Motors- 2011 Geneva Motor Show

The 2011 Geneva motor-show is in full swing and there is plenty of concepty tat that most people who have an interest in actual cars will have little or no interest in what-so-ever. My favorite example from Day 1 is Smart, who have produced this, the Smart Forspeed, which looks like the Smart Crossblade, but is however an electric car. Nothing wrong with that is there? You ask, and the answer is ‘No’ if I’m honest. However, what does irritate me/make me laugh, depending on my mood.

It’s not that it has a top speed of 75 mph from it’s 40 bhp worth of electric motor, or that it has no roof, or even that it follows the trend of using a smartphone or tablet instead of dials or a centre console.

No, what ticks me off about the Forspeed is that they’ve gone to the trouble and expense to create this car but, according to the head of Smart, Dr Annette Winkler, the Forspeed will never make production and it’s simply a brain-storming session for bits that might be included in future Smart cars. Maybe. One Day.

So, I’m going to ignore total show car rubbish that will have no bearing what so ever on your actual purchasing habits in the near future. However, I thought I’d bring you a few models that will, at some point make production or evolve into something that we will be looking at in show-rooms in the near future. As the show goes along, this will become a useful idea of what you may buy from 2012 and onwards.

 

Firstly, I’m going to start with Toyota. Now to be clear, I despise the Prius, especially the Mk I, which was just a blatant lie when it came to it’s relative economy, which would be no better than a diesel Polo anyway.

However they are showing the next generation of Yaris, starting with the Yaris Hybrid, which will use the same basic underpinnings as the Prius, but with either a 1.3 or 1.5 litre petrol engine glued to the electric motor. For those of you who don’t know, ‘HSD’ means ‘Hybrid Synergy Drive’, Toyota’s way of saying ‘It’s a Hybrid’.

Now, this is a concept car, however we know this is a preview of the looks for the next-gen Yaris, a car built in Europe, more specifically France, for the European market. I have to say, I’ve always thought the Yaris was a nice looking car, and this would be a nice evolution, adapting the Prius face nicely and creating a car that is less cute.

The lack of mad bumps and bulges is a good hint that this is a preview car rather than a concept, although, admittedly ignoring the wing mirrors that are cameras, not actual mirrors.

The rear diffuser will be designed to aid aerodynamics which improve fuel economy and the sensibly sized and positioned lights give us a good idea of what the next Yaris, due in the second half of 2012, will look like.

Personally, it’s a bit of a looker, certainly able to challenge the Fiesta on that front. To drive? Well history is not on the Yaris’ side but expect it to be an improvement over the current model.

Sticking with Toyota for a moment, we find this. No it’s not a new bat-mobile, but in fact, a car I have previously declared might never reach production: The FT-86. Well, the FT-86 II.

The FT-86 II is a car for Toyota to show us what they’ve spent three years doing since they first promised us a real sports car. Since Tokyo 2009, it’s been delayed and delayed for a myriad of reasons.

The main differences between the FT-86 and this car, apart for the mad body kit, is the much raised bonnet level, which would have failed pedestrian safety tests, despite this being a corner-stone feature of the Boxer engined car. Toyota claim this is “the clearest indication yet as to the final design of Toyota’s next sports car” although I’m still yet to be convinced it’ll ever make production.

In truth, this car is here to try re-stir the interest that originally surrounded the FT-86, however if it does reach production, 2013 at the earliest, this is probably what it will look like.

From Toyota, I thought I might stay ‘grey’ and talk about the VW Group. Starting with Skoda. Now this car, I admit, is pure show car, with one very significant exception; this is not a show off of new tech, or the engineers wet-dream, but what Skoda’s will look like in 2012.

 

The car, called the ‘Skoda Vision D’ is an Octavia-sized hatchback and evolves the current design language, borrowing a few ideas from VW such as the narrower headlights but retaining the Skoda grill. The car also shows a greater distinction for the rear quarter of the car, a statement that Skoda wants it’s cars to be more recognisable from all angles

It also previews the revised badge, which will start to phase in along with the new front end from next year. It is pretty much what we’re used to, but with greater visibility, chrome treatment and stronger colours, the Vision D is a statement that Skoda is no longer afraid of it’s cars being recognised as a Skoda.

In all honesty, I think this design gives Skoda closer links to the current VW front end design, which would reinforce the sub-VW positioning of Skoda, a placement that has seen Skoda break it’s new car sales record two years running thanks to the massive leaps in quality without the leaps in price, proving sub-brands do work.

Like with the Yaris HSD, I think the Vision D looks a sensibly designed car, the reduction of the rear overhang creates a much larger interior without sacrificing boot space, and the rear light clusters look like they came off a current Fabia. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the next Octavia was an evolution of this car when it comes along.

VW itself has something of a blast from the past for us this year, by reintroducing the Golf Cabriolet. It is exactly what it sounds like; a Golf that has had the roof cut off and replaced with a folding canvas roof. For all you CC-nut cases out there, this will never be a hard-top convertible, as this is designed to compliment the Eos, essentially a Golf CC.

Many of you will be uninterested in this car, but for VW fans, the wait for a new Golf Cabro stretches back to 2002 when the Mk III died with no successor.

Design wise, it’s a Mk VI Golf, with the GTi LED tail lights and a distinctive chrome strip that runs along the shoulder line right around the car, a nice touch.

A claimed 9.5 second retraction time is also handy, with VW also claiming that the car offers 250 litres of boot space with the roof down. There will be a single trim level, with ‘packs’ of options available, an idea obviously borrowed from MINI.

Engine wise the Golf Cabriolet gets four petrols and two diesels, all of which are the familiar four cylinder units you’ll find in the regular golf. They are a 103 bhp 1.2 litre, 122 bhp and 158 bhp 1.4 litre units and a 208 bhp 2.0 litre version. The oil-burners are a 103 bhp 1.6 litre and a 2.0-litre unit producing 138 bhp. Transmissions will be five and six-speed manuals, or six and seven-speed DSGs, probably only available as upgrades.

While this sort of car is not to my taste, I’ve wondered at the lack of a convertible option for the Golf as it’s a car that made it’s name as a convertible, so I'm glad to see it returning to the Golf line-up.

The other piece of news from VW is the revised Tiguan small-SUV, one of the last cars in the range to get the Mk VI Golf facial treatment. The interesting thing is the lack of details after pictures were accidentally leaked onto the VW website. However, it’s likely the engine range will remain unchanged and VW has confirmed pricing will remain the same in Germany.

It is likely there will be minor CO₂ and fuel economy improvements. The revised car will be open to orders in June and the first deliveries are expected around August time.

