 but I have driven it enough to easily qualify to write a review on it. What an amazing, zippy little car. The ST-L version has an extra cylinder and a little more grunt than the ST and it's perfect for city running. coupled to a fairly smooth automatic transmission, she kicks down a little quickly… Read more

but at the same time it is nicely geared to deliver very good fuel economy at around 6.5-7l/100km in city cycle.

Where the Micra stands out is her manoeuvrability. With the wheel nearly at full lock she pivots almost 90 degrees and it is outstanding in tight parking areas.

She suffers a little from road noise but it's what you would expect from such a car.

Dashboard is reasonably laid out although the lack of a temperature gauge is a cheap omission that I hate car manufacturers for neglecting. Temperature lights tend to be too sudden death. that said, this car has never overheated. And the air conditioning is very, very good.

Seat room is not the best in the rear and she can be a little tight when carrying four or five people but it has regularly amazed me how much fits in the back with the seats folded down.

The bluetooth unit in the stereo is fairly basic but works exceptionally reliably.

While the Micra cruises nicely at 100-110 with ease, she is most at home zipping around city and suburban roads which is where she particularly shines.

Servicing is not particularly expensive and we have never had any mechanical problems. insurance is cheap too.

As a young person's first car or a second family vehicle it is a standout choice. Highly recommended.

Good little run-around – We bought this little "city collection" K12 micra when it was a run-out, before the next (K13) model was released. Loaded to the gills with features: - 6 airbags, 6 CD player (stacker), electric windows, electric mirrors, A/C, alloy wheels etc. Discounted due to run-out as well as being the previous year's stock. We got a "Tokyo silver" model (it… Read more

was either that or pink), which is actually more of a bronze than silver. This colour is attractive, and hide the dirt very well. It is a normally aspirated 1.4L EFI transversely mounted 4 cylinder petrol, hooked up to a 4 speed automatic gearbox and FWD. It has been with us for 7 years now and clocked 30,000km this month (!). Fuel consumption is reasonable. By this I mean its OK, but could certainly be better for such a small light car with a 1.4L EFI motor. The cause is probably the lack of an extra cog in the gearbox. Average fuel consumption is ~8.5L/100km in predominantly stop start driving, but we have seen 9-10L/100km on more than one occasion. Some freeway use sees it come down to about 6.5-7L/100km. The motor is willing, but a little gruff. Smooth enough if you are gentle with the throttle, but vocal when you accelerate hard and the auto kicks down a cog. Freeway use is entirely possible, but road-noise can be a little intrusive, and the roof mounted aerial whistles a bit at freeway speeds. The road noise improved when we replaced the original Dunlop tires with Bridgestones. Fit and finish, and the quality of materials is decent for an entry level car. Little hidey-holes and cup-holders all over including drawers under the front seats come in handy. The seating is firm but fairly comfortable, Larger people like me (188cm) have enough leg room if the seat is pushed back, but I tend to place all my weight on my ischial tuberosities (boney bits of your bum), unless you have a little more padding ;) , rather than distribute the weight onto your thighs due to the slightly knees-up driving position. The steering wheel is adjustable for height, but not reach, but falls easily to hand. My wife at 165cm has no complaints. The cloth seats are quite hard wearing, stain resistant, and easy to clean. There is a reasonably comfortable driver's arm-rest that can fold down.

The good: 1. Never left us stranded on the side of the road. 2. Starts first time (almost) every time (unless the battery is flat :) - more on that later). 3. Tiny turning circle is great for city and cramped car parks. Its ridiculously easy to drive. 4. A/C works well in the heat (but there are no rear air outlets). 5. It's cute. I mean it looks at you with those round "eyes" and makes you want to bring it indoors to let it sleep in the kitchen like a pet. You might get emotionally attached to this car, which is probably why we still have ours.

