New Nissan Micra.

I'll start with the images to show you what I'm talking about.

What you see is the old fashioned and conservatively styled Micra. The reason why they didn't restyle the car as opposed to what they have done is because the car has to appeal to over 160 countries. Unfortunately it leaves us with a car that looks spectacularly dull! The truth, I suspect, behind the styling is that it's cheap to do. After all Nissan have already released a previous version of the Micra that looks similar to this, if older. I wouldn't mind guessing that this design is the most practical design too. Even so I cannot imagine this car having the same aesthetic impact in the UK as the outgoing model.

To the right you can see the interior. I can tell you first hand that the materials are as premium as a Trevelodge and offer about as much visual pleasure as dung heaps! On the plus side the interior is well laid out and functional. It is also very airy and spacious inside, even for my six foot frame. It's not very imaginative though and let me tell you, in todays supermini market, this sticks out like a sore thumb. Today you can be treated to the Citroen DS3 or a Fiat 500. The Suzuki Swift also has a nicer interior but let's not forget the Koreans either. Hyundai have really come on leaps and bounds in the interior department as well! As a result I doubt the Micra will fare well.

But what about what you can't see? Is there any solace to be found in the way it goes? No. It only has a 79bhp three cylinder 1.2l motor to power the top of the range model. Modern day toasters make do with more power than that! And yes the performance figures reflect this lack of power. Nissan claim it can do 0-60 in 13.7 seconds which I would say is accurate but they then say that it'll do 106mph. That I'm not so sure of. Certainly doesn't feel powerful enough for that. I'm not going to call Nissan liars (becuase they aren't) but I will say that figure is optimistic!Maybe you'll see the 58mpg combined cycle figure as consolation and with the prices of fuel ever on the rise it'll become bigger consolation as you go along!

As for handling, I can tell you it's a mixed bag. On the one hand it rides nicely on it's 15inch wheels but on the other hand, it's wallowy, soft and unengaging in the corners. Remember what I said two blogs ago about lack of steering feel? Well take note because this car has literally no feel at all. The steering is painfully uncommunicative and is, in no uncertain terms, dead! That's probably not a huge point against the car because I doubt many owners are going to drive it hard. No. Instead they'll probably pootle along at 40mph and in that vain the Micra isn't bad.

What's more is that there is ample space in the back and in the boot. So if you're going for practicality then this Micra doesn't need to be crossed off your shortlist, as it would have been in the past.

Unfortunately there's one more snag. The top of the range model will set you back £9,600 pounds. That's a lot for what the car is. For that price you could get the new DS3, the Fiat 500 and for about 3k less the Hyundai i10.

Objectively speaking the Micra isn't a terrible car. Subjectively? It's boring and that is why I wouldn't buy one. But if you don't mind the dullness then go right ahead and give it a look.