My brother learnt to drive in one back in 2005. He said it was awful. Then he bought a Corsa CDTI which he kept for about 12 years. Now he drives a Mokka. You know kids & stuff.
In the late 80's you were paying nearly £6k for a bog standard Ford Fiesta Mk3, run that through an inflation calculator. The older we get the less we understand how much money gets you, I paid £40k for my 1st home in 95 in one of the best areas near me you could buy, try getting anything for double that now in the roughest of areas
A friend of mine had a Volvo with a CVT gearbox in the mid 90s - he always referred to it as the "rubber band powered car". Very unusual under acceleration.
I drove a Juke CVT a while back.Awful car...in fact so awful it was fun to drive,hilarious acceleration redlining at 10mph all way to 70mph.Loads of noise not alot of go.As for the suspension,brake hard and it comically nose dives like its about to do a bloody forward roll 😂
i drive this car and i love it. the only thing that sucks about the Nissan CVT is their tendency to break, and the cost to repair or replace them. driving them is a joy to me. nothing to complain. 100,000km so far no problem yet.
I remember my dad went through a bit of a mad phase and bought a gen 2 micra in bright purple. A little unusual since he was pretty much a devout escort/mondeo bloke. Absolutely fantastic little car. felt like driving a go kart more than anything.
I did just see a 2017 Toyota Corolla with 700,000 miles on it. So about 1,120,000 km. With a CVT. So I'm sure they can be reliable. But it definitely will need to have transmission fluid changes. I dont think there is much hope for a Nissan CVT however.
I think the CVT gets too much hate. It does have a time and a place. In a big sedan with a big engine it works. You are never above 2000rpm on a highway so the engine makes no noticeable noise when going along. When you request the power it does go to its power peak and it makes noise but it is the same with an automatic. I also think CVTs are just neat from a technological stand point.
I used to think this as well.. until I tried Nissan's CVT in a rented Altima. It was absolutely dreadful. The only thought I had while driving is that I'd rather park this car in a ditch and walk to wherever I wanna go. It slowly sucks away at your soul. Never had I ever had a car make me physically sick - at the wheel no less - than that car, and its all because of the CVT.
Nissan makes quite dreadful cars in general. I have lived with a Lexus GS450h for 2 years and the CVT I would say is better than a regular automatic for that application. You have no gear shifts which makes the driving experience smoother and the power delivery is quicker than the automatics I have driven from the same vintage. You don't sit there waiting while the gearbox remembers it exists or waiting the the great to change.
I had a Honda Fit with a CVT. That car was just dreadful because it was just so poorly made. But I kinda miss the CVT. Idk how to describe it atm. But I drive very efficiently so to speak. I have a light foot and get to my speed and let off the pedal a bit. The CVT would award me quite handsomely when I was at speed and was good when slowing down and city traffic. I now drive a Toyota 4Runner with a tradional automatic and me and the transmission just cant seem to get along. It really just wants you to floor it all the time. It can't have a gradual speed increase and I quite dislike feeling the gears shift especially in city traffic. Its feels very much less flexible in a way. It is a 5 speed. I assume newer cars with 10 speeds would feel more smooth? I miss that CVT at times. But also it was quite buzzy and had zero joy when trying to floor it. And that weak 1.5 engine was such a pathetic powertrain. Even on a small car it felt gutless. It did the job but I dont want a car with under 160hp again.
‘Around town it’s fine’ and ‘It’s fun to drive’ you said. Surely that’s what it was designed for. Some people need a small practical, economical, reliable automatic car for local journeys.
Except Nissan CVT's are fucking unreliable. Multiple Nissan's that had cvts here in Greece for rental companies had actually broken on the side on the road. And no it wasn't for lack of service. The Nissan cvts are hot garbage (rubbish if you're British) A manual option for these is the best one (if it exists)
20k for a Micra.😣😣 You have to really want one. I own a 2001 Micra 1.3 k11, a real Japanese 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 Nissan 🏯 before they joined with the diamond of doom 💎🤔.
@@JonnyJayJonson Already have one. Got it to offset the MPG I get on my Jag XJR and Merc S65, which are brutal 😂 I find normal everyday car reviews much more interesting than high performance vehicles
I could've sworn that Nissan stopped producing the micra! Can't remember the last time I saw one on the road, everyone and their nan goes with the Qumquat instead.
Come on dude, you are being unfair to the car. It's a far more beautiful looking car than that vomit Nissan Juke and even Fiesta. Also, a Fiesta will not survive even 1/6th of the life before it falls apart. And as you mentioned, it's quite nice in and around town and that's precisely what it is for. This is not a motorway cruiser. It looks nice from every angle and it's small enough to be tax/insurance efficient. Only negative is that it's priced a bit too high and the equipment options are poor.
Not really, as a CVT can be quite good if the transmission and the engine characteristics are carefully matched to each other. There are enough examples of a CVT/engine combination working perfectly, look at the Yamaha T-Max series for example. My T-Max 500 outputs a rather modest 40+ HP, yet in acceleration it can put many a sporty car and even sporty bikes to shame, just because Yamaha did take the effort to match the proper CVT to the engine. Somehow Nissan doesn't seem to care about building cars anymore and they just bolt together an engine with a transmission and call it a day.