Mercedes have officially launched the third generation of the SLK sports car. We know most of the details about it including the engines and performance figures, as well as those stunning looks that are an evolution of the SLS face that is being adapted to all new Mercedes Benz models.

The SLK continues to be a two-seat, hard-top convertible, rear wheel drive sports car, however the chassis has been improved.

The engines follow the global trend of downsizing engines to turbo-charged units for the base cars in the shape of the SLK200 and SLK250, which both use a 1.8 litre turbo four-pot with 184 and 204 bhp respectively. Impressively, the SLK200 claims a 0-62 mph time of just 7.0 seconds.

The SLK350 features a brand new direct-injection 3.5 litre V6 motor that develops 306 bhp, the same figure as the outgoing engine it replaces. However it will boast vast improvements in fuel economy and emissions thanks to the advancements of the new engine, a new seven speed auto gearbox and other features that include start-stop. So the SLK350 claims a 0-62 mph time of 5.6 seconds as well as offering 39.8 mpg.

For the first time, the SLK range features a diesel model, powered by a twin turbo 2.1 litre four cylinder engine which develops a very healthy 204 bhp.

The top AMG model, the SLK 55 AMG is understood to use a 420 bhp version of AMG’s new 5.5 litre normally aspirated direct injection V8. However, all this is just numbers, the SLK has always been about the looks, and personally, I think the new SLK is a stunning looking car, which means it will remain the perfect car for posing in.

 Mercedes also officially launched the new C-Class coupe, a spiritual successor to the much-lauded CLK. The C-Class coupe is designed to go head to head with the BMW 3 Series and Audi A5. Underneath, as you might expect the coupe sits on the ordinary C-Class saloon base with a 41 mm lower roof height for the two door body.

The UK version, available in June, will include the AMG Sports pack as standard, which includes lower suspension, 18 inch alloy wheels and a distinctive body kit.
The engines, which are taken from the E-Class, will comprise two diesels and three petrols. The £30k entry level C180 will come with a 1.8 litre four cylinder five speed petrol with 152 bhp, a 197 bhp V6 250CGI and the range topping, £38k V6 powered 350CGI with 302 bhp. The diesels are a 161 bhp 220CDI, 197 bhp 250CDI.

The C-Class Coupe will be around £1000 cheaper engine for engine than the E-Class, and while interior accommodation is slightly smaller, the boot capacity will be the same 450 litres as the E-Class. The interior is also derived from the E-Class and has a similar level of perceived quality, with Mercedes stating that the two cars are aimed at different aged buyers, with the C-Class appealing to drivers aged between 35 to 45 years old and the E-Class being aimed at drivers who are more mature.

Hyundai is a brand that is really going places these days. The introduction of the ‘i’ series cars has made the range of cars easier to work out, with the i10 city car, i20 fiesta-sized hatch back and the i30 hatchback lifting the whole range with vastly improved build quality, much better cars to drive and incredibly well kitted cars at excellent prices. The i40 is the final car of the conventional model types, aiming squarely at the Ford Mondeo. Like it’s stable-mates, the i40 is a rather handsome beast, something that has been a key in building Hyundai’s current reputation.

Initially the i40 will be available as an estate model only when it goes on sale in June in the UK, but the key thing for the i40 to do for Hyundai is to prove the company can produce cars with high quality interiors, and so this production-ready car is keen to show off the new interior, which is a rather good looking place to be with a very cleverly sculpted center console. A healthy range of petrol and diesel engine options will be available when the car launches.

Kia is a company who has become rather friendly with Hyundai these days and both companies have benefitted hugely from this arrangement. Geneva sees two new models launched for Kia, starting with the Rio, a car that is being moved into the super-mini market, the largest car segment in the UK.

It’s far from the best looking car ever to be designed, however, Kia has realised it needs to homogolate its cars with a corporate ‘face’ if it wants to push beyond Bargain-Bucket markets.

The Rio is also a rather ambitious car. Based on the Hyundai i20 platform, a car that I really like, it will feature the cleanest and most fuel efficient engine in the UK, trumping the Smart Diesel.

The model will be dubbed ‘Ecodynamics’. It will feature a new 1.1 litre three cylinder direct injection turbo diesel engine under the bonnet that will develop 81 bhp and 69 lb/ft and will be equipped with the now common-faire stop-start system. Kia claim the car will be capable of 88 mpg combined and emit 85 g/km of CO₂, which will beat out the FourTwo Diesel’s stats of 85 mpg and 86 g/km of CO₂.

But this is not the most important thing. If the Rio can reach these figures, it will mean it not only becomes the UK’s cleanest and most fuel efficient car, it will do it while still being a proper car, something the Smart absolutely is not.

The rest of the range will comprise 1.25 and 1.4 litre petrols and 1.4 and 1.6 litre turbo diesels. All will either a six speed manual gearbox of five speed autos and have the option of start-stop and have fuel economy ‘in excess’ of 58 mpg and emit less than 114 g/km CO₂ with that particular option ticked.

The range will start from around £10k when it goes on sale.

However, that is not the end of the Rio. That’s because Benny Oeyen, the cheif of marketing and product planning piped in with a little statement saying; “The quality and design is much greater than the brand image represents... You can improved this with cars. A helpful car for us would be a hot hatch, cabrio or a coupe.”

This has opened speculation over whether Kia is considering a hot hatch, or at least warm hatch version of the Rio to boast the brand image, fueled when Oeyen added: “I can imagine a sporty Kia in Europe; we have to develop the brand.”

The Rio wasn’t the only car Kia had to show off to us at Geneva. However, the new Kia Picanto will have a far more difficult time when it reaches UK shores in the autumn.

Firstly, it does not look good, particularly in the weird yellow Kia brought. However, the time they could have used realising they had penned a bit of a pig they actually spent kitting it out for European markets. The Picanto is to be a ‘global’ model, and so will sell in every market Kia is active in with little or no variation. This is becoming a common trick and for some, like the Nissan Micra, is a long way from European standard and even falls short of the car it replaces.

The basic specs Kia brought to show us suggest they have started with a European car and are working backwards. It will come with a 1.0 litre three-pot and a 1.25 litre four cylinder engine, capable of bi-fuel, fuel-flex and petrol fueling, although the UK market are only getting the petrol version with a diesel, possibly the 1.1 litre three cylinder diesel Kia announced for the Rio. Power will range from 68 bhp for the three cylinder and 84 for the four cylinder, with 69 and 89 lb/ft of torque respectively. And Kia was keen to inform everyone that they’ve been paying special attention to emissions and economy with this car. So if you buy a rather basic car without stop-start you can expect between 95 and 105 g/km of CO₂ to leave the exhaust, but if you spent out on fuel saving kit such as stop-start, then this will drop to between 90 and 100 g/km of CO₂. Gearboxes will comprise a 5 speed manual or a four speed auto.

