Nissan Micra XV D: 2500km Long Term Review

Sometimes driving fast to reach the destination sooner gives an immense sense of fulfilment. But on days when you have all the time in the world so to say, it is as much fun to try and extract the maximum efficiency from your car. And that was exactly what I had in mind when I made arecent trip to Pune onboard the Micra. Keeping throttle inputs to the minimum and ensuring that the speedometer is stuck to a constant speed as though it was on cruise control, the Micrareturned a brilliant efficiency of 20.9 kilometers to a litre of fuel in that tank full. The 1.5-litre diesel mill has proven to be extremely frugal time and again, so much that despite commuting on four wheels instead of two, the fuel bills aren’t drilling through my wallet.

What really helps in making the drive even more comfortable is its gearing. Well sorted, it is an absolute bliss to drive the Micra in city, to the extent that you can slot it in third or fourth and drive pretty much all day long. That said, although precise with the right gear throw, shifts are a little notchy. Aside from the gearbox, the ease in drive can also be attributed to the fact that the 160Nm of torque is made available at as low as 2000rpm.

Now with monsoons approaching, the Micra's suspension will be put to the test. We all know roads in Mumbai aren't very well made, and they only get worse in the monsoons. The good news is, the Micra's aptly setup suspension has been making easy work of all the rough and patched up roads without breaking a sweat so far. It's set up on the softer side, so mildly broken road or undulations at slower speeds is no problem. It's only when it goes through a biggish dent on the road that one can feel and hear the impact thud through. 

Overall though, the Micra has been a good companion so far and apart from a puncture that the car suffered very recently, it has been quite enjoyable. Watch this space for more updates on the Nissan Micra.