first drive
2015 Nissan Micra:
An affordable car for the masses
by
David Taylor
I
n the interests of full disclosure, I like sub-compact cars.
Perhaps appreciate is a better word. I also own one as an
everyday runabout.
The category is often misunderstood, but to be real, for a
high-percentage of people, purchasing or even leasing a brand
new small car is an affordable way to go to achieve the ability
to travel from A to B, in a generally reasonably economical
manner and, you need not sacrifice space for cargo or even
passengers. And if you happen to manufacturer this same
car as a hatchback (5- or even 3-door), in Canada where the
hatchback is king, you will achieve modest and sustainable
sales volume.
4
THE DRIVER
Slide into the cabin of many of the hatchback sub-compacts
available in the market today and you will be very pleasantly
surprised. While you will likely not remove break dancing
in a car off your bucket list, there’s often ample room to
be comfortable and not feel claustrophobic. Let’s face it,
automotive engineers and designers have been accomplishing
this for years in Europe and now that gas prices show less
sign of abating in Canada, sub-compacts are now popular and
attainable without necessarily breaking the bank.
Back in February of this year on Media Day, PR flaks at
the Canadian International Auto Show were sidling up to
automotive writers prior to Nissan Canada announcing