Kia, in line with it’s sudden global-domination aspirations, say that while the Picanto is a small city car, it’ll have ‘large car’ technologies. This will include things like LED daytime running lights, button-start with smart key, grip-type outside door handles and either six or seven airbags, depending on the model. Prices and full specs will be announced nearer the official launch date.

Do you remember Lancia? Delta’s and Beta’s and Statos’? Yes? Well they’re back! But not with sports cars and not for the UK. So why mention them? Well, Fiat decided that we think less of Lancia than we do of Chrysler, so they’re going to send new Lancia’s over to the UK and then swap the badges for Chrysler ones, and put them on sale, starting with this; the Ypsilon.

As always, put the show-grade two-tone paint out of your mind and take in the design and imagine a Chrysler badge on the nose and that is what you’ll be able to buy when it reaches showrooms in June 2012.

It sits on a stretched Fiat 500 platform and will come with much of the 500’s tech, including Fiat’s ‘Thin-Seat’ technology as well as the 0.9 litre Twin-Air engine. A 1.2 litre petrol and 1.3 litre diesel will complete the engine line up with the diesel and Twin-Air promising sub 100 g/km CO₂ emissions.

Starting from around £11,000, the Ypsilon will mark itself out with high spec levels, which could include the options of leather and Alcantara trim, something which has helped make the car a success in it’s home market due to the unusualness of being able to spec such materials. It will be interesting to see how the new Chrysler’s will go down with the UK market, badge-engineering has not always been popular, with the Jaguar X-Type flopping because it used a Ford Mondeo as it’s base with a Jaguar designed body.

Also to arrive in 2012 is the new 300C and 200C, rebadged Lancia Therma and Flavia respectively. Announced at the show was that the Therma, the 300C to you and me, will be available with a 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine at launch.

Audi’s recent work on it’s bigger models and the A1 has seen the A3 neglected. However Audi have responded with two A3 derivatives, starting with this; the Audi A3 Saloon.

Due for release in 2013, the A3 Saloon will be primarily for the US and Chinese markets, where compact saloons like the VW Jetta are popular, however Audi are hoping to carve out a new niche for premium saloons below cars like the A4, Passat and Mondeo.

Very little detail was released aside from the fact it will be built in Audi’s Gyor plant in Hungary alongside the current A3 Carbriolet, despite the fact this car will be expected to sell primarily outside out Europe. Expect engines to be the same as the A3 Hatchback

The A3 saloon will also be the first use of Audi’s new MBQ platform which come in four wheel bases and likely under pin a new generations of TT as well as various VW Group cars, possibly the next Octavia.

As well as the A3 Saloon, Audi were also showing off a car they have resisted for almost as long as the A3 has existed; and RS3. This monster, which is on sale now, is the most powerful hot-hatch in the UK thanks to some frankly obscene figures.

It raids the 2.5l turbocharged, five cylinder engine from the TT-RS, before being tweaked to produce 335 bhp as well as a stomping 332 lb/ft of torque directed to all four wheels via a 7 speed DSG Gearbox.

This means the RS3 will power to 62 mph in just 4.6 seconds and onto a limited 155 mph top speed.

The list of potential rivals is short, with the 345 bhp Focus RS 500 and 390 bhp Impreza Cosworth being limited run models. The next RenaultSport Megane is going to be making do with 300 bhp going through the front wheels and the next Astra VXR will also be knocking around that mark.

Audi obviously were chasing the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe which has an identical 335 bhp from it’s twin turbo charged 3.0l straight six engine with around 370 lb/ft of torque but all channeled to the rear wheels. Price wise, the RS3 matches the 1 M Coupe, with BMW saying that it’ll be priced around £40k and the RS3 retailing at £39,900.

This is the car fans of hot-hatches and hot-Audi’s have been begging for from Audi, it’s still as handsome as an A3 should be, but has the same heart stopping that the RS4 had. The RS3 will be fairly reasonable to run, with the 1575 kg car emitting 212 g/km of CO₂ and earning a respectable 31 mpg, although this will undoubtedly drop like a stone when you press on.

Modifications over the S3 include a wider front and rear track, lowered and stiffened suspension, with the front suspension control arms being constructed from “high strength steel” according to Audi. The brakes have been beefed up all round as well.

Porsche are the latest company to add a set of batteries and a motor into a large saloon. In this case it’s the Panamera S, equipped with a 330 bhp supercharged 3.0l V6 and a 44 bhp electric motor that doubles up as the starter motor. The drive train has been lifted from the Cayenne Hybrid.

The packaging is clever, with the motor packaged along with it’s own clutch so either the engine or motor can provide drive.

The battery is a Nickel Metal-Hydride unit that can power the car up to 37 mph before the engine clutches in and takes over and can reach 62 mph in 6 seconds and reaches 168 mph top speed. For this performance, the S Hybrid emits 159 g/km CO₂, which out performs the diesel versions of the BMW 7 Series and Jaguar XJ.

This places the Panamera S Hybrid right between the Panamera Turbo and 4S and Porsche has priced it as such, with the S Hybrid starting from £86,146 when it goes on sale in June.

Volvo were also showing off a new hybrid model, the V60 Estate plug-in hybrid. It features a diesel-electric system, using a 212 bhp, 325 lb/ft 2.4 litre D5 Diesel engine which powers the front wheels through a six speed auto’, while the rear wheel is powered by Volvo’s Electric Rear Axle Drive system which combines a 69 bhp electric motor powered by a 12 kWh Lithium-Ion battery pack.

With Plug-In’s, the important thing is recharge time, and the V60 Plug-In requires 7.5 hours for a full recharge through a household 230V/6A socket.

The V60 Plug-In features three drive modes, called ‘Pure’, ‘Hybrid’ and ‘Power’. As you might expect, ‘Pure’ is electric only, allowing you to travel up to 32 internal combustion-free miles, ‘Hybrid’ uses both system to balance economy and performance and ‘Power’ is essentially four-wheel drive mode for maximum performance.

Other features include the option to pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin during the recharging process so the cabin temperature is just right when you get in and this can be operated through the revised instrument panel or through a Smartphone App. The V60 Plug-In also makes use of lightweight alloy wheels and low resistance Pirelli tyres.

