[W.A.G.7]

Hi Friends,

Here is my initial ownership report of the Micra. I had already taken a test drive of many cars and finally fell in for the Micra. The experiences are put up in a different thread here: (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...ked-micra.html) so I won't go into the details of that. Now lets keep this post short and sweet. So less words and let the pictures do the talking.As mentioned earlier, I did the full payment on Saturday 24th July 2010. True to his word the dealer gave me delivery of a brick red Micra XE on 29th July 2010. No other freebies offered, but he gave me floor mats with the car. I also got remote central locking fitted before delivery. On 29th the salesman gave me a call and said that my car was ready and prepared for delivery; so we went to the showroom and got it home.

The registration was done on Friday 30th and number plate fitted on Saturday 31st. After taking the car home on Thursday, I immediately took it to Carax on Saturday for ICE'ing and fitting tid-bits here and there. Got a Kenwood KDC U346 head unit with JBL GTS256c front components and Kenwood 6" co-axials for the rear, lemon flavour perfume, Swift wheel caps and a loud Bosch twin tone horn. (Yeah, the original horn that comes with the car is very very tinny!)

Initial experience: A very practical city car and as mentioned in the Micra brochure, it really gets you in and out of tight spaces at the turn of the steering wheel. The electronic power steering is a breeze to use in the city and the Micra manges to scoot in and out of gaps in traffic. Of course, steering feels overly assisted and feedback is less compared to the OHC that I have already (Esp. so, after driving the OHC, which is truly a driver's car) I haven't ventured on the highway yet so I can't say about the feedback on highways. But it does its job well and makes parking in tight spaces so very easy.

Power is sufficient enough to go about town, however on steeper inclines you feel the need to downshift to 2nd gear. Apart from that, no other grouse. The car is doing very well and in 3 days has already clocked ~190km. When I got it from the showroom the odometer read 35km and today as I write this, it is reading 220km. I hope to clock in more kms this month so I will add those experiences later. (The Nissan showroom itself is 15km (one way) from my home.)

Interior space is one big plus point and there is lots of head room, knee room and shoulder space. As GTO rightly said, the black soft fabric seats feel much better than the light grey ones on the top end model. The rear seat has decent back support though it is very flat without any contouring. This means that you totally loose on the under thigh support though the rear seat is wide and big enough to seat 3 people comfortably without squeezing. I would have preferred the rear seat from the XL or XV version which has atleast some form of contouring. Again no head rests at the rear (this one being the base version), while the front seats make do with integrated head rests. Driver's seat height adjust would be welcome, though you have a clear view of the road ahead and don't need to strain your neck to see where your car is going.

Fit and finish is better than the pre-production models which were showcased to reporters and panel gaps are small and consistent. Paint quality is one of the best I have seen and interiors are also made of better quality plastics. The small dicky in front of the left front passenger is placed very low and near to the floor but is quite deep; so you can fit in 1 car manual, 1 first aid kit, 1 pair of spare light bulbs and the manual for the music system. Boot space is also adequate enough for once in a while usage.

Service intervals are also large; meaning 1st checkup is at 1000km and after that service at every 3 months or 5000km whichever is earlier. The 1st 3 services are free while the remaining are paid.

About Nissan experience: Very professional people and very good experience at the showroom. Even though I delayed them by a week or so, they never even once complained or said anything about it. Everything was attended to very perfectly and the showroom people were very courteous. Even the sales invoice and other receipts were written out in clear legible handwriting (Isn't it strange, that they didn't have printed receipts; but only handwritten ones?) without any mistake or scratching. For the Pune guys & gals, if you happen to go to the showroom, ask for Mr. Sachin Mahajan (the salesman who attended to me). Though a bit rough while talking he is a good person at heart and does his job extremely well. Also do meet Mr. Hiten Somaiyya who is the sales manager, and also very knowledgeable.

Next plan: Since my budget is almost exhausted now, I plan to add in alloy wheels, seat covers and sunfilm in the coming 2-3 months. Tyres are thin and upsize is definitely recommended. Also upgrade to a better sounding horn immediately. The stock one is an absolute whimper on the road and apart from the driver no one happens to hear it!

