Nissan Micra EV Review | A Welcome Addition to UK Roads…But Not Very Nissan-ish
Producing a new car from the starting block requires a lot of time and gazillions of cash. Taking it from a quick design sketch to the finished article rolling off the assembly line is no mean feat. No surprises, therefore, that car manufacturers are looking to share costs.
Consequently, we’re now seeing various alliances such as the Volkswagen Group (VW, Audi, Skoda, SEAT etc), Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Fiat etc) and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance which also includes Dacia, Infiniti and Alpine.
The latter group is summed up by the car you see here — the latest Nissan Micra.
Comparing the Micra and Renault 5
Apart from a few tweaks, this is a Renault 5, which is no bad thing because the R5 is excellent.
To be fair to Nissan, they’ve done a really good job of differentiating the two cars. The front lights, wheel arches and various bits of trim mean you’d easily tell them apart. The interior has also had some styling touches…but not very many!
Look under the skin, however, and the two cars are identical. They have the same power outputs, same batteries, same electric motors, same suspension. Again, this is no bad thing because the Renault 5 is a thoroughly well sorted car. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Both cars even kick off at the same price of £21,495.
And no, the latest Nissan Micra isn’t built by the guys in Sunderland. It’s built by les femmes and les hommes on the same assembly line in France as the Renault.
As for which you go for will probably come down to the different styling, whether you’re loyal to either Nissan or Renault, and if you’ve received good customer service from a particular dealer close to where you live…all of which are very valued reasons.
What’s the latest Nissan Micra like to drive and live with?
In short, it’s good to drive and very easy to love.
There are two power options which Nissan refers to as Standard Range and Extended Range. Standard Range means you get a 121bhp 40kWh battery, giving you a 0-60mph sprint time of 9.0 seconds and a range of 196 miles. Extended Range ups the ante with a bigger battery (148bhp 52kWh) and quickens the 0-60mph sprint time to 8.0 seconds, while a longer range is predicted to be 257 miles. This bumps up the price by £1,750, which I think is worth paying. You get longer mileage, fewer stops to top up the battery, and brisker performance. As for charging, a boost to the battery from 15-80% takes around half an hour.
Out on the road, the Micra is good to drive. The suspension, which Nissan had a part in tuning, just errs on the firm side, but the payoff is that the car handles nicely.
Trim Levels & Interior
Trim options are simple, as both power outputs are available with either Engage or Advance trim. Moving up to Advance trim in the Standard Range increases things by £2,000 or £2,750 with the bigger battery. If you want all bells and whistles, the bigger power output Micra can also be bought with Evolve trim, which costs £26,115 (July ’26).
So, what do you get for your money? Engage trim includes a 7-inch digital display for the driver and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen. There are rear parking sensors, intelligent cruise control, and plenty of safety equipment.
Move up to Advance and you now get sat nav, Google operating system, wireless phone charging, selection of driving modes, front parking sensors, steering wheel padel shifters to adjust brake regeneration including one pedal driving, rear view camera and a couple of extra speakers for improved audio. Evolve adds heated front seats, heated steering wheel, and a Harman/Kardon sound system. Incidentally, the driving modes don’t do much for the Micra, so I just left everything in Comfort mode. Sorted.
The interior looks good in a simplistic sort of way. It’s roomy up front where the seats are excellent, but the rear seats are a tad tight for adults. Nissan says this is a family car, so in fairness, the kids will be fine. There’s 326 litres of boot space, which is pretty decent for this size of car.
Which would I recommend?
I would certainly say the bigger battery is a must. You’d be perfectly happy with paying £23,245 for the car in the trim it comes with (Advance), but the additional £2870 for Evolve is probably worth it.
Oh, and Nissan has changed its warranty when it comes to its electric range — Micra, Leaf and Ariya. There’s a standard 3-year warranty, but get the car serviced by a Nissan dealer and you can increase the warranty to 6-years.
The Nissan Micra is a welcome addition to the UK EV motoring scene. It’s just a pity it wasn’t a bit more Nissanish.
words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Nissan