When it goes on sale in 2012, Volvo say it will “be more expensive to buy than a Volvo V60 with a conventional combustion engine”, however the extra technology involved in creating the Plug-In meant this is entirely predictable.

The final car that is being looked at is potentially the best, and possibly the least likely. This offering comes from Alfa Romeo.

Since they created the limited run 8C Competizione, insiders hinted at a ‘4C’ sub model. And finally, Alfa were able to show of the car they would call the 4C.

It's likely to be powered by the 232 bhp version of the 1.7 litre turbo charged four cylinder petrol engine that equips the Giulietta hatchback. The car weighs in at less than 850 kg, mainly due to the light weight carbon body supported by a aluminium or lightweight steel space frame chassis.

It has the odd set up of double-wishbones at the front and MacPherson struts at the rear. The engine delivers it’s power to the rear wheels via a twin-dry clutch gearbox. Weight distribution is a perfect 40/60 front/rear and the car would feature Alfa’s DNA control system. Alfa claims that the 4C would achieve 62 mph in “under five seconds” with a top speed of “over 250 km/h”, 155 mph.

Alfa has confirmed a production version of the sports car will be in dealerships for next year so this is either a sandbagging concept or a production-ready show car. Alfa gave no indication on prices, but expect something in the region of £30k.

Alfa did however say that the car is likely to spawn a range of sports cars across Fiat, including a stand-alone car for the resurgent Arbath.

If you take off the chrome alloys and replace the overly showy light clusters, particularly the rear ones, with more conventional units, you can see a car that does appear reasonably finished.

The 2011 Geneva Motor Show gave us plenty to be interested in, as well as the mad creations from the minds of engineers and designers, we also saw a raft of silly-power hyper cars from Lamborghini, Pagani and Koenigsegg, but we also got a chance to see what manufacturers are offering the ordinary driver in the next 12 months, and it seems that there is plenty to brighten our roads.

MD

Motors - The Death Of Chapman's Lotus?

The Death Of Chapman’s Lotus? 

For many, many years Lotus has been limping along with the Elise, a light weight, two seat sports car that uses a Toyota engine. It is worshipped by sports car drivers and the motoring media as one of the best handling cars money can buy, but many have been put off by the cramped cabin, extremely low equipment levels and the total lack of any practicality.

They have tried to broaden the range with the Exige, a hardcore, coupe version of the Elise, along with the Europa, a more up market, lengthened car based on the Elise and the Evora, a 2+2 coupe powered by a Toyota V6. Notice a trend?

The problem is simply that the Elise isn’t a versatile enough platform to base anything other than a hardcore two seater on, testified by the fact that the Europa was a flop.

Lotus has been owned by Proton since 1996 after being passed around for a few years. They have largely allowed Lotus to try and solve it’s own problems, but finally, after 15 years Lotus has never been in profit under Proton. So in 2009 when the then CEO retired, Proton appointed a Turkish born man named Dany Bahar, who’s CV includes being responsible for worldwide road car sales and after sales business, overall road car and F1 marketing activities, licensing, and merchandising business at Ferrari.

And then, at the Paris motorshow in October of 2010, he unveiled his plan for a new, fitter, more modern and, crucially, profitable Lotus. The power brokers inside Lotus admit they are taking a risk, 6 new models within 5 years, dumping the company ‘face’ from the current crop of cars, making a new, heavier more practical Elise, ditching everything the company currently uses.

Initially, I’ll admit, I was worried. Colin Chapman, one of Britain’s greatest engineers and widely seen as the Godfather of modern Formula One, began Lotus with a simple principle; “To add speed, simplify, then add lightness.” The Elise and Exige, have been the embodiment of this principle.

Bahar has had to endure plenty of criticism, that he is destroying Lotus’ soul, he is ruining Chapman’s legacy, that he doesn’t care about Lotus, but then you listen to what he has to say and look at what he’s doing.

He began by pilfering Mercedes and Ferrari engineers, including former AMG man Wolf Zimmerman, and bringing them to Hethel, not to replace the current crop of Lotus staff because Lotus Engineering is regarded as one of the best in the business, but to build a team of top talent. He has declared that he wants to turn Lotus into the British equivalent of Porsche, an attempt to show that a ‘narrow minded car company’ such as one who only produces sports cars, is a viable and profitable business model.

And so, in Paris he stood up and pulled the covers off of six, yes SIX brand new, from the ground up, cars. One is a city car designed in the same vein as the Aston Martin Cygnet; to ensure the company’s average CO₂ emissions are within EU quotas, the rest are full on sports cars.

So what do we have?

Well first thing first we will finally get a new Lotus Esprit. It is the first car to be released in Bahar’s rescue plan. It’ll arrive in 2013, ten years after the old Esprit was killed off.


Obviously Lotus haven’t revealed much about it but we do know that this gorgeous beast will be around £110,000 and, most interestingly, be powered by a Lotus designed and built V8.

It was originally going to be powered by the Toyota V8 that is used in the Lexus IS-F, in supercharged form and developing 550 and 620 bhp. Bahar however revealed that potential customers were put of somewhat by a Toyota engine.

It is now that you begin to see that Bahar does indeed want Lotus to succeed. When the plan to build their own engine was announced Bahar stated: “We have done three engines for other manufacturers; why not do it ourselves? The engine is the heart of a sports car; we should do our own product.” Adding, “In the mind of sports-car enthusiasts, Toyota power might not be good enough”

The plan is dependant on the decision makers and whether this plan is financially viable. However, if Lotus are having to buy the Toyota engines, and then fit the supercharger before caring out the necessary tuning and refinement work, the cost of their own engine might not be an impossible stretch.

The Espirt is likely to weigh in at 1495 kg. While this is hardly keeping to Chapman’s policy of featherweight, the car is likely to be able to hit 62 mph in around 3.5 seconds, putting it comfortably in supercar territory. In comparison, the recently announced Zonda replacement will have over 700 bhp and reach 62 mph in 3.3 seconds.

It’ll have a seven speed paddle shift gearbox, as well as a KERS system likely borrowed from Lotus’ involvement with F1 teams and that the three mid-engined cars will likely share the basic platform, suspension, brakes and electrics, according to Zimmerman.

Also in 2013, Lotus has decided to drag an old name from the dust bin; the Lotus Elan.

In keeping with Elan tradition, this new one uses a totally different drive system to the previous Elan’s.

The original 1962 Elan was a front engined, rear wheel drive two seat convertible. It was followed in the 90’s by the GM funded M100 Elan that featured a front engine, front wheel drive system, leaving it to be comfortably out classsed by the Mazda MX-5.

