10th Jul 2007, 11:09

It's just that a Volvo owner is spoilt as Volvo's have quality and comfort as well as safety - something the Japanese don't understand. There is much more to a car than economy and reliability! I understand that Micra are reliable, but they are fitted with cheap plastics, horrible seats, and are built out of tin cans with no attempt at any other safety features other than what is required by Law. The Micra I drove also had a terrible CVT gearbox - It rates as one of the worst cars I have ever driven. You can't compare it to a Volvo - Volvo is way out of Nissan's league!

12th Sep 2007, 12:02

I'm afraid that you couldn't be more wrong about the lack of handling and comfort in Japanese cars. You are probably too ignorant to realise that they make Subaru, Honda which both come up with some fast cars. As for comfort, the Nissan Bluebird was a fine car as many people would agree. If the wheels skidded then the brakes obviously worked, how can you expect ABS on an inexpensive old car such as the Micra you are refering to. It should go without saying that a Volvo S40 will be a faster, more comfortable car with a heap of extras, so how can you expect a car that costs a third as much to compete fairly??

27th Oct 2007, 17:05

Do not Tar and Feather every car with the same brush!

Every manufacturer makes one Dud, even Rolls Royces.

So you were given a bad model, blame the hire company for not looking after it, not the manufacturers.

I have had 2 Micras and they are superbly reliable cars.

There is NO better small car out there on the market.

The Japanese have made the most reliable cars since the mid 1970's!!

31st Oct 2007, 12:37

I am sorry - but the previous comment was made by someone who has never been in a recent Volvo. Why is it that everyone here is comparing ALL Japanese cars together as if they are one? Granted, Japanese cars are reliable - and they are cheaper than Volvo's - but they feel it too. You get what you pay for I'm afraid - that's why a Volvo is a far more solid, safe, comfortable, etc car than a Nissan! I said NISSAN, NOT LEXUS, etc. Also, last time I looked (here in the UK), Honda Accords, Subaru - all models - Lexus, etc cost MORE that the equivalent Volvo's spec for spec!!!I do give it to you all though; you Japanese enthusiasts are a loyal lot - insult ANY Japanese car and you all come out fighting!

6th Mar 2008, 11:55

The reviewer would have found fault in any small car by the sounds of the review. The performance for a 1 litre is exactly what you would expect, nothing more or less and the car is an ultra reliable no-frills A to B vehicle that does everything it is meant to better than its competitors. The review was very unhelpful to anyone looking at small cars.

I drove a Micra (same series as is being reviewed) when I first passed my test, and it was ideal for what I wanted. My only complaint was that on mine and a few friends the Micra reacted very badly to being started and then stopped soon afterwards... it resulted in it refusing to start up again and needed pushing to get going again.

The review has caused controversy over the claim about Japanese cars, and people have brought in Honda and others to disprove this point-fair enough. I think Nissan make very good cars, and if you want all out performance and handling, then take a look at the newest Skyline out in Japan; it just did the Nurburging Ring with a faster lap time than the Bugatti Veyron.

21st Mar 2009, 15:11

Japanese cars handle like toy cars? Ahem... Have you ever driven an F.T.O.? I think you should experience more than one Japanese car to make a statement like that. You didn't even own the car, It was a courtesy car...

28th Mar 2010, 05:22

Our latest car, a Nissan Micra, is now 18 years old and never let us down. My first car was a Datsun (Nissan) Sunny, and after that we had a Nissan Sunny. There are not many cars as reliable as Nissan.

21st Apr 2010, 16:55

Well look at the sales guys... well Volvo is known for their safety and comfort, and spend a hell lot of money on R&D, but never did make any better looking cars... and neither did it make much sales when compared to Nissan.

Nissan has the right product in the right market, in the small car market segment Nissan Micra was a hit, then the Nissan Primera also did good sales... and the Nissan GTR; everyone knows it...

20th Nov 2011, 10:44

First of all, your comments are wrong!

This is the second Micra I have owned; the first getting just over 100,000 miles with only having regular servicing. Tyres and an exhaust, but these are consumables.

The second is a 1996 car with 55,000 miles and the nippy 1 litre engine.

I can't understand why you slate it so much; the V40 is not exactly Volvo's finest. Owned an 850 TDI 230k!

Remember, a second class ride is better than a first class walk!

How is the 16v motor underpowered? Mine revs well, and holds its own up the dual carriageway, 40-60 in no time.

Returns a good mpg, always starts, heater only takes a mile on cold mornings.

The seats don't hold you on hard cornering; we can only assume you're thrashing your borrowed car.

Why would you need to corner hard in a Micra, or indeed a Volvo?

Look at the car for what it is intended for - cheap, economical and reliable, that is all it was designed to be.

7th May 2012, 18:23

Just to add my comment...

I think Volvo man would be surprised to learn that his S40 is in fact built on Mitsubishi Carisma running gear!

I've had plenty of Volvos (T5R 960 3.0l etc), and I'm loving every minute of being a Micra owner!

2nd Jan 2014, 16:37

Hi mate, just to let you I think the reason it sometimes needs bumping is because the distributor needs changing. They mostly go around the 100k mark.

The K11s are very high quality, reliable cars, nothing to gripe about, and I find them very nippy for a 1 litre compared to other 1 litres. Every car has their common faults. I'm sure there ain't a car out there that doesn't have any :)