Nissan Micra Dig-S Acenta (From York Press)

Nissan Micra Dig-S Acenta

7:40am Friday 23rd December 2011 in Road Test By Steve Nelson

HOW does this sound for a challenge? Produce a supercharged petrol-engined car that can match similarly-sized diesel offerings for economy and CO2 emissions... and still put a smile on the driver’s face.

Mission impossible, you might say, but the engineers and designers at Nissan have achieved just that.

If, like me, you are averse to diesel engines in small cars, but grudgingly admit to the economic benefits they bring to the table, then the Micra DIG-S might just provide you with a satisfactory petrol alternative to the black stuff.

It not only has a CO2 emissions figure that dips just under the 100g/km mark but also has those characteristics of a petrol-engined car that will always win my vote, such as the freedom to rev, comparative quietness and smoother running.

Amazingly, Nissan have achieved this with not a wheezy one-litre engine but a supercharged version of the existing 1.2-litre three-cylinder unit.

Now the technical details behind this piece of engine wizardry are complex indeed and perhaps better left to the lecture theatre.

All you really need to know is that the DIG-S will easily outpace the standard car. It has 97bhp compared with 79bhp for the standard car, as well as an extra 26lb ft of torque, and lops two seconds off the 0-62mph time. And yet the official average fuel consumption figure is 65.7mpg.

This might leave you, like me, a little confused. But yes, the figures are all correct. The more powerful engine is greener, more fuel-efficient and yet has more get-up-and-go.

In every other way, this car offers the same Micra experience. When Nissan introduced this shape it created one of the first “cute”

superminis on the market and it remains more popular with the ladies than the gents. It is also able to attract custom from a spectrum of ages that stretches from teenager to senior citizen.

Step inside and the emphasis is on no-frills practicality: there are fewer of the semi-premium touches you might find elsewhere in the class, but you can still get a Micra with leather, climate control and a useful sat-nav and Bluetooth phone combination that should be enough gadgetry for anyone.

The driving experience matches up to the non-threatening looks. As learner drivers across the globe will know, a Micra always has a light clutch, easy steering and a slick gearchange, and when you’re concentrating on squeezing every mile out of a litre of petrol or grinding through obtrusive traffic, these things matter. The Micra also makes good use of its tiny footprint, with the big windows and slimmeddown cabin providing good interior space. A tight turning circle, light steering and good visibility help make it the complete city car package.

Micra has earned its loyal following thanks to a combination of qualities: it’s easy to drive and easy on the eye, inexpensive to own and always dependable. Indeed that legendary reliability is one reason why examples of all three previous generations of Micra remain so plentiful on our streets.

The Micra story began in late 1982 when, in Japan, Nissan introduced a replacement for the long-serving Datsun Cherry, and those qualities that saw it quickly find favour in the UK are still all present and correct.

With a £1,000 price premium over the non-supercharged version, the Micra DIG-S makes sense even before you sign on the dotted line.

With the potential saving of an extra ten miles-plus for every gallon of fuel, you could save 150 litres of fuel a year at a cheaper price as well as free road tax and congestion charge. That its diesel-powered rivals offer this advantage too is undeniable, but if diesel’s not your thing, now you have a choice.

The Micra comes in three trim levels – Visia, Acenta and Tekna – and the DIG-S engine is available in all three trims.

All models have electric power steering, six airbags, electric front windows, Bluetooth phone integration and the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) as standard.

Acenta adds 15-inch alloy wheels, climate control air conditioning and cruise control among other features, while the range-topping Tekna introduces technology seldom seen in bigger cars let alone a compact city car. As well as Nissan Connect, the combined satellite navigation and entertainment system, Tekna versions offer a glass roof covering the entire front half of the car and Parking Slot Measurement as standard. Parking Slot Measurement automatically measures potential parallel parking spaces advising drivers whether the Micra will fit or not. It’s a perfect feature for a city car.

Other Tekna items include rear parking sensors, automatic headlamps and wipers, electric folding and heated door mirrors and a drive computer. For added style, there’s also a stylish black and ivory trim option complete with heated front seats.

Fact file

PRICE: £12,150.

ENGINE: 1.2-litre petrol developing 97bhp and 105lb.ft of torque.

TRANSMISSION: five-speed manual driving the front wheels.

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph in 11.3 seconds; top speed 112mph.

ECONOMY: 65.7mpg combined.

CO2 RATING: 99g/km of CO2