The new Nissan Micra returns as a brilliant, small, electric car that will bring a smile to your face.

It’s fair to say that with the Micra’s long history in the U.K. it had accomplished great success by the time the 3rd generation car had retired. In fact, these Gen 3 Micra’s were so well made that many are still on the roads today.

But by the time the 4th generation Micra launched, Nissan had transformed it into a global product, moving away from the funky European hatchback that customers were drawn to and it resulted in declining sales.
Nissan tried to revive the situation with its 5th generation Micra. Despite the great design, youthful looks and kerb appeal, customers had moved on and sales dwindled further until Nissan ended its production in 2023.

New Beginnings

There is a happy ending to this story because the Micra is back and it’s really, rather good! On test was the top-of-the range 52 kWh Evolve version featuring many bells and whistles.

Prices for the Nissan Micra start from £21,495 for the entry level 40 kWh Engage model, but this top spec version costs £26,115 including the EV Car Grant.

Its evidently a product of the Renault Nissan alliance but entirely with its own identity and personality. There are design cues that hark back to the 3rd generation Micra from the wheel designs to the circular lights, and even the colour seems familiar. What Nissan has done is nod to its past whilst it forges ahead with a fresh design language, but the lineage is evident if not subtle.

How Does it Drive?

First impressions were very good, because the moment it was mobile I could feel the Micra soaking up the rough roads completely unphased by what it found despite the 18-inch standard SPORT alloy wheels.

Nissan has done a remarkable job of tuning the multi-link rear suspension and McPherson front struts giving the small hatchback a big-car feel. It may ride slightly on the firm side, but even over the roughest surfaces it was never uncomfortable nor did it transmit any of that roughness into the cabin.

With the weight low down and the ride firm-ish but comfortable and compliant, the Micra had a reassuring feel as it turned into bends without fuss or drama all whilst it carried a little speed.
It just remained well-mannered even when pushed through tight turns on rough surfaces.

The Micra feels much more sprightly than its 8 seconds 0-60 mph sprint suggests. And it may only have 150 hp, but the torque from the 245 Nm front-mounted motor is instant at any speed allowing for confident overtaking. However, just like the hot hatchbacks from the 90’s, it suffers with a little torque steer under hard acceleration. It’s never uncontrollable, but it is characterful, almost cheeky.

Efficiency

With the few hours that I had with it I could not get its average efficiency to drop below 4.5 miles per kWh - and I tried! It proved to be extremely efficient whatever I threw at it.
With a WLTP rated range of 257 miles - and this level of efficiency - I would expect to see 234 miles of real-world range on our test route. But, drive it more gently in one of the other drive modes, and I wouldn’t be surprised to achieve the WLTP rated range with relative ease.

Those modes also adjust the weight of the steering and throttle response. Sport mode was the most entertaining with heavier steering and sharper responses. It really felt like it wanted me to have a little fun, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s not often cars put a smile on my face, but this one did and it felt like it had transported me back to my youth, many, many decades in the past.

The brakes can be a little grabby under heavier braking, but setting the regen level to one-pedal driving - the strongest regen setting - the physical brakes are needed less making for a more enjoyable drive. In this mode the car brakes itself nicely into bends and comes to a reassuring stop at junctions.
For those that prefer different regen settings, the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel will allow drivers to select the regen level that suits them.

Issues

There were a few foibles, though. I noticed a small rattle on the top of the dashboard next to the A-pillar that Nissan may wish to iron out. It wasn’t loud, but I must confess I didn’t have the excellent Harmon Kardon sound system on, and the cabin was naturally super-quiet with very little tyre noise or wind noise finding its way into the cabin.

The dashboard can feel a touch overwhelming from the driver’s seat at first. There are four stalks to contend with, but it only takes a few moments to become familiar with that set-up.
However, the gear selector stalk got me flummoxed. My natural reaction after parking the car was to push the park button on the end of the gear selector stalk - which seems entirely logical - except it wasn’t a button. It was a button shaped decorative ‘design feature’.
The actual Park button was the electronic handbrake situated above the mobile phone charging tray under the dashboard. It felt like it was tucked away rather than being conveniently positioned.

The start/stop button had me confused, too. It must be pressed to turn the car on despite the car appearing to be very much on. It just wasn’t on-on. Perhaps a dashboard reminder would fix that, or living with the car after a few days would do the job.

First world problem alert - I was also conscious of my left leg resting on the hard plastics from the side of the central console. I’m being super-picky here, but just a little padding would make for a more comfortable resting position.

These are small gripes in an otherwise very nice and very comfortable interior and all it would take is a little time to become acclimated to a different layout and different features.

Interior and Tech

The dashboard top had a nice padded leathery texture to it and the steering wheel felt premium in the hands with a noticeable flat-ish top and bottom.

The seats were comfortable and supportive. Lumbar support seemed to be placed in just the right spot, too. I could imagine spending hours sat in the car without feeling any discomfort.

The screens - both central display and drivers display - were very clear and intuitive enough to use. Navigation can be displayed both on the central screen and in front of the driver with all the important information in the eye line.

Special features like ‘Hey Google’ - which is the cars in-built AI Assistant - was a useful feature for a natural language command, or internet search commands.

Other tech featured the usual safety equipment like lane keep assist, lane departure warning, speed assist, driver monitoring system and six airbags.

There’s also a blind spot monitoring system, adaptive cruise control accessed via the steering wheel buttons, rear parking sensors and a rear parking camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the rather lovely Harmon Kardon sound system, wireless phone charger and Google Maps with built-in route planner and Google Assistant. This will navigate to a relevant charger when needed, for example. Just easy and a joy to use.

The rear seats are a little cramped, but perfectly fine for shorter trips, or children on longer journeys.
Boot space was good at 326 litres, although there is a bit of a load lip to lift stuff over as the boot itself is deep. Luggage space expands to 1,106 litres with the seats folded.

Summary

This is a very likeable car. I was particularly impressed with how it drove, often bringing a smile to my face as it zipped around bends with such ease and reassurance.
It has a good amount of technology to keep most people happy, and the foibles are more of a familiarisation exercise than being core issues.

It was a comfortable ride, too, and entertaining if needed with enough power and plenty of torque to make for an engaging drive. I would be perfectly happy living with the Micra day-to-day.

PROS

✓ Engaging and entertaining drive with reassuring handling
✓ Very good real-world efficiency
✓ Compliant suspension that’s well-tuned for British roads

Cons

✗ Ergonomics could be better with the park button cited closer to hand
✗ Rear space is tight for adults
✗ The brakes can be very grabby under heavier braking

A special thanks to the Nissan EV Owners Club UK and Nissan UK for lending me the car to review.

———

About the Author

Graeme Cobb is a lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for writing about cars, EVs, industry updates and more.

You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb or YouTube @REV-EV.

2026 Nissan Micra 52 kWh Evolve Review