My first car was a Micra K10. You could literally drive 10 to 20 over the speed limit and people still just HAD to overtake you because Micra. Sometimes I suspected my speedometer to be broken. Still miss that old shitbox.
I love CVT transmissions. I would hate a CVT to pretend it is a stepped automatic. Fortunately mine doesn't. Going along with the flow of traffic never exceeding 2000 rpm is performance driving too! Great fun to do.
In the west of Ireland we have got "Berlingo Man" He is one of many local farmers who pull out onto the main road, drive along at 30mph and then suddenly turn off again (with no indicator) down another boreen (lane)!
Sounds like my Irish grandad we always knew when he was coming by the huge line of traffic stuck behind him.... He was a farmer and got too used to driving tractors that 30mph was the fastest he would go.
US viewer here - my partner owns a 2010 Suzuki SX4 AWD with the 2.0L J20B (148 hp) and a CVT made by Jatco, the same supplier of transmissions for Nissan. Having driven many a Versa and Altima with similar transmissions, I'm not sure what Suzuki did differently, but it's not the most tragic gearbox I've ever used unlike those from Nissan. It's reasonably responsive and doesn't tend to hunt too much if your throttle inputs are smooth. However, I can't help but wonder how the car would feel if they had used a traditional 5/6spd automatic instead.
Your opinion of course but I quite like the CVT transmission in my Micra, doesnt jump, blip or anything else, very smooth unlike the jolty auto gearbox I had on my Ford.. I have the 100hp version goes very well 60 mpg on a run, 40 round town.
Great review. I agree CVT does not work on a small engines. I have a Lexus GS450h Mk 4 so it is a Hybrid with a 3.5 V6 petrol engine and the CVT works wonders with this engine. So, I personally believe the Hybrid works best with a decent and powerful engine. I still get consumption of a 2 Litre diesel car in comparison so I am extremely happy with mine. Nissan made a big mistake...
Hi JayEmm, I've been enjoying your videos, a good variety of cars reviewed. I must come to the defence of CVT gearboxes - my 2012 Audi A5 2.0TDI has a CVT, and it's like a magic carpet to drive, very smooth and quiet, even with 125,000 miles on the clock. The throttle response did take a bit of getting used to, but given that the 170BHP engine has a lot of torque low down, for the most part it just purrs along, unless you select the "S" mode on the gearstick in which case it's happy to "make progress". Keep up the good work!
So the CVT ruins any chance of enjoyment - and then the simulated gear changes ruin the smoothness, the only thing a CVT transmission has going for it? Have to admit, I'm actually OK with the CVT in my Auris hybrid, but that's a car with no enjoyment to lose in the first place.
I’ve got an Accenta Limited Ed. Doesn’t sound that exciting but I thought it’s very well equipped. It has a lot of safety kit as standard and has quite a bit more kit than the Ibiza FR Tech I had previously. I think it has everything you need on a small car as it includes climate control and keyless go that the regular Accenta doesn’t have. It is the manual with the 100ps version of this engine. I’m not slim but I find the seats more comfortable than the sports seats in the Ibiza FR because they don’t pinch you. Was only £14k though brand new
Holy Macaroni, you just said this thing was £20,000 and fell short of its similarly priced Kia Rio rival?! That’s $27,660 US!! $34,800 CAD!! And that a *Ford Fiesta costs a couple thousand more* ?!?! What on earth is with car prices out there?! There’s no way this car should cost that much!
Don't get me wrong, love watching your sportscar reviews and ramble videos, but as a person who's about to take his driving test and find a real-world first car, I also do enjoy watching you review these affordable cars too. I know you reviewed Fiesta STs before, but would be great if Ford gives you a 1 litre ecoboost Fiesta to review. Either the 99ps version or the 125ps or the 140ps would be fine. Keep up the great work James 👍
CVT gearboxes = Like driving a car with a slipping clutch... Awful things... ! Any CVT equipped car is impossible to derive driving enjoyment/satisfaction from, in my opinion anyway.
The reincarnation of the metro. Usually seen in Yorkshire driven at the head of a 5 mile tailback with Alf in the driving seat wearing the obligatory flat cap or trilby and Mavis sat next to him sporting a purple bouffant hairdo. The bain of Sunday driving
We have a 2011 IS250 (2.5 v6) with a CVT and to be honest - it's not bad - it drives like a regular auto with "gears". If you put your foot down, it "extends" the gear you in. Certainly having a v6 means that it doesn't need to work the gearbox too hard in normal use. Where as my mums Honda Jazz with e CVT is a different matter - just like this Micra.
Jayemm is single handedly thee most criminally underrated motoring journalist ever. He’s my go to choice for a review on a car. No nonsense, no bullshit
The fundamental problem (for me at least) with this Micra is that it is not really a Micra at all. It's a rebodied Renault Clio. Its even built by Renault in France for the Euro market. So gone are the days of the bombproof Micras of old made in Sunderland and Japan. Shame...
