The new Sunderland-built Micra uses the brand new Alliance platform which will eventually underpin the next Clio.
The front strut and torsion beam rear suspension is conventional stuff and braking is handled by a combination of front discs and rear drums, each set-up being augmented anti-lock, EBS and brake assist as standard on every model.
The rear-seat base can be moved forward by 200mm to increase the relatively small boot from a poor 237 litres to a class-leading 371 litres – bigger even than the cargo area in Honda’s Jazz – but at the expense of any usable legroom in the rear.
We have chosen to test the 1.2 which promises to be the pick of the range and also the most popular. It produces 79bhp at 5200rpm and 81lb ft at 3600rpm which makes it almost as powerful as rivals’ 1.4 units.