Some of the Nissan Micras that are being exported to European countries from the company’s manufacturing unit at Oragadam, Chennai are facing a technical glitch that has forced the company to make some minor changes in the car.
Reports suggest that there was a weird noise coming from the engine bay when the ignition is switched on in extreme cold weather. To solve this problem, an oil has to be changed.
Nissan says that there will not be a recall of cars as this is not a safety issue. The company said there is no reliability issue as the problem was identified during the technical checks itself, even before the cars reached the European dealers.
Around 2500-3500 cars were sent back to Chennai to resolve the issue. Between October & November the company has exported 15,000 Made In India Micras and the company has said that this issue will not change their export plans.
The styling of the last generation Nissan Micra can best be described as ‘girly’. There is no offense in a car looking feminist, but when a manufacturer is aiming to sell the car in 160 markets worldwide, it can’t offer a car that only the fairer sex would like to be seen in one. That is the main reason why Nissan has made the fourth generation Micra’s styling appeal to both the sexes.
At first glance, the front of the car is bold. Not the sharp, edgy kind of bold, but a unique, subtle, soft refreshing kind of bold.
The soft curves on the front give a very pleasing look to the Micra. The narrow ‘grille’ of the car somewhat gives it its cheerful character. Only the top end variant XV gets a horizontal chrome lining cutting across the grille. The Nissan badge sits proudly above the grille.
The side profile of the new Micra looks very similar to the old gen Micra except for the rear end of the roof, which doesn’t slope down but extends a bit and rises gently and then falls, which results in an integrated rear spoiler. The 14 inch wheels fill the wheel wells sufficiently and there wouldn’t be a necessity to beef up the tyres to make the car look better.
The roof of the car features a unique boomerang styled ridge which is more of a technical addition than a cosmetic feature. This boomerang shaped ridge increases the stiffness of the roof and this makes the Micra’s roof lighter and stiffer.
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Though the variants they are talking about is still under study, the first vehicle to roll out of their under-construction Chennai plant will be a hatchback (Micra/March) and immediately followed by a sedan based on it.
At present, Nissan sells the Teana and the X-Trail which are fully imported vehicles that bumps up its prices. On the 16th of this month, revamped versions of both these cars will be launched in a bid to improve on the 120 vehicles they sold last year.
In our view, the rest of the variants could be hatchbacks and sedans – cars like the Versa could fit the bill, but only after detailed study can the demand for equipment, engines and features be understood.
