The new Nissan Micra is a ten-second car

Welcome Americans! Good to see we’ve got your attention. Now let us begin by saying the Nissan Micra – this car you have no interest in whatsoever, which is small enough to fit in the cupholder of your truck – is not a ten-second car. Not even close. Sorry. 

No, our claim doesn’t relate to the Micra’s quarter-mile time, but its 0-62mph time when fitted with a new 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine. Said engine, which makes 117bhp (17 more horsepower than the next most powerful engine) is on sale now as part of the Micra’s mid-life facelift. So equipped, 0-62mph happens in 9.9 seconds. That’s an improvement of one whole second over the next-fastest engine. 

You also get a ‘performance-oriented’ six-speed manual transmission, 10mm lower suspension with special tuning and sharper steering. Nissan calls it a “warm hatch” and we reckon that’s stretching things a bit. Tepid, maybe. Or room temperature. Either way, the Micra is a decent-handling little car anyway, so marginally more focussed suspension and a tad more power is most welcome. 

Elsewhere for the facelift the 90bhp engine has been ditched in favour of a 100bhp one, there’s a new CVT auto box and some new trims. 

Now, stop mucking around and give us a proper Micra Nismo, please.