The bad: 1. Services are every 6 months/10,000km. And they are not cheap either. Nissan dealerships are particularly expensive, so after the warranty period was over we took it elsewhere. The car was used predominantly as a school shuttle for Mum and our 2 kids, and never accumulated more than 5,000km/y so having to service it every 6 months or 2,500km to avoid voiding the warranty was painful. The cabin air filter (in particular) and other genuine Nissan parts are unreasonably expensive. 2. It's tiny (this is a pro and a con depending on your needs). There is enough room for 4 adults, but the boot is very small. If you have kids, you can fit 2 in the back comfortably, but wont get 3 child seats in the back no matter how hard you try. (I guess if you have 3 kids you would be looking elsewhere for transport, but kids have friends that need a ride every once in a while...). On that subject, the anchorage points for the child seats are on the rear boot lip, so the straps come over the backrest, down to the rearmost lip of the boot, making it difficult to get stuff in there. Forget about trying to get a normal pram in there if you have 2 child seats anchored. 3. There is no clock...actually there is a digital one in the audio unit (that took us a while to figure out), but you have to press a button to see the time. I guess this is no big deal, but a little annoying, and the paint on the button is now worn off. 4. Rain water accumulates on top of the front shock absorber mounts in the engine compartment, causing the nuts and bolts to rust. Check this if you have one yourself, or are buying a pre-loved one. Easy to paint with some rust converter and spray with tectoyl (wax) to prevent it from progressing, but goes unnoticed unless looked for. 5. Batteries seem to last a maximum of 3 years before requiring replacement. We have replaced the battery twice now, and on the last service have been told that the current one is on its way out. It's not that we bought the cheapest battery, the first one was a Panasonic, the next a Bosch etc. On reflection, this may be due to the short distances driven. 6. The dreaded "amber-light-of-doom" (Check engine light) lit up prompting an unscheduled visit to the workshop, but no fault could be found. Fortunately it never left me stranded despite the light coming on, and drove normally allowing me to drive it to the mechanic rather than hitching a ride on a flat-bed truck.

UPDATE (Jan 2018): the check engine light lit up again a few times since. The car would not accelerate / go into "limp mode" until I pulled over, turned it off and restarted. Would then drive normally, but engine light would remain on. The problem was subsequently traced to a fault in the accelerator pedal position sensor (fault code P2138). Replacing the throttle pedals assembly (sensor not available individually) for $209 + 1.5h labour has fixed the problem.

So, in summary: It's a good little car, easy to drive, reliable, safe and comfortable. Fuel efficiency is acceptable, but service costs are a little on the high side if serviced at the dealership . Would make an excellent first car, and is a practical city run-around, not incapable of making a longer journey if required. My wife has "outgrown" the little micra as we have added a few kids to the brood, but it has remained in the family rather than being traded in on a bigger car, and I still drive it to work infrequently.

UPDATE (Nov 2021): We still have the car. Wow! I never thought it would stay in our family this long. I had considered selling it last year, but my daughter has her eye on it now and wants to learn how to drive in it. 12y later it has only 55,000km on the odometer. The paint on the roof is a little sunburned but no major issues since the last update, just the usual servicing, tyres, battery etc. The last service was a little more costly as the automatic gearbox oil required replacing.

UPDATE (June 2022): Yup, still going. Just over 60,000 km now. Thermostat decided not to open anymore causing the Micra to overheat and gifting me with a flat bed ride to the workshop by the friendly RACQ. Inexpensive to fix ($150), but the fan also wouldn't activate which meant replacing the radiator and fan (apparently only comes as a unit) too (another $750).

Fun to drive – This is a fun car to drive and cheap on petrol. I had an automatic, bought it second hand for in 2017. Luckily it was a bargain as one year and a half later the alternator failed and it cost me $800 to get it fixed! Car only had 65.000. Maybe I was just unlucky. My micra was black and paint was fading as well. Despite those negative aspects I did like the car. It was pretty reliable Show details

Fuel efficient – I have a 2016 Nissan Micra, costs about $60 to fill and the tank lasts me 8 days driving to work 2 hrs per day. My previous car was costing me a lot more. I have never had an issue with this car and the purchase price was very reasonable.  Show details

Beep beep – This is a great little run about. So good on fuel.I fill up 1 time every 2weeks at the cost of $60-$70 I do heaps of driving to and from work, kids schools rugby training to only mention some. Could be a little more roomy but all in all comfy enough.Nice boot size to hold all the goodies too.  Show details

Perfect (almost) – My first car and still going strong after 5 years. Good handling and great manuevering esp. turning. For a small car, it is quite spacious. Had 2 major problems so far. First was the wheel bearing broke off overnight while parked in the garage. Still under warranty, so got it fixed for free. Second problem was transmission problem. Whirring… Read more

noise whenever speed increase, like a plane taking off. Also got it fixed during warranty period.