It looks cramped on the inside, compared to the previous Sunderland/JDM versions which had good interior space despite having a shorter length than this present one.
I would love to see what you think of the current WRX with a CVT box. I dont know if they sell them in the UK but here in the US they are all over the place.
Jay speaking the absolute truth,had me laughing at those accurate observations,I just drove a brand new Leaf the other day,it was utterly devoid of anything that may make driving an enjoyable experience,talk about getting A to B,I'm skinny as Hell and it's seats were also lousy!
I strongly agree with what you have said. I once owned a Nissan Sentra b17, personally I think it's a good looking car, spacious and comfortable. I don't think the 1.8L engine is underpowered, but the crappy cvt just ruin the whole car. When you ask for power, it gives you after half a second.
@@ianmowbray3284 tbh I‘m 100% sure that I won‘t. I have driven an R8 4S that my Audi dealer gave to me for a short spin and I couldn‘t enjoy it 100% due to the S-Tronic
Gearbox aside (and I agree that CVTs in small cars generally are pretty appalling!) They look alright those "new" Micra's, seem to have dropped the Pensioner-Chic styling of previous generations at least.
I was driving down then M4 yesterday and a micra flew past me it must of been a diesel one because it was smoking, it just kept pulling away it was a 08 plate
Fortunately they're Jatco cvt's are more reliable of late, but the damage has been done, people don't trust them. They are slowly moving back to traditional Jatco gearboxes, 9 speed etc. Japanese car makers seem to be in love with cvt's, Toyota, Honda, even Lexus and Acura use them.
The favourite do half the speed limit car has to be the Kia Venga, No matter where you go in the UK you'll get stuck behind a Venga being driven at 16mph
It feels like you get a burst of acceleration when you take your foot off the pedal, more than when you actually had your foot down. It's strange but a little fun to induce on purpose.
@@isaacrowe8977you can't compare a crappy Nissan or Subaru cvt to a Mercedes, Toyota or Honda one as far as i'm told. Of course they are not for sporty driving, but with these small and weak engines you can't really do that anyway, so what?.
My step-son's Nissan (Sentra) is so under powered, he thought it was broken and took it to the dealership when he was really just driving into a gusty head wind. To be fair, the symptoms manifested similarly to when the CVT transmission failed and had to be replaced after only 15,000 miles.
At least the new clio gets the newer 1.3 130 hp engine and it seems pretty likely the mkV clio will sell at least as good if not better than the previous gen probably even more so if Renault is to release a touring variant of it
Funny story - my Dad's K12 Micra daily (2003-2008) has the CVT box bolted to the CR14DE, aka the 1.4 in an SE trim. Beige car, beige on beige interior... That car benefits from two things and two things only...it launches pretty well and allows for left foot braking...and fuck me does it stop. In a city car, that's pretty handy. o
I really think that Nissan should have dropped the Micra name, I think the concept version was called Sway, that could have helped get rid of the fuddy duddy image of the old car.
I had a Honda HR-V with a CVT which considering the issues with that models actual gearbox was 100% reliable and wasn't even that bad to drive. Great getting out of muddy fields and decent in snow unlike the Auto CR-V.. Had a CVT Mk3 Fiesta Ghia too which was lovely to drive, apart from the 2 gearbox replacements... Simple fact is 95% of the time a CVT is great, it's only when you want to rag em they fall apart.
WOW! Did you say 20K? That's nuts, this reminds me of my Aveo, great little econ-box and new it was 10K (American). And YES (in agreement) my brother is in the parts business and he says dont buy a CVT by ANYONE, they dont hold up.
Say NO to CVT's, and also to FWD, and also to Touch Screens, and Voice-control, and gesture control, and diesels. All annoying as fuck. I really can't imagine how I'm going to upgrade to something newer than my 2018 E400 Estate without breaking at least one of those.
@@liamholcroft7212 Out of 27 cars I've owned, I've had seven 4WD, 19 RWD and 1 FWD and it was awful. I kept it only three weeks, two of which were me trying to sell it. Torque steer bunny hopping under-steering piece of garbage. I had to drive my girlfriend's Golf 6 (with 160hp) the other day and it was just as bad as the one I had all those years ago. I'm amazed when petrol-heads talk positively about FWD hot hatches.
I often use a scooter with a CVT for the daily stuff, and i absolutely love the CVT transmission. Haven't tried it in a car, but i do see car lovers dislike them all the time. Think i'll work on trying one at some point, to satisfy my curiosity.
@SuperStraight since78 I understand (in a fun car i absolutely agree), but that's the "some sort of automated gearbox vs manual" debate, not the "what is up with a CVT in a car" debate. CVTs seem to get far more hate than any version of automated garbox.
Driven lots of Nissan Sunnys with a CVT in driving school and prefer them to 4 speed autos. I've honestly grown to disliking autos with less than 5 speeds though. The gear ratios in 4 speed autos are too far off to feel smooth. Thank CVT for that. The only hiccup with CVT for me is moving from a stop, it obviously limits power to protect the transmission but its great when you have momentum.