The third generation Elan will be mid-engined, rear wheel drive. However there’s more. While the first two were powered by four cylinder engines, the new Elan will use a V6 engine, although, like the Esprit, it was originally tipped for a 4.0 litre version of the 2.6 litre Toyota engine that currently powers the Evora.


As with the Esprit, you wouldn’t dare suggest that Lotus are holding back on the looks front.

The Elan name has never really been at the fore-front of the Lotus brand, however possibley because of this, Lotus are using this car as it “Heart of the range” according to insiders as it will take the fight to both the Porsche 911 and Audi R8. Pricing is to be around £75,000, and the engine, whoever designs it, will be tuned to produce 400 and 470 bhp, which will probably be good enough to propel the 1295 kg Elan past 62 mph in 3.9 or 3.5 seconds.

The current R8 V10 needs a 518 bhp 5.2 V10 to get its 1600 kg to 62 mph in over 4 seconds, showing that Lotus, if it can get this level of performance, it not playing around any more.

On top of all this performance, Lotus is aiming for the top model of the Elan to emit only 200 g/km of CO₂ in keeping with the aim of making cars that are some of the cleanest in their respective classes.

As mentioned, this will likely share the base, suspension and brakes of the Esprit, obviously retuned/sized for the Elan.

It would seem that the Elan is where Lotus is putting most of it’s eggs. This car will go right into the heart of the premium Sports & GT car market, with the aim of undercutting, out performing and running cleaner than the cars it will compete with.

2014 will see Lotus chart brand new territory: the £100,000-plus 2+2 GT market, taking on Aston Martin for the first time. And it will do this using, possibly the most spectacular concept of the six; the new front-engined, rear wheel drive Lotus Elite.

Again, the Elite is a dead give-away of the fact Bahar is not playing around with this revival. This ambitious car will aim to be the first performance hybrid in this market by using a KERS system to suppliment the ‘charged’ V8 engine and electric motors.

I say ‘charged’ because Lotus admits they haven’t decided what forced induction system to use yet. Again, assuming Proton decides not to fund in-house engines, the Elite, a name not used since 1982 when the Type 83 Elite ended production, will use a 540 bhp and 610 bhp version of the Lexus 5.0 litre V8 engine, possible taking the LS600h which uses the set-up Lotus are wanting to give the Elite.

Lotus are squarely targeting the Aston Martin DB9 with this car. It will be slightly shorter than the DB9 but, at 1680 kg, will be substantially lighter then the Aston’s 1780 kg weight. With this lighter mass and vastly superior power, the DB9 making do with just 470 bhp for it’s 6.0 litre V12, the Elite will likely stomp the Aston to 62 mph, reaching it in just 3.7 for the 540 bhp model while the DB9 takes 4.8.

However, it is the emissions that Lotus are keen for us all to pay attention too. For that extra power and performance, the Elite is aiming for just 215 g/km CO₂ which will under cut the Aston’s 367 g/km by a massive 40%.

When he announced the Elite, Bahar was keen to point out that prior to 1996 when the Elise became the only car Lotus produced, the front-engined 2+2 configuration accounted for 20% of the company’s production throughout it’s history.

He also announced that as well as this coupe model, there would be a hard-top convertible model produced as well, although there was no word when that would join the line-up.

Interior wise Lotus plan to produce a bespoke control touch screen and insider freely admit they have to really ramp up the quality and craftsmanship for this car to be a success.


It would seem that Lotus are not only targeting Aston Martin, but blatantly copying them to as this 2015, four door car, the Lotus Eterne, which will use the underpinnings of the Elite and will be going straight for the Aston Martin Rapide, the four door Aston based on the DB9.

Obviously, the platform will be an extended version of the Elite, as well as slightly heavier, however the engine, KERS and electric motor set-up is set to be identical, although Lotus did give figures of 10 bhp boosts over the Elite, giving the Eterne 550 bhp and 620 bhp for the two versions planned.

Unlike the other new models, the Eterne is a brand new name, all the others are previous names revived for this brand revival, again Bahar to my mind is demonstrating a knowledge of Lotus by keeping with the naming traditions of all model names beginning with the letter ‘E’. It is only a small gesture but it is the same as all Audi ‘S’ models having four wheel drive, a deep rooted company tradition.

The Eterne is likely to cost around £120,000.

In 2015, the Lotus Elise will finally join the Bahar revolution, but not before even it has gone through it’s own revolution.


Firstly, it will adopt the new company face. A given really. However, having abandoned it’s traditional look, the Elise will abandon it’s current position as well. Firstly, the price-point will move considerably, rising to over £40,000 starting from it’s current £30,000.

Secondly, the current Elise’s 1.6 litre engine will be left for dust as the new car will get a 2.0 litre supercharged unit that Lotus plans to either build itself or source from somewhere other than Toyota.

Power will jump from the 138 bhp to 300 bhp base and 350 bhp, driving the rear wheels through a robotised manual gearbox and will come equipped with a stop-start system. Despite this, the Elise is aiming for a weight of just 1095 kg, a massive jump on the 876 kg of the 1.6 Elise but still very light weight for a 300 plus bhp car. The difficult bit for the 2015 Elise will be emissions, the ace of the current car, which emits an amazing 149 g/km CO₂.

Unlike the current set-up of Elise and Exige, the new car will be available as a coupe or roadster, suggesting the Exige’s days are numbered. Also planned is a hardcore ‘R’ model, presumably the spiritual successor to the Exige.

Finally we arrive at the first none sports-car Lotus will be producing. Currently we know it only as the Lotus CityCar, it shows that Bahar has been copying the Aston’s answers again, this time it’s the Cygnet they are copying.

This car is due to join the line up in 2014, and is little more than the concept at the moment, with Lotus looking to partner up with a car company to provide the basis of the CityCar.

Although Lotus is currently looking into hybrid technology, apparently keen of flywheel-based systems, the CityCar would appear to be a sensible insurance policy just in case no system is suitable or viable.

So that’s the plan. Take everything Lotus currently makes, throw it all in the bin and start again.

Bahar has endured a huge amount of criticism from Lotus purists but the way he has gone about setting up this revolution, revealing all these models just a year after taking charge shows he obviously knows exactly what he thinks Lotus needs to do to turn it’s current inevitable slide into oblivion. I personally think that a Lotus that makes light cars rather than super-light cars to ensure it can survive is much better than letting yet another British marquee slide into decline to become nothing more than a foot-note in history.