Bad thing is that the warranty is only 3 years from Nissan dealership, have to pay more for extended warranty.

Decent car, not perfect – We have the 1.4l Nissan Micra and it is - pretty - good but nothing special. The seats are not too comfortable and the interior is a little cheap feeling. That said we bought the cheapest car we could with the lowest kilometres. I love the up-to-date bluetooth stereo - no cords are necessary. Though this feature works much better with an iPhone… Read more

compared to Android. The car is a little slow to respond when I put the foot on the accelerator but has enough power to make it up hills. The drive is pretty ok, and the turn circle is great, making it so easy to park in small spaces. It has everything we need for a city run around.

Great little car but unsafe if crashed – Great fuel economy, easy handling and runs smoothly. The boot is big enough for myself and I don't have any family members. I drive around alone most of the time or with my partner and it saves me lots of petrol driving a small car! Never had an issue with it at all. However, I got into a car accident recently and the car was a total… Read more

wreckage! the impact wasn't that big (cars going at 50-60km/h) but the car body certainly didn't hold up very well. It was written off as the damages were too severe beyond repairs. After the accident, i seriously consider my safety on the roads.

It is cheap, small and reliable. But will it hold up in a bigger car crash at all? Im a little afraid of driving small cars on the freeway now when cars are zipping by above 100km/h. So something to really consider.

Love It. Brilliant for the City – Shame the car is no longer made. But thankfully there are second hand ones around. I brought mine second hand two years ago (at ten years old) and simply cannot fault it for my needs. I do not want a fast super charged turbo car. I need a less powerful slower car that is safe to drive and easy to handle and control. I have never lost control of… Read more

it, whereas I have seen a lot of inexperienced drivers lose control of more powerful cars. The Micra is super easy to park in, especially reverse parking. It squeezes into small spaces, so perfect for city and inner city living. One of the best things about it, is the turning circle. Pretty much turns back on itself, and a three point turn is rarely ever needed. The "attack" alarm is great. Never needed to scare an intruder off, but used it many a time when in a multi storey carpark and forgotten what row I was in. The alarm is highly sensitive and a turbo car revving its engine nearby can easily set it off. Not great at 3am with passing traffic, but at least nobody can break into it without me knowing. The armrest is a bit odd and I cannot use when driving, but if parked it is actually useful for resting. I learnt to drive in this car and with its excellent all round visibility (great for clear view when driving in rain), I always felt comfortable and safe on the road. Now driving it as my first car and love it. I travel around 80kms a day to and from work. Economical on petrol too. People make fun of me for having a slower and less powerful car, but I don't care what those nitwits say. I LOVE this car.

Great first car – Got it for my 16th birthday. Pros: I’m almost 25 and it’s still with me! Really fuel economic, cheap to run and generally cheap to service. People make fun of me for having it but at the end of the day I get the last laugh due to how cheap and reliable it is. Generally quiet car (unless AC on). You would rarely see the steering wheel vibrate.… Read more

It’s like a very quiet hum usually. Surprisingly spacious on the inside. Can fit surfboards/nipper boards in the passenger seat if you put the seat down. Also have fit aquariums/snake tanks in the car with no issues before. Amazing turning circle. Very rarely have to 3 point turn in a small street when doing a u-turn. Large back window, and the side windows are completely horizontal (not slanted upwards towards the back like many cars), thus making it really easy to reverse park and see out the back window.

Cons: The belt squeaks when the AC is running. Takes a long time to hit 100kph. Can get dangerous when trying to merge on freeways etc., or for defensive driving. Sometimes slow to change gears. On many occasions I have had to put the “pedal to the plastic” for about 5 seconds before the next gear kicks in.

Other comments: very sensitive accelerator and brake.

