Overall rating:

In a busy supermini marketplace Nissan's backward-step Micra is some way off the pace. However, the range now includes the DIG-S engine, which offers diesel style economy with a petrol engine. That's achieved via a supercharger and some clever combustion techniques. An interesting choice in an otherwise uninspired range, the DIG-S engine is as promising as the overall Micra is disappointing.

Key Facts

Pricing: From £11,000
Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder, supercharged petrol
Transmission: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Suzuki Swift, Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa
CO₂ emissions: 95g/km
Combined economy: 68.9mpg
Top speed: 111mph
0-62mph: 11.3 secs
Power: 97bhp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 105lb.ft at 4,400rpm

In the Metal:

Vanilla styled for a worldwide audience, the Micra is neither striking nor offensive; it absolutely defines the middle-ground. That's perhaps fine for its global, world car audience, but in the UK and Europe it's up against some seriously desirable superminis. The DIG-S model gains a large rear spoiler for greater aerodynamic efficiency and loses the standard Micra's weird roof strengthening pressings - but it's not a car you're ever going to turn heads with.

The cheap, yet not very cheerful, look and feel permeates the interior, too. The materials feel and look inexpensive, and the styling errs on functionality rather than flair. Get out of its predecessor and into this model and you'd swear this is the older car.

Driving it:

The 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine is the star of an otherwise utterly forgettable driving experience. It's a clever unit, as the 1.2-litre triple gains a de-coupling supercharger to give a boost when required, allowing this DIG-S to deliver the seemingly odd bedfellows of greater performance allied with improved economy. The emissions of 95g/km and 68.9mpg on the combined cycle are the numbers that sell this car - but that's all.

Some rather clever technology helps to achieve those numbers. Running on the Miller cycle at low revs, the 1.2-litre unit's pumping loses and internal friction is significantly reduced as a result of some exotic surface coatings inside. There's an on-demand alternator, while a quick stop-start system shuts down the three-cylinder unit at any opportunity. It's a lively, enthusiastic sounding engine, which needs revs, keeping you busy with the rather lacklustre and noisy five-speed manual gearbox. Even with transmission whine we'd have the manual over the CVT all day long, not least because the CVT robs the DIG-S Micra of its headline consumption and emissions figures.

A tight turning circle is useful in town, and it rides well over bumps, but if you want driving flair then virtually everything in the Micra's class betters it.

What you get for your Money:

Aside from the economy, another area where the Micra scores a win is on value. It's pretty comprehensively equipped, with plenty of airbags, air conditioning, Bluetooth telephony and aux-in audio as standard.

Worth Noting

Choose that CVT automatic option and the DIG-S raison-d'être is lost. CO₂ emissions leap to 115g/km and economy drops to 56.5mpg.

Summary

The DIG-S demonstrates Nissan at its best, pushing boundaries and delivering excellent economy and emissions figures by applying clever technology and thinking. The Micra the DIG-S engine is in is the polar opposite - it's Nissan at its worst, penny-pinching and offering a lacklustre world car to an audience that expects better. Putting the DIG-S engine under the Micra's bonnet raises interest in it, but it still sits at the bottom of a very long list of superminis we'd own first.