We in the states don't get the Micra, though I believe Canada and Mexico did at one time. From what I have gleaned from British car magazines, there were good and bad generations of the Micra...this generation looks fairly decent. And of course, Americans have cursed Nissan for nearly 2 decades for making a conventional automatic transmission unavailable in any of their products sold here except for the Z car and their pickup trucks. Thanks to Nissan, many Americans have come to hate CVTs and until recently we were able to avoid them. But now, every Japanese car manufacturer has dumped their automatic transmission in favor of a CVT in all of their "bread and butter" sedans, with the premium sedans and SUVs still using conventional automatics.
Never driven a car with CVT..... Having watched this review - the chances are that I never will 🤔. Despite its drawbacks I will stick to my old classic 3 speed auto. It does lose a lot of power between engine and tarmac but there is a lot of power/torque to play with. When the transmission fails then I might convert it to manual.
Wait...this car has 17"wheels and it doesn't even have up to 100HP? Strange for a 2010+ car. Why do car manufacturers feel they need to put large wheels and tyres on their subcompact cars?
Only for design reasons, the car is quite tall so it will looks bad with little rims but 16" whould have been a better choice (better performances, less fuel, cheaper tyres)
I owed a 2005 Micra from new it was nothing but trouble will never get another one the deal had in the position long then I did Two sets of door locks one steering wheel one pedal box squeaks and rattles Crank shaft oil leak I now own a 2008 Vw pole the best car I ever had
So, this is a car for people who don't care about cars or driving and just want a small car to get from A to B... And now it's styling means your friends might not be too embarrassed to be seen in the car with you? 😮😬🤣
Production ended in 2022. Indeed these are fun to drive, the steering is just right. I'd recommend the advanced TCe engine with 100 PS. Later it was reduced to 90, and the next Micra will have no power plant at all, it will be an EV. No affordable little cars anymore, the said engine consumes some 6.4 l 100km, 600km range.
I had a used 1.6l petrol Ford Escort in the early 2000's with a CVT that was pushing the car on when needing to slow down or stop! Ford said it could be repaired for £1000 but it would only go wrong again, and the fuel consumption (I won't say economy) was 25mpg which is the same as a Lexus LS400 with a 4 litre petrol V8!! 🙄🤬
6:22 Who knew Micras looked so good in blue
It gets a v10 too
yeah, colors can really change the look of a car alot, huh...
It's a sheep in wolves clothing.
I have a 100 hp nissan micra Nsport cvt as well and i enjoy it every day , youve got to learn how to and when you foot put the pedal
6:24 nice way to liven up a Micra review with some Lambo action.
Stop us falling to sleep as the micra is so boring
You have to credit Nissan though, at some angles it does look like a Lamborghini. Even a different colour Lamborghini. 6:24
Imagine paying 20k for a micra😭. The stereotypes were bang on btw 🤣
My brother learnt to drive in one back in 2005. He said it was awful. Then he bought a Corsa CDTI which he kept for about 12 years. Now he drives a Mokka. You know kids & stuff.
In the late 80's you were paying nearly £6k for a bog standard Ford Fiesta Mk3, run that through an inflation calculator.
The older we get the less we understand how much money gets you, I paid £40k for my 1st home in 95 in one of the best areas near me you could buy, try getting anything for double that now in the roughest of areas
The Micra is a great car. Imagine paying 19000 euro for a Kia Picanto these days😂🤦♂️
Loved my 1997 K11, crashed it twice, was still runing fine as my first car :D
A friend of mine had a Volvo with a CVT gearbox in the mid 90s - he always referred to it as the "rubber band powered car". Very unusual under acceleration.
I think the original CVT gear boxes years ago did use a rubber belt hence why a few people referred to them as a rubber band auto
@@ukvamp they function like that on scooters
I drove a Juke CVT a while back.Awful car...in fact so awful it was fun to drive,hilarious acceleration redlining at 10mph all way to 70mph.Loads of noise not alot of go.As for the suspension,brake hard and it comically nose dives like its about to do a bloody forward roll 😂
i drive this car and i love it. the only thing that sucks about the Nissan CVT is their tendency to break, and the cost to repair or replace them.
driving them is a joy to me. nothing to complain. 100,000km so far no problem yet.
Well with 100.000 km I can see no tendency to break 😆
I remember my dad went through a bit of a mad phase and bought a gen 2 micra in bright purple. A little unusual since he was pretty much a devout escort/mondeo bloke.
Absolutely fantastic little car. felt like driving a go kart more than anything.
A Nissan CVT transmission is usually not long for this world one of the most fragile auto boxes it's possible to purchase.
*Audi multitronic has entered the chat*
As in it’s very unreliable?
I did just see a 2017 Toyota Corolla with 700,000 miles on it. So about 1,120,000 km.
With a CVT. So I'm sure they can be reliable. But it definitely will need to have transmission fluid changes.
