It’s not a hot hatch but it’s an improvement.
The Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf are hot hatches that immediately spring to your mind when you think about hot hatches. The Nissan Micra isn’t.
You could technically call it a hot hatch if the heater is turned up, but a performance Micra was never something Nissan offered and has never been requested by the world.
Nissan is raising the temperature at its latest supermarket run with the N-Sport model. It’s a less hot and “tepider” hatch with the new 115-horsepower DIG-T117 engine.
The power unit is the flagship of the Micra range, and is an all-new engine that has been co-developed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Daimler, alongside the 1.3-liter gasoline engine recently launched in the Nissan Qashqai crossover SUV.
The car also features a new engine and cosmetic enhancements such as a carbon-style finish to the alloy wheels and doormirror caps, gloss black on the side moldings and rear bumpers, N-Sport badgeging, and rear privacy glass.
Alcantara seats in leather-like parts, a rearview camera with parking sensors, iKey (remote access with push button engine start); white air intakes; a black headliner; sports-design floormats are all found on the interior.
The Nissan Micra N-Sport is also available with a lower-powered (99 hp), gasoline engine. It will be up against the Ford Fiesta ST Line VW Polo R-Line Peugeot 208 GT Line, SEAT Ibiza FR and other hot hatches.
The attractive fifth-generation Micra has some street cred thanks to the N-Sport edition. But what we really want is a true performance Micra. It should be able to compete with the Fiesta ST and Renault Clio RS. Even better, why not build a Juke-R with the GT-R powertrain? Although there won’t be much space for shopping, the car will be an absolute joy!