I asked is this the death of Chapman’s Lotus? In way the answer is ‘Yes’. The current Elise, weighing a featherweight 879 kg and needing just 138 bhp will be gone, possibly for good. However, the company that Chapman founded will go on, it will still exist, still have dealerships and still make and sell cars, surely that is, ultimately, what we want.

In 2012, Lotus will celebrate 60 years since Colin Chapman first began working as Lotus Engineering in a set of old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London, what better way to celebrate that than with the knowledge that the company has a plan to revive itself back from a niche company that’s nearly dead into a major player and that there is the financial backing to achieve this goal.

MD

Motors - The Future of Seat

The Future of Seat 

The VW Group is an example of how a vast array of car companies can be under one umbrella and be extremely successful. With over 6.3 million cars produced in 2009 compared to Toyota’s 7.2 million and GM’s 6.5 million, the VW Automotive Group has risen to become a power house of the motoring industry and, according Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of the VW Group, they have the ambition to become the largest in the world by 2018.

And it’s not like the VW Group is a small, easy to manage group either, it has full, 100% share of 7 household names. These are:
Volkswagen, including the Commercial Vehicles arm,
Lamborghini,
Bugatti,
Bentley,
Seat,
Skoda,
and a 99.55%, so near-as-makes-no-difference 100%, share of Audi.

On top of all that, it owns 50% of Porsche, with a merger set to be completed this year, around 71% of Scania and recently acquired a 20% share of Suzuki.

As British Leyland has shown, owning and operating so many car companies who operate in similar areas of the car industry has it’s pitfalls. To date, of all the British names that went into the BL, around 40% of all British car manufacturers, only Jaguar, Land Rover and MG are left.

This is where VW had to be clever. The scale of the issue is immense, competing in VW’s own area is Audi, Skoda and Seat, all wanting their badge to go in the direction they want, price models as they wants and design chassis’, engines and bodies that will set them apart and this problem is where BL failed so spectacularly; the inability to juggle the wants and desires of so many car companies.

How ever, almost every marque that has fallen under the VW umbrella have thrived. VW has become almost a by-word for build quality, Skoda has been thoroughly transformed as a VW sub-brand, posting it’s best sales figures in it’s history in the last couple of years. Audi is able to match Mercedes Benz for perceived quality and class, Lamborghini has finally been able to put it’s reliability problems well and truly behind it and become hugely profitable, Bentley has turned itself into much more than a cheap Rolls-Royce and Bugatti has produced its first new model since production of the EB110 ended in 1995.

  However, Seat has been a trickier brand to get right. The problem is because Seat is a brand that is too strong to be a sub brand which has suited Skoda so well but lacks the perceived brand-quality of VW and Audi, so positioning Seat has been problematic. So what should VW do with Seat to turn it into something with purpose and direction of it’s own?

The answer to this can be found by drawing on Seat’s history. Seat has been involved in motor-sport and can trace that trend all the way back to the 1960’s and continued into rallying and more recently, World Touring Cars, under the direction of VW.

The problem is, none of this heritage transfers to the feel of Seat’s model range, you don’t know that Seat has been in the WTCC, in it’s current and previous form since 2002 and champions several times over and introduced Diesel engines into touring car racing. In short, Seat has no signature.

To demonstrate the problem, we look at Seat’s current model range:

Firstly, there is the VW Polo-based Ibiza, in various body forms. The Golf based Leon with the smattering of VW petrol and diesel engines. While both models have Hot-Hatch versions with the ‘Cupra’ badge and a black-fronted version with the Seat historical name ‘Bocanegra’. The problem is that even these hot versions are re-skins of other VW models.

In the case of the Ibiza; it is simply a VW Polo GTi, while the Leon uses the Golf GTi and a retuned Golf R engine for the Leon Cupra R and Bocanegra respectively.

The rest of the range is a rather anonymous collection comprising of the Altea mini-MPV which utilises the same platform as the Leon, as well as an Audi A4 based saloon and a large MPV which uses a stretched version of the Leon platform.

So like Alfa Romeo within Fiat, Seat wants to be a brand that focuses on sporty models but the demand of ensuring profitability prevents total commitment to this philosophy.

So what is the solution? Well in order for Seat to be able to breathe with the same design freedom as everyone else in under VW, it needs to differentiate itself, which means drawing on something that defines Seat. In this case, the WTCC is where you should look.

Mid-way through the 2007 World Touring Car Championship season, Seat debuted a version of it’s Leon touring car equipped with a 2.0l TDi engine. In the following season, the TDI Leon took both Driver and Manufacturer titles.

So Seat has not only a presence in production car racing but also, like Audi in Prototype racing, a history of pioneering Diesel engines. What am I suggesting? I’m suggesting that Seat moves away from away from selling models that simply sit in the price gap between Skoda and VW and bring something new to the VW Group stable, i.e. a focus on high performance cars, in particularly Diesel engined motors.

VW showed off the BlueSport TDI back in 2009, a working concept which, as you can see is a two-seat, mid-engined sports car that is designed to be VW’s version of a model that will also be sold by Audi, almost certainly with four-wheel-drive and a Porsche version that will feature a Porsche-designed flat-four engine rather than a diesel or traditional four cylinder engine.

If Seat were to take away the BlueSport and let it’s own famously whacky designers give it a distinctively Seat look, VW would be able to spread design and development costs even further and be able to price the VW version slightly higher, broadening the scope of the car.

Secondly I would have Seat take the Audi TT TDi and allow Seat to offer it as a front wheel drive version, something Audi refused to do.

This would give Seat two top end models that could be priced to give the Mazda MX-5 some real competition across it’s entire price point, rather than just at around £25k as the VW version of the BlueSport is expected to be priced.

I understand the need for ordinary models to keep the sales figures up, and, as with Alfa Romeo, Seat would need ordinary models such as the Altea and Alhanbra MPV’s and the Exeo saloon.

However, Seat is ignoring the serious motor-sport credentials of the Leon and in particular the talents of the TDI touring car. Currently, the Cupra R is difficult to distinguish from the rest of the range, and the Bocanegra is only separable by the deep black nose and for a company who prides itself on the madness of it’s designers, this situation is a little tame.

I would firstly take the idea of the Golf R; a unique Golf due to the fact it is the only Golf to utilise four-wheel-drive. In the case of the Leon, the top Cupra models should have almost a complete re-skin to really separate them from the necessary conventional models. Finally, I would add a third Leon Cupra model: A Cupra TDi to really push the success Seat have enjoyed with the Leon in touring car competitions. These changes to the range would allow Seat to show off it’s tradition of high performance production car racing.