I dont think there is much hope for a Nissan CVT however.
I think the CVT gets too much hate. It does have a time and a place. In a big sedan with a big engine it works. You are never above 2000rpm on a highway so the engine makes no noticeable noise when going along. When you request the power it does go to its power peak and it makes noise but it is the same with an automatic. I also think CVTs are just neat from a technological stand point.
I used to think this as well.. until I tried Nissan's CVT in a rented Altima. It was absolutely dreadful. The only thought I had while driving is that I'd rather park this car in a ditch and walk to wherever I wanna go. It slowly sucks away at your soul. Never had I ever had a car make me physically sick - at the wheel no less - than that car, and its all because of the CVT.
Nissan makes quite dreadful cars in general. I have lived with a Lexus GS450h for 2 years and the CVT I would say is better than a regular automatic for that application. You have no gear shifts which makes the driving experience smoother and the power delivery is quicker than the automatics I have driven from the same vintage. You don't sit there waiting while the gearbox remembers it exists or waiting the the great to change.
I had a Honda Fit with a CVT.
That car was just dreadful because it was just so poorly made. But I kinda miss the CVT.
Idk how to describe it atm. But I drive very efficiently so to speak. I have a light foot and get to my speed and let off the pedal a bit. The CVT would award me quite handsomely when I was at speed and was good when slowing down and city traffic.
I now drive a Toyota 4Runner with a tradional automatic and me and the transmission just cant seem to get along. It really just wants you to floor it all the time. It can't have a gradual speed increase and I quite dislike feeling the gears shift especially in city traffic. Its feels very much less flexible in a way. It is a 5 speed. I assume newer cars with 10 speeds would feel more smooth?
I miss that CVT at times. But also it was quite buzzy and had zero joy when trying to floor it. And that weak 1.5 engine was such a pathetic powertrain. Even on a small car it felt gutless. It did the job but I dont want a car with under 160hp again.
‘Around town it’s fine’ and ‘It’s fun to drive’ you said. Surely that’s what it was designed for. Some people need a small practical, economical, reliable automatic car for local journeys.
Except Nissan CVT's are fucking unreliable. Multiple Nissan's that had cvts here in Greece for rental companies had actually broken on the side on the road. And no it wasn't for lack of service. The Nissan cvts are hot garbage (rubbish if you're British)
A manual option for these is the best one (if it exists)
20k for a Micra.😣😣 You have to really want one. I own a 2001 Micra 1.3 k11, a real Japanese 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵 Nissan 🏯 before they joined with the diamond of doom 💎🤔.
And that diamond of doom was Renault...
Wouldn't mind you reviewing a 2019 Toyota Yaris 1.5l Hybrid
They are great handling cars
I will if I can
God, why? Just test drive one at a Toyota dealer and live the dream yourself.
@@JonnyJayJonson Already have one. Got it to offset the MPG I get on my Jag XJR and Merc S65, which are brutal 😂 I find normal everyday car reviews much more interesting than high performance vehicles
@@JayEmmOnCars Thanks Jay! With the CVT system it's like driving a go-cart with a hairdryer for an engine 😂
Just to note, you can get this car with a 5sp manual, we have one, or a 6sp if you opt for the 117ps N-sport model.
I could've sworn that Nissan stopped producing the micra! Can't remember the last time I saw one on the road, everyone and their nan goes with the Qumquat instead.
Nissan's CVTs are also notoriously unreliable
A wild Gallardo appeared...
Come on dude, you are being unfair to the car. It's a far more beautiful looking car than that vomit Nissan Juke and even Fiesta. Also, a Fiesta will not survive even 1/6th of the life before it falls apart. And as you mentioned, it's quite nice in and around town and that's precisely what it is for. This is not a motorway cruiser.
It looks nice from every angle and it's small enough to be tax/insurance efficient.
Only negative is that it's priced a bit too high and the equipment options are poor.
Remember kids, don't do cvt's. Great life advice actually. 😅
Not really, as a CVT can be quite good if the transmission and the engine characteristics are carefully matched to each other.
There are enough examples of a CVT/engine combination working perfectly, look at the Yamaha T-Max series for example. My T-Max 500 outputs a rather modest 40+ HP, yet in acceleration it can put many a sporty car and even sporty bikes to shame, just because Yamaha did take the effort to match the proper CVT to the engine.
Somehow Nissan doesn't seem to care about building cars anymore and they just bolt together an engine with a transmission and call it a day.
You need ‘Don’t do CVT’s’ on a T-Shirt
My first car was a Micra K10. You could literally drive 10 to 20 over the speed limit and people still just HAD to overtake you because Micra. Sometimes I suspected my speedometer to be broken.
Still miss that old shitbox.
It was probably broken
I love CVT transmissions. I would hate a CVT to pretend it is a stepped automatic. Fortunately mine doesn't. Going along with the flow of traffic never exceeding 2000 rpm is performance driving too! Great fun to do.
In the west of Ireland we have got "Berlingo Man"
He is one of many local farmers who pull out onto the main road, drive along at 30mph and then suddenly turn off again (with no indicator) down another boreen (lane)!
