Auto Express Drives Thai Micra/March

British motoring rag Auto Express have travelled to Thailand to test drive the new Nissan March, or Micra as it will be called in the UK market. The interest in the car is obvious, given that this is a global car, with Thailand being the first market.

Auto Express contributor, Jack Rix, gives the March a reasonable write up, but points out that there are several things that are below expectations, that will be improved in the spec for the UK market.

For example, Rix points out:

The interior is spacious but the plastics in our Thai-spec test car were hard and scratchy. European Micras will get a upgraded interior however, featuring higher-quality soft-touch materials when they goes on sale in November.

Similarly Rix mentions the ride and handling, which will be retuned for European tastes.

A spongy suspension setup makes it surprisingly comfortable in a straight line but the trade-off is significant body roll in the corners. It's hard to read too much into out test car’s driving characteristics though as UK-spec cars will feature retuned suspension, a lower ride height and softer compound tyres.

Finally, Auto Express give the car a middle-of-the-road three-out-of-five star rating. This is far from impressive. Rix advises buyers to stick to the manual box as the CVT was unbearably noisy and acceleration was described as "woeful".

The March has been selling well in Thailand, with Nissan Thailand taking in 8,000 orders for the car in the first month. Apparently the uptake on CVT models has exceeded expectations and there is a waiting list of up to 6-months for customers wanting a noisy and woefully slow car.

Do remember that the March is the the first to market in this new category. I would be inclined to hold out for a few more options before committing cash to what seems to be a very ordinary car.

You can read the full review over at Auto Express.