It would also allow Seat to escape from the tag of simply selling re-badged VW’s. Badge engineering is nothing new, and nothing to be discouraged, Skoda is a transformed company because of rebadging. And while Seat would need to continue using VW base platforms for the Leon, the amount of extra development required to create a high performance and good handling diesel engined Hot-Hatch would ensure Seat’s technical ability would be fully demonstrated.

Seat also has a case for being allowed to produce some more original models as it owns it’s own factory in Martorell, Spain which currently produces all Seat models aside from the Alhambra, and so Seat is able to tailor the production facilities to it’s own particular needs. With these alterations to Seat’s model range, the brand would be able to continue it’s decent sales figures and add some really distinctive models that will really play on Seat’s history of being involved with high performance cars and will offer VW a reason to really push high performance TDi engines to try and claw back some of the advantage BMW diesel engines have over almost every other manufacturer.

In addition, Seat does really need these changes, while the cars are being sold, the company has never been in profit under VW, and while it doesn’t need the level of transformation that Skoda and Lamborghini have enjoyed under VW, Seat has been a member of the VW group since 1986, and for VW to hold on to the company for that length of time, it obviously doesn't consider Seat a liability.

MD

Review - 2006 Nissan Micra 1.2 Initia

Nissan Micra Initia

Ok we’ve been busy recently testing several models. The first one, as you can see is the Nissan Micra. Specifically the 2006 1.2 litre ‘Initia’ spec car in three door format.
While this is a new test, this generation Micra is in the process of being replaced with what we feel is a rather ugly, overly cheap looking Chinese manufactured model that has a very anonymous look to it. This, the third generation of car to carry the Micra name has a very cute look to it, with shades of the VW Beetle in its side profile.

Whatever you may think of the looks, they are distinctive and interesting, with the high headlights, wide hips that travel along the cars flank to the headlights. We weren’t keen on the looks when the car was released in 2003 but with the BMW MINI and VW Beetle demonstrating that cute is cool, the little Micra has a modern look, perhaps more modern than when it first appeared. At least it isn’t dull or boring although the looks probably appeal far more to women than guys.

As always, the first thing to address is why this model? Well the Initia isn’t the bottom-feeder model and so can hold some reasonable value. The Initia cost around £8,500 when new and can return around £4,500 today with average 10,000/year mileage. It also had a reasonable engine, a 1.2l 4 cylinder that can hold its own in all the tasks the average driver might require and the car could be spec-ed up with alloy wheels, metallic paint, electric sunroof and air-con while a single changer CD-Player was standard.

With the small car market being packed with competent competitors, the Micra needed to have some advantage over its rivals. Knowing they couldn’t beat Ford or MINI on handling, the Micra went for the easy route of cheap, well equipped cars that are in high demand, so its cutesy looks and decent equipment level for its age and price bracket are a huge advantage in standing out for the cheap car customer. The only real omission compared to brand new cars is air-con as standard and iPod/aux port.

The engine is a naturally aspirated, all aluminium, 1240cc, 16v DOHC In-line 4 cylinder engine coded CR12DE that was a development of an old CG coded engines that were revised for this generation Micra. Being all aluminium was a surprise to us, most cheap cars make do with cheap but heavy iron block/aluminium head combination. It develops just over 78bhp at 5,600 rpm and 81 lb/ft of torque at 4,000rpm. This means the 957kg Micra is good for 0-62mph in 13.1 seconds, which while it’ll never set the world alight, is far from bad in a car that cost under £9,000 when it was brand new. The car has a top speed of 104mph, perfectly adequate for a tiny little car.

The brakes comprise of perfectly adequate disc brakes at the front, drums at the rear. Don’t ever be afraid of this set-up on small cars, the brakes will stop the car just fine and keeps costs down. In fact, the Fiesta we’ve been using as a benchmark has the same set-up. the Micra was never going to explore new areas of handling, but this little car doesn’t do badly. The steering is really light, the wheel responds to every input you care to provide. At launch, the Micra had electric power steering. While that has become the standard system, at the time many cars still used hydraulic assistance and so the Micra had a huge deficiency in steering feel compared to its rivals but today it’ll provide no less than its immediate cheap car rivals.

The standard McPherson strut front suspension, torsion beam rear setup is a pleasant surprise, it’s a reasonably stiff arrangement that does well to keep body roll to a minimum. Couple that with that light feeling, fast responding steering set-up and you can start to see how this little car might give a fair amount of half decent entertainment.

You realise the logic of this set-up when you start to explore its in-town credentials. Nissan built this car to be a nipper city beast. The turning circle is frankly tiny; 9.2m which means it can turn full circle on a normal two-wide road without needing to stop and find reverse. Suddenly the overly light steering and well contained level of body roll makes total and utter sense. This little thing was put on this Earth to absolutely conquer the urban crush.

And it does. The engine is fairly eager, pulling well despite the rather limp-wristed sounding 78bhp. In fact today it’s a very powerful engine. In the endless pursuit of fuel economy, engines have lost all power. A 2010 Ford Fiesta Studio that is equipped with a 1.25l engine has to get around with a frankly insultingly pathetic 59bhp! With a 0-62mph time of 16.9 seconds and a top speed of 94mph, the little Micra looks like a Ferrari to the Fiesta’s, well Fiesta. Now the more observant of you will notice that we’ve just compared a mid-low spec Micra to a Bottom Feeder Fiesta. True, but even the original 1.0l version of this generation Micra had 64bhp so we aren’t being too unreasonable when we say the Fiesta’s state of tune is pathetic.

So can this little budget run-around get a clean sweep? Well yes, it can. Unlike the gutless Fiesta, the Micra can do motorway jaunts happily, in fact it has rather decent motorway manners, quiet and comfortable and well behaved. Road and wind noise are kept low enough so you can just about hear the engine gurgling away happily ahead of you. The noise is informative too, rather than just being a pest. This means you can hop around the city ahead of everyone else, jump on the motorway to go conquer another city and then B-Road it home and arrive happy and comfortable and the car won’t have let you down anywhere along the line. As we’ve said though, it’ll never set new standards or explore new realms but it won’t let you down or disappoint you.

As you might expect, the interior is pretty basic. However, the reason you ever bought a Nissan, in fact the only reason you ever bought a Nissan was build quality. We’ve never heard of a poorly built Nissan before, although that might change with the new 4th generation Micra. While the interior materials aren’t fantastically outstanding, they aren’t bargain bucket levels of quality. The stereo is obviously a cheap item, with nothing better than ‘Nissan’ on its facia. The whole dash unit feels solid and well put, in fact it makes genuine, solid build quality seems so easy. It makes us wonder how Nissan can get the interior, the easiest part to do a shoddy job on, of a cheap super-mini spot on and yet companies like Mitsubishi, Kia, Hyundai and even Vauxhall can’t get the materials right.