I'll have to remember that one!
Sounds like my Irish grandad we always knew when he was coming by the huge line of traffic stuck behind him.... He was a farmer and got too used to driving tractors that 30mph was the fastest he would go.
Recently, I've been able to turn the volume up on your vids quite a bit...
...since your shirts haven't been so darn loud.
😊 As always, great review.
I really like CVTs especially driving for long hours on traffic jam, they are softer than other automatics and also it saves fuel.
I learnt to drive in a Micra (1988). Perfect for the job.
Fun to drive and completely unenjoyable, quite a combination! 🤔
US viewer here - my partner owns a 2010 Suzuki SX4 AWD with the 2.0L J20B (148 hp) and a CVT made by Jatco, the same supplier of transmissions for Nissan. Having driven many a Versa and Altima with similar transmissions, I'm not sure what Suzuki did differently, but it's not the most tragic gearbox I've ever used unlike those from Nissan. It's reasonably responsive and doesn't tend to hunt too much if your throttle inputs are smooth. However, I can't help but wonder how the car would feel if they had used a traditional 5/6spd automatic instead.
Your opinion of course but I quite like the CVT transmission in my Micra, doesnt jump, blip or anything else, very smooth unlike the jolty auto gearbox I had on my Ford.. I have the 100hp version goes very well 60 mpg on a run, 40 round town.
Hell, let’s go for third too
Said no Micra driver, ever! 😂
@@Stormy177 😭😭😭
9:45 don't do CVTs but do indeed do LSDs
Great review. I agree CVT does not work on a small engines. I have a Lexus GS450h Mk 4 so it is a Hybrid with a 3.5 V6 petrol engine and the CVT works wonders with this engine. So, I personally believe the Hybrid works best with a decent and powerful engine. I still get consumption of a 2 Litre diesel car in comparison so I am extremely happy with mine. Nissan made a big mistake...
3:00 It has the engine that it has, if you do not like it buy something else. In any case 92 horsepower is quite reasonable.
Hi JayEmm, I've been enjoying your videos, a good variety of cars reviewed. I must come to the defence of CVT gearboxes - my 2012 Audi A5 2.0TDI has a CVT, and it's like a magic carpet to drive, very smooth and quiet, even with 125,000 miles on the clock. The throttle response did take a bit of getting used to, but given that the 170BHP engine has a lot of torque low down, for the most part it just purrs along, unless you select the "S" mode on the gearstick in which case it's happy to "make progress". Keep up the good work!
I want a 2004 gated manual 360 Modena in Nero black with the challenge stradale exhaust fitted to it.
So the CVT ruins any chance of enjoyment - and then the simulated gear changes ruin the smoothness, the only thing a CVT transmission has going for it?
Have to admit, I'm actually OK with the CVT in my Auris hybrid, but that's a car with no enjoyment to lose in the first place.
Dont think your Auris has what you traditionally would call a CVT. Planetary gearset as far as I know.
@@GoldenCroc Correct, it's actually an eCVT with planetary gears rather than cones and a belt. Feels much the same as a conventional CVT.
I’ve got an Accenta Limited Ed. Doesn’t sound that exciting but I thought it’s very well equipped. It has a lot of safety kit as standard and has quite a bit more kit than the Ibiza FR Tech I had previously. I think it has everything you need on a small car as it includes climate control and keyless go that the regular Accenta doesn’t have. It is the manual with the 100ps version of this engine. I’m not slim but I find the seats more comfortable than the sports seats in the Ibiza FR because they don’t pinch you. Was only £14k though brand new
Holy Macaroni, you just said this thing was £20,000 and fell short of its similarly priced Kia Rio rival?! That’s $27,660 US!! $34,800 CAD!! And that a *Ford Fiesta costs a couple thousand more* ?!?!
What on earth is with car prices out there?! There’s no way this car should cost that much!
Now you know why european people don't drive big V6 sedan and V8 trucks. A little hatchback here can cost as much as a v6 mustang in the USA ...
Probably so they can pretend to give you a massive discount at the dealer. Its why sites like Car Wow are so popular.
20% VAT and road tax.
Don't get me wrong, love watching your sportscar reviews and ramble videos, but as a person who's about to take his driving test and find a real-world first car, I also do enjoy watching you review these affordable cars too. I know you reviewed Fiesta STs before, but would be great if Ford gives you a 1 litre ecoboost Fiesta to review. Either the 99ps version or the 125ps or the 140ps would be fine. Keep up the great work James 👍
CVT gearboxes = Like driving a car with a slipping clutch... Awful things... ! Any CVT equipped car is impossible to derive driving enjoyment/satisfaction from, in my opinion anyway.
I love watching how my CVT keeps the RPM ultra low and consistent when driving really slow. Such a comical way of how it works.
@@RealNameNeverUsed It's quite a ridiculous gearbox if you ask me! :) But for me NOT fun in any way, just frustrating.
