Decent Car. Review on Nissan Micra XV CVT

First however, a quick look at the changes under the skin. The automatic variant will only be available with a 1.2-litre petrol engine. The gearbox, as you may well expect from Nissan, is not an ordinary automatic but a continuously variable transmission(CVT); essentially the same as the one in the Nissan Sunny but tweaked to suit this car. Engineers have made software changes to the ECU tuning to help it adapt to its new role in the lighter car. Nissan is very keen to point out that this X-Tronic CVT is very fuel efficient, and claim a five percent improvement, even over a conventional five-speed manual. Normally, a traditional torque convertor-based automatic is considerably less efficient than a manual. Other changes under the skin include improved sound insulation and tweaked suspension settings to improve the dynamics of the car.

The facelift is quite substantial too – we think those pulled-back headlamps, the bigger grill with its signature chrome bar and the deeper, more aggressive chin seriously improve the new Micra’s appeal. The old Micra was a bit feminine, with its soft, rounded front-end but that clearly is no longer an issue. The new headlamps have also brought in some sheet-metal changes – the front fenders are new as is the bonnet. You also get new alloy wheels, while the rear gets LED tail-lamps, a new rear bumper and a plastic add-on for the tail gate lip.