Nissan Micra X-Shift - Old wine in new bottle?
A couple of day back Nissan has launched a special edition of the Micra to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the car in India. The company will only sell 750 units of the limited edition, termed the X-shift. This special variant – XL which will be just below the top variant XV.
But is this like serving an old wine in a new bottle??
Let’s find out …
Since, its launch Micra has not enjoyed ground breaking sales. It has always been an ‘also there’ car in its segment. The segment is dominated by hatchback stalwarts like Maruti Swift and Hyundai Grand i10. Also, competing in the same segment are the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo etc.
As per the company press release, the CVT equipped XL aims at making the Xtronic CVT automatic technology more accessible to a larger audience.
The car is priced at Rs. 6,39,000 ex-Mumbai , whereas the top model is priced at Rs. 7,04,000.
What is popularly believed is that the Micra is a cute city car… sometimes too cute which works against it. Preferred more by women than men.
On the outside, the there are no changes except the ones done at the time of the mid life facelift in 2013. At that time, changes included new headlights and tail lights. This created a very weird combination of a car which is trying to look cute but aggressive !!
This time around, the car continues to be powered by 3-cylinder, 75bhp, 1.2-litre petrol and a 4-cylinder, 63bhp, 1.5-litre diesel motor. Make note, only the Petrol version is fitted with CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). The diesel version continuous to have a 5 speed gearbox.
Small changes for this limited edition include :
o Reverse Park Assist / Parking Sensors
o Exhaust Finisher (silencer end cap)
o Side Body Graphics
o Black Wrap on Roof
o Silver Finishers (door handle / arm rest trims)
o Floor Mats
o LED Scuff Plates
o ABS
o Brake Assist
o Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
o New Steering Wheel (similar to Nissan Sunny’s)
So on the whole, one could say that the company has launched a new variant , which is 1 lac cheaper. But, first look says that there is nothing much special about this limited edition.
Stay tuned for a more detailed review later on !!
- Automobile Analyst
Jainee P. Gordhandas