The reincarnation of the metro. Usually seen in Yorkshire driven at the head of a 5 mile tailback with Alf in the driving seat wearing the obligatory flat cap or trilby and Mavis sat next to him sporting a purple bouffant hairdo. The bain of Sunday driving
So glad I watched this, nearly bought my wife one to replace her qashqai..
We have a 2011 IS250 (2.5 v6) with a CVT and to be honest - it's not bad - it drives like a regular auto with "gears". If you put your foot down, it "extends" the gear you in. Certainly having a v6 means that it doesn't need to work the gearbox too hard in normal use. Where as my mums Honda Jazz with e CVT is a different matter - just like this Micra.
I’ve had my 17 Nissan Maxima with a CVT since new and I’ve had no issues. Also to add, I’m not very nice to it either. Maybe it’s a VQ thing?
Jayemm is single handedly thee most criminally underrated motoring journalist ever. He’s my go to choice for a review on a car. No nonsense, no bullshit
Thanks, very kind
3:20 BRUTAL LAUNCH!!
You are literally the car review guy I go to when I actually want to buy one
That means a lot Arnold!
The fundamental problem (for me at least) with this Micra is that it is not really a Micra at all. It's a rebodied Renault Clio. Its even built by Renault in France for the Euro market. So gone are the days of the bombproof Micras of old made in Sunderland and Japan. Shame...
It looks cramped on the inside, compared to the previous Sunderland/JDM versions which had good interior space despite having a shorter length than this present one.
I would love to see what you think of the current WRX with a CVT box. I dont know if they sell them in the UK but here in the US they are all over the place.
Remember kids! Don't do CVTs unless they're in 1970s invacars!
When I saw the title I knew it would be a gearbox. Other than that it's always been a good car
Jay speaking the absolute truth,had me laughing at those accurate observations,I just drove a brand new Leaf the other day,it was utterly devoid of anything that may make driving an enjoyable experience,talk about getting A to B,I'm skinny as Hell and it's seats were also lousy!
I strongly agree with what you have said. I once owned a Nissan Sentra b17, personally I think it's a good looking car, spacious and comfortable. I don't think the 1.8L engine is underpowered, but the crappy cvt just ruin the whole car. When you ask for power, it gives you after half a second.
Automatic is a total no go.
No matter if it‘s a torque converter, dual clutch or CVT.
I understand why people like it but I really don‘t.
If you had a drive of my 300 bhp bmw 530d with 700 nm, you mite change your mind.
@@ianmowbray3284 tbh I‘m 100% sure that I won‘t.
I have driven an R8 4S that my Audi dealer gave to me for a short spin and I couldn‘t enjoy it 100% due to the S-Tronic
Gearbox aside (and I agree that CVTs in small cars generally are pretty appalling!) They look alright those "new" Micra's, seem to have dropped the Pensioner-Chic styling of previous generations at least.
I had a Juke CVT as a courtesy car, it drove nicely but it was odd getting used to the lack of gear change.
I was driving down then M4 yesterday and a micra flew past me it must of been a diesel one because it was smoking, it just kept pulling away it was a 08 plate
I believe CVT transmissions now aren't using belts and pulleys like a old DAF system but is now with a chain within oil
i think the one in nissan still uses steel belt n plates of steel. rumor has it, they commit suicide pretty early in their life.
@@krisnadiimam4556 near all cvt transmissions do that, especially in america as that's the cheapest way to make a automatic gearbox
The Micra is not available in my country anymore due to low sales. The stereotypes are also weirdly similar in my country.
Fortunately they're Jatco cvt's are more reliable of late, but the damage has been done, people don't trust them. They are slowly moving back to traditional Jatco gearboxes, 9 speed etc. Japanese car makers seem to be in love with cvt's, Toyota, Honda, even Lexus and Acura use them.
The favourite do half the speed limit car has to be the Kia Venga, No matter where you go in the UK you'll get stuck behind a Venga being driven at 16mph
Now I want to know what you think of Subaru moving to mostly if not only CVT transmissions in their vehicles.
It feels like you get a burst of acceleration when you take your foot off the pedal, more than when you actually had your foot down. It's strange but a little fun to induce on purpose.
May I add Vauxhall Agila/ Suzuki Splash to the silver top cars of choice
Also the new Golf GTI, I'm seeing a stupid amount of these doing 40mph everywhere.
What do you think of the 2 door land cruiser
Micra isn't really a bad car.
Except for the one before this generation.
I´m fine with the cvt in my w169 a-class - they are not all the exact same thing!
Nope they're the same still shit. Continually varying transmission. Regardless of the manufacturer it functions in the same boring fundamental way.
@@isaacrowe8977 driven them all, have you?
@@isaacrowe8977you can't compare a crappy Nissan or Subaru cvt to a Mercedes, Toyota or Honda one as far as i'm told. Of course they are not for sporty driving, but with these small and weak engines you can't really do that anyway, so what?.
i love my nissan micra but the only thing i dislike is how unresponsive the touchscreen is so i have to touch twice or right on the screen.
9:10 - Just to be clear - when you said that because of the politics at Nissan they wouldn’t be a hot Micra, what did you mean by ‘politics’?