Really good car – I'm driving my Micra 2009 for almost 6 years now bought when it was 44kms and now it is 145kms. No issues at all, very economical in petrol and even used it for long drives like ( 7hrs ). I recommend it. Show details

Great economic little car – Very economical, reliable and easy to maintain. It works well for a single mom with one child. I have never had an issue with the car at all and I live in rural Australia. I have ensured that the services are carried out each time and this has meant that the car has never had any issues.  Show details

Good cheap car! – I have owned a Nissan Micra since 2008 and have been nothing but impressed, I have never broken down or had a flat battery is the 10 years I have owned it. The cars turning circle is so great, it can literally turn around on itself. For the price of this car I am blown away  Show details

The Magnificent Micra – Excellent turning circle, easy manual transmission, plenty of grunt from the 1.5Ltr engine. Oodles of comfortable interior room, easy to get in & out - higher that other cars in this class. Easy on petrol, servicing costs are low - only serviced once a year. It's a treat to drive & hasn't missed a beat, is completely reliable to date.  Show details

Go's good – Really liked a zippy earlier model when travelling in 1997. Bought a 2013 model and it never disappoints. I live in the mountains and it is actually quite high off the ground compared to other small cars. Really gutsy ( 1.5 L) up the mountain and find power is not an issue even with the air con on. Well priced on services. Back wiper really good on mountain weather. Cant fault it.  Show details

Still very functional after 9 years – Small car with very valuable price and energy efficiency. Really saves money when you pay for the petrol. Very nice when driving around city as it's easy to park and crawl around the busy roads. Never had any issue after purchased. Off course you go to service every half year.  Show details

Didn't let me down, ever! – It's a 1.2 engine so it is very cheap to run. I live in the city and it's very convenient to use especially when in need of parking. There's nothing to dislike about interior even the leg room. It looks small on the outisde but you'll be surprised on what can fit in inside. Chairs at the back are foldable which provides more room when you need it. ABS works wonders too especially on rainy days.  Show details

Excellent car – The car's cylinder is only 1.2 liters, but it has enough power, the appearance is very beautiful, comfortable operation, the passenger seat has a humane design ideal for female to drive.. Because of the small cylinder it is fuel-efficient, as the second car for family is a very good choice.  Show details

Micra future Classic – The Nissan Micra K12 will be a future Classic as the shape goes in my opinion way better shape than K13'S.Black tints mags bigger tyres/wheels. Let down is the 3 star rating the 1400cc engine reminds me of the old mini of the 1959 drivers car nippy gets the parking spots. Tray under passenger seat space saver is a negative. Ours is 10 yrs old still going strong serviced regular only had a battery Show details

I love this car – Best car I have ever had. Reliable, gas saver, perfect. I feel very safe with my family in the car. It is small but spacious. Love how it looks also. I recommend this car to everyone. If you are looking for a dependable, long lasting, gas saving car, this is it!  Show details

Nissen Micra – Driving is smooth and gear change easy, leg room at rear is a little short, but let room in front is adequate, running costs are very reasonable, for town running, there is little or not noise, extreemly pleased with running. seating is comfortable air conditioner works fine and vents are easy to operate.  Show details

Nice little car – runs perfectly. easy to park at shopping centres or tight spaces. Some nice little luxury items as well like sensors and auto rear mirrors closing. Even though it's small, it still feels like there is plenty of space. it has a convenient hand rest on the left for the driver as well.  Show details

Nice little car – I have my little Nissan micra for 5 years now. Still love it and enjoy every single time I drive it. Just so much saving on fuels and so easy to maintain. It was a great value too. With this size of the car... just super easy to park too. I do not have kids so it's just perfect space for myself.  Show details

Economical & reasonably priced – It is a cute small car good for first car buyers and 45-50 dolars will fill the tank app 480-500 km and is a reliable car the downsides of the car is its not made for speed so freeways can be tricky as the car starts to push itself at 100km also you cant push the seats too far back as its a small car and only the front seats are electric windows.  Show details

Good car for a first time driver – Quiet little car which lacks power but gets the job done. Very, very easy to drive, however going up steep hills (especially when stopped at a red light) requires a lot more effort than a typical car. Obviously has less legroom due to it being a smaller car, although it hasn't been too much of an issue. Car lacks aux port and bluetooth which can… Read more

be an issue if you are wanting to play your own music.