Enough said for now, lets get started with the pictures. The last 3-4 days it has been raining and overcast in Pune, so I couldn't go out for a photo shoot. Also the car needs a wash badly; after driving in the Pune rains, but hey, I am only too excited to keep driving than thinking of washing it. When the weather turns up bright and sunny I will add more brighter and nicer pictures (also the car will have had a bath by then!) but for now these will do.

AC Console


Back view. Note the thin tires


Classy badging


Front controls


Radio antenna and roof design


Flat seat at the rear


Wide footwell and well spaced pedals. Sorely missing a dead pedal.


Front view. The overcast skies and dull atmosphere don't do justice to the brick red color though


No power Windows


Good headlamp. Notice the wide gap in the bonnet and the bumper.

[W.A.G.7]

Kenwood head unit.


Front view. Plan to install fog lamps also


Rear view. Note the black handles and the Swift wheelcaps


Boot space Ok for once in a while usage


Integrated headrest for the front seats in the base version


jack and toolkit well packaged in the spare wheel


LHS tail lamp assembly. Look closely and you will see the reverse lamp


RHS tail lamp assembly. Look closely and you can see that the 3rd compartment for the reverse lamp is dummy. There is no bulb on the RHS


High mounted stop lamp bright and powerful.


Boot opens large enough and even tall persons can stand without crouching. Handle to pull down lid is a nice touch

[shantyrocks]

hey congratz buddy!

The first micra on the forum!
Car looks nice in red.
reminds me slightly of the a-star front on.
From the pics one can make out that the underthigh support for rear seats is not that great.
Do update your thread regularly with your ownership experiance.

Bombayites - any micra on road yet?

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by shantyrocks

hey congratz buddy!

The first micra on the forum!
Car looks nice in red.
reminds me slightly of the a-star front on.
From the pics one can make out that the underthigh support for rear seats is not that great.
Do update your thread regularly with your ownership experiance.

Bombayites - any micra on road yet?

Thanks! Will put up more pictures of it in sunshine though. When I did the photo session, the light was already very low so I had to use the flash. Red color looks too good once the car is washed and polished.

[W.A.G.7]

This is the last post of the day containing the last set of pics.

Dummy space for cigarette lighter/accessory socket


Nice big chrome logo. Wish they had put a similar chrome one on the steering column also


Front end which shows wide air dam


Plastics sturdy and built to last


No tachometer


Odometer showing 178km in the morning


Perfume


Power steering light


Cute remote which came with the head unit


Large easy to read dial of the speedo


Standard key crank. No push button start.

[icar]

Hei WAG7, Congrats on your new ride. Wow you are the first Micra owner on TBHP, that's
a rare honor. Wish you many many miles of happy drives. Looking forward for more pics of your little red cutie!

[MutantX]

WAG7, wonderful. Good looking car. Congrats on the first micra on Tbhp. Enjoy your ride and happy motoring.

[Abes]

Congratulations mate. Wish you a very happy safe motoring.

Reminds me of the time I bought my Nissan Tiida.

[blackasta]

Congrats WAG7 - first micra review on the forum I presume.
IMO the rear seats are too bench like, and the steering cover fit and finish could have been better.
Any specific reason you went for 'swift' wheelcaps? Any other mods planned?

[xingamazon]

Congrats on your new buy. Being one among the firsts in the forum is indeed an honor.

Do keep updated on the car features like
The handling and driving pleasure with the car.
The FE figures. etc.

You mentioned no cigrette lighter is that only on your variant or is that same with all variants.

[salbin]

Congrats W.A.G.7 on your new Micra - the first one in TBHP.
Wish you a happy, exciting and safe driving experience with your Micra.

[kiku007]

Congratulations W.A.G.7. Wishing you many more happy miles!

The slot below the CD Unit can be used as a storage space. Not nice the way it looks now.
What is with the rear seats? No contours whatsoever! Flat;literally flat!

[mjothi]

Congrats sir. Guess this is the first ownership thread of Micra in T-BHP right? Congrats again.

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Boot opens large enough and even tall persons can stand without crouching. Handle to pull down lid is a nice touch

Nice one. I have been wondering why no one gives this. Will be really useful.

[MutantX]

The rear seats look like benches. Please let us know the rear seat experience. Certain things look bland. I would need to look at the car in person to understand certain positions and fitments.

[poloman]

Congrats for the car. But the interiors look bland and dated. The lack of adjustable head rest in the front and back is glaring.The chrome badges missing from steering wheel speaks volumes of cost cutting.