Kit wise, the Micra is in places, fantastically well equipped and in other areas, as spartan as its new price suggested. The radio is a single changer CD-Player as standard and the car comes packed with brilliantly useful cubby holes and storage places. The glove box is excellent; the face belies its cavernous capacity. It not only has two slots in the main body, but also a fixed slot for smaller items. Our standard camera, sunglasses, sat-nav and road atlas kit were lost into the huge space. There is a small, open cubby hole behind the gear stick, a cup-holder/storage bin fold out unit at the bottom of the centre console and another big cubby hole on the top of the centre console. Two phones and a charger also disappear quite nicely into that.

Disappointingly there is no Air-Con as standard, something even in 2006 we were coming to expect from all but the most basic of basic cars, but in truth that is the only black mark we’d deal out.

The seats are also a pleasant surprise. They are in no way sporty, lacking almost any major lumbar support to hold you snugly in the seat yet they are comfortable in the city and on the motorway. Adjustment is easy and solves any discomforts you may get, a major importance as they can cause a numb backside if you’re not being well supported by the seat back.

The headrests aren’t so good, serving almost no purpose, adjustment isn’t easy or simple to work out and they don’t offer any support or comfort which means they simple irritate.

The rear bench disappoints slightly too. The headrests offer slightly more function and the seats themselves are perfectly acceptable for short stints but the Micra’s Beetle-esc form means rear headroom is cut considerably. If you’re over 6 foot then you will find you can’t put your head back properly. The centre rear seat only has a lap belt but that is to be expected and the Micra isn’t the sort of car that needs or is expected to regularly carry five.

The boot is pretty sizable, if a difficult shape. Standard capacity is 371 litres, perfectly capable of getting enough junk for two people to go camping. The seats do split fold 60:40 as you would expect and that boosts luggage capacity to 584 litres, and the straight sides of the car means you can make good use of this enlarged space, although the seats don’t fold fully flat.

The boot lid creates a little problem, the boot itself looks pretty sizeable, but again as with rear passenger head room, this is cut slightly but the curved roof line, reducing some of the useful space available. The only real point of contention is the luggage rack which is nasty cheap; it breaks easily and is probably the item of least quality on the whole car.

However it isn’t all doom and gloom, as you can see there isn’t much intrusion from the rear wheel arches and what intrusion there is, doesn’t affect the useful boot space available which is flat, despite the car having a full size spare wheel, none of that useless space-saver rubbish that just irritates us. All in all, above average levels of luggage room.

The metallic paint on our test car was an optional extra, though most colours available were metallic. There was Air-Con available if the buyer stumped up £600 and this remained an option on all the models garnished with the 1.2l engine.

Again, the 14” steel wheels/plastic caps on our car was the standard set-up, although Nissan did offer rather fetching 14” alloy wheels. Driver and passenger airbags, child seat attachment, the CD-Player, ABS, Alarm & Immobiliser, electric windows and, as mentioned, a full size spare wheel were all standard kit, a pretty decent spec list for an £8,500 car.

As we’ve said, Air-Con, fully electric tilt/slide Sunroof, alloy wheels and metallic paint were the optionals.

And finally, as usual, it’s time to throw some more figures and stats at you all; running costs. If this review so far has peaked your interest and you’re thinking about getting the Micra rather than a brand new super-mini, then you’re probably cross-fingered we don’t say the engine drinks petrol like crazy. Well fear not, because this little car is more than able to hold up to the newer opposition quite comfortably.

The Fiesta Studio model we mentioned earlier, with its insulting 59bhp can achieve 51mpg on the combined cycle, a pretty decent feat and does beat our little Micra, however it isn’t the crushing you might expect. The Micra is able to achieve a very respectable 47.8mpg combined. The Fiesta does have a range advantage of about 25miles more than the Micra, but in this age of uber-frugal attitudes, we honestly expected it to be 50miles+ extra. The 7 year old engine isn’t totally outclassed on CO2 either, emitting 139 g/km compared the Fiesta’s 127 g/km. This means the 3.8 seconds longer it takes the Fiesta to reach 62mph, it’s just 4mpg more efficient and just 12 g/km of CO2 cleaner.

The Micra does gain points back against the modern Fiesta, firstly in the weight department, weighing in at 957kg compared to the Fiesta which tips the scales at 966kg. As well as this, the Micra is rated at Insurance Group 2, while the Fiesta, Group 3. It is only one group, but it does mean the Fiesta is likely to be more expensive to insure.

So basically, what we’re getting at is that your £11k odd Fiesta is not really any better than a fairly basic Micra that was released in 2006.

As we’ve mentioned, you can pick up Micra Initia 1.2’s from about £3,200 ranging to £4,800, our half spec-ed test car is today worth about £4,000, hardly a bank-breaker. We’d definitely recommend spending a bit more time, effort and cash on one that has Air-Con, you will miss it if it isn’t there. As for the rest of the range, we’d avoid the 1.0l’s as the 1.2l that replaced it is more powerful, has a far better torque figure and is just as good on fuel. There was a 1.4l and a 1.6l but the best (and most expensive) model was the 1.5 DCi, hence the reason that the 1.2l models are our pick.

Conclusion


So what can we say? Well, surprisingly, the Micra Initia gets a thumbs up. We expected it to be stodgy and slow and useless when actually it is anything but. Of course it is nowhere near a MINI or Ford in the handling department but it holds its own and is a fantastic city car, manoeuvrable, a tiny turning circle and competent with a frisky little engine that makes the whole car feel fun and eager and yet still perfectly suits the needs of a good city car.

Add in its competent motorway manners, well designed luggage and storage spaces, cute looks and respectable interior and equipment levels as well as its surprisingly competitive running costs and you may start to think, as we did, that the £4k price tag that was estimated for our test car is a fine bargain for what is a genuine all-rounder super-mini.

If you’re in the market for a city car or a super-mini, before you go and look at a nice, shiny new Fiesta, Polo, Fabia, Corsa or any of the overly cheap Korean’s, take a peek at this little gem Nissan snuck into the market back in 2006.



Nissan Micra Initia
Engine: 1240cc, 16v DOHC In-line 4
Power: 78bhp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 81 lb/ft @ 4,000rpm
0-62 mph: 13.1 seconds
Top Speed: 104 mph
Fuel Economy: 47.8 mpg combined