The season of the big monsters trying to shrink seems to be coming to an end and a new era begins. We heard of the Logan trying to grow smaller to fit into the small car category. We had a few others following suit. Now, we have the smaller ones trying to growing bigger. The Polo-based sedan Vento was unveiled on July 6th. Today, we have info on the Nissan Micra sedan.
We have the spy pics of the Micra-based sedan that’s due for a launch next year. The new car will be pitted against the Honda City and the Volkswagen Vento. The pictures you see here are the first spy pics of that car. The Nissan Micra sedan has been codenamed L02B for now and was spied testing in China.
There’s something unique about this car. It certainly hasn’t followed the design techniques of the Tata Indigo Manza or the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire. From the pictures, it looks like the new Nissan Micra sedan is a complete redesign. The roofline seems to have taken cues from the Teana and Altima. We can say that the rear end is a mini Teana. The foundation remains the same though. With these exteriors and the increased size, looks like the new car will also fight the Linea in addition to the Vento and City.
With the spy pics so impressive, we can also expect lavish interiors and a longer list of advanced equipment. The car may be strapped with a supercharged 1.2 litre engine that powers the Nissan Micra. The second option would be a four-cylinder version of the same engine displacing close to 1600 cc. Nissan may strap the diesel variant of the sedan with 1.5L motor directly lifted from the Logan. It will possibly be tuned to enhance power output. The Logan engine is available in either 85 bhp or 105 bhp in Renault cars in Europe.
The Micra-based sedan seems to have borrowed the windshield, doors, hood, OVRMs and many other parts from the Micra. With an increased wheelbase, the car definitely looks large. The car is expected to be 4200-4390 mm long. It is believed to be 1690 mm wide and around 1490 mm high. That certainly means the interiors are larger with increased space for occupants.
The rear seat of the Micra happens to be a little cramped. Hope the car maker has thought of that while making the sedan. Nissan will have to make sure that the rear seat is comfortable. For the rest of it, the car sounds promising and Nissan would have to get the pricing right to make it a success in the country. The Micra-based sedan may make an entry during the second quarter of next year and will possibly be launched with both engines at the same time with the possibility of a CVT variant as well. The new car would be manufactured in India as well as Thailand.