The car has been very reliable. Have only needed to take it in for regular servicing.

Great little car – Great little car. We bought new in 2013 and got a great price. Used to run all over Brisbane with kids sports/ school and work. Just hitting 50000km. Like others, Nissan servicing is way over priced and 'add on pressure' at service time is annoying. Have my doubts that some items were actually changed by Nissan, eg air filter. As soon as warranty… Read more

finished went to an independent and costs halved. Enjoy driving this car, the auto works quite well for such a tiny motor, the air con is excellent, even on the 40 degree days recently. Get 8l per 100 consistently, which is not too bad considering driving style. No problems so far, quality is fine for the price. We did see what the trade in value was at the 3 year mark, was offered 50% by dealer. We decided to keep it and will pass it on to kids, currently being used as a learners car as well.

Little Winner! – I got the Nissan Micra as an 18th birthday present (yes I got the pink one) it is a great little car, very economical, cute and has one of the best turning circles imaginable. For such a small car it is very fuel efficient and surprisingly has a load of room when the seats are pushed forward in the car. I love this little car, I haven't had any issues since the day I bought it. Perfect First Car!  Show details

Horrendous resale value – Bought our Micra new last September. It's got 10,000 km on the clock and has been serviced once by the Nissan dealer at Bundamba. Just took it back as we're interested in trading it on either a Swift or Polo (same dealership sells all these brands). They offered us $6500 for it! We were gobsmacked. An 11 month old car with low kms on the clock… Read more

and it is worth just 40% of what it was listed for last year. The car goes okay but if resale value matters to you then you would probably be better off looking beyond the Nissan brand.

Great road trip – Took the 2011 micra to Tassie from Adelaide for 4 weeks. Behaved beautifully the whole trip. 720k per tank full. Used third gear a lot in Tassie - heaps of hills, but did the whole island, including west coast and Cradle Mountain without a complaint. Love this car!  Show details

Bad choice – Worst car I've ever bought...and I've had several. drives ok for a little while but can't do the distance. Drove from Coffs to Canberra and engine light comes on and she starts to struggle a bit going up hill and buy the time I get to destination she's lacking power. Take it to Nissan and they say nothing wrong and recode to turn off engine… Read more

light. 3 days later engine light back on and again lacking power and take back to Nissan and still they can't find anything wrong. Drive back to Coffs and she seems ok and then it happens again! Engine light comes on and after a while she has trouble climbing the slightest hill. Buy the time I get to Coffs I have the pedal to the floor to get her uphill doing 60 k. I want my mobey back!!!

Love my Betsy Bug – I have the 2009 bug eye version. Absolutely love it . It has heaps of personality. I looked for 6 months to find something that ticked every box and the micra did. Had mine now nearly 5 years and still love it. The only problem it didn't come with a footrest and the carpet is worn. Other than that love it.

Expensive repairs – We have a 2010 Micra which started off with what was thought to be a minor acceleration problem. Wrong. Throttle body attached to the manifold claged up and being a sealed unit cant be repaired. After $630 wortth of guess work Nissan finally came to the conclusion that it was the throttle body that needs replacing. $1800 thank you + Labour. this is one vehicle that will be gone once it has been repaired. No more Nissans for this family.

Nice little car, perfect for the city – Nice car, very reliable. We bought 2012 TLi model, 1.5 engine. Easy to drive, It's really value for money. Also good performance on road trip. Really recommended.  Show details

Quality car – I bought the frog-eyed version 4 years ago and have used it regularly. One thing that strikes me in this car is it's quality. For a car that size, it punches far above its class in the build quality and overall engineering. I had driven it in difficult weather several times and it had no hiccups. From the day of delivery until now it had not had a… Read more

single issue - fires up every time regardless of weather and runs. Comfortably fits four and no feeling of lack of space. The chassis handles very very well - shows off the Clio DNA. This is a made in japan unit but I heard they no longer make it in Japan! Overall it's a solid machine but I cannot say the same for the newer micra which seems to have changed a lot. Quality, reliability, performance, fuel-efficiency, handling, features, ultra-low cost of ownership