Wondering if Renault are saying no in case it steals sales from the hot Clio.
My step-son's Nissan (Sentra) is so under powered, he thought it was broken and took it to the dealership when he was really just driving into a gusty head wind. To be fair, the symptoms manifested similarly to when the CVT transmission failed and had to be replaced after only 15,000 miles.
JayM. Is it made in Sunderland, Britain ? Sad this was used as a base chassis for the current Renault Clio Downunder ! V.
At least the new clio gets the newer 1.3 130 hp engine and it seems pretty likely the mkV clio will sell at least as good if not better than the previous gen probably even more so if Renault is to release a touring variant of it
Funny story - my Dad's K12 Micra daily (2003-2008) has the CVT box bolted to the CR14DE, aka the 1.4 in an SE trim. Beige car, beige on beige interior...
That car benefits from two things and two things only...it launches pretty well and allows for left foot braking...and fuck me does it stop. In a city car, that's pretty handy.
o
You should test the n-sport 117 for comparison..stiffer, lower suspension..117 bhp and alcantara interior..you might be surprised
Any spot the lambo over lay at 6:30
I paid £675 for my “R” reg, 1.3 SR with 98,000 miles back in 2007. My first car and had; alloys and sunroof...that’s about it.
I really think that Nissan should have dropped the Micra name, I think the concept version was called Sway, that could have helped get rid of the fuddy duddy image of the old car.
I had a Honda HR-V with a CVT which considering the issues with that models actual gearbox was 100% reliable and wasn't even that bad to drive.
Great getting out of muddy fields and decent in snow unlike the Auto CR-V..
Had a CVT Mk3 Fiesta Ghia too which was lovely to drive, apart from the 2 gearbox replacements...
Simple fact is 95% of the time a CVT is great, it's only when you want to rag em they fall apart.
I used to have a lancia Y10 cvt. I was brilliant in town. Out on the open road it was always at red line, all 50hp of it screaming.
WOW! Did you say 20K? That's nuts, this reminds me of my Aveo, great little econ-box and new it was 10K (American). And YES (in agreement) my brother is in the parts business and he says dont buy a CVT by ANYONE, they dont hold up.
I can't believe car manufacturers are still persevering with CVT transmissions when they're so unpopular with the buying public?
Looks much prettier than the old Micra like my aunt drives.
Good review w/o the unnecessary details.
I would much rather have a 2001 Micra than a new one.
Say NO to CVT's, and also to FWD, and also to Touch Screens, and Voice-control, and gesture control, and diesels. All annoying as fuck.
I really can't imagine how I'm going to upgrade to something newer than my 2018 E400 Estate without breaking at least one of those.
FWD isn't all that bad, but the rest i agree with.
@@liamholcroft7212 Out of 27 cars I've owned, I've had seven 4WD, 19 RWD and 1 FWD and it was awful. I kept it only three weeks, two of which were me trying to sell it. Torque steer bunny hopping under-steering piece of garbage. I had to drive my girlfriend's Golf 6 (with 160hp) the other day and it was just as bad as the one I had all those years ago. I'm amazed when petrol-heads talk positively about FWD hot hatches.
@@veemacks7255 well ive had plenty fun in FWD cars. I'm not saying they are better but they are not bad either.
I often use a scooter with a CVT for the daily stuff, and i absolutely love the CVT transmission. Haven't tried it in a car, but i do see car lovers dislike them all the time. Think i'll work on trying one at some point, to satisfy my curiosity.
@SuperStraight since78 I understand (in a fun car i absolutely agree), but that's the "some sort of automated gearbox vs manual" debate, not the "what is up with a CVT in a car" debate. CVTs seem to get far more hate than any version of automated garbox.
Driven lots of Nissan Sunnys with a CVT in driving school and prefer them to 4 speed autos. I've honestly grown to disliking autos with less than 5 speeds though. The gear ratios in 4 speed autos are too far off to feel smooth.
Thank CVT for that.
The only hiccup with CVT for me is moving from a stop, it obviously limits power to protect the transmission but its great when you have momentum.
We in the states don't get the Micra, though I believe Canada and Mexico did at one time. From what I have gleaned from British car magazines, there were good and bad generations of the Micra...this generation looks fairly decent.
And of course, Americans have cursed Nissan for nearly 2 decades for making a conventional automatic transmission unavailable in any of their products sold here except for the Z car and their pickup trucks.
Thanks to Nissan, many Americans have come to hate CVTs and until recently we were able to avoid them. But now, every Japanese car manufacturer has dumped their automatic transmission in favor of a CVT in all of their "bread and butter" sedans, with the premium sedans and SUVs still using conventional automatics.
Never driven a car with CVT.....
Having watched this review - the chances are that I never will 🤔.
Despite its drawbacks I will stick to my old classic 3 speed auto. It does lose a lot of power between engine and tarmac but there is a lot of power/torque to play with. When the transmission fails then I might convert it to manual.
Wait...this car has 17"wheels and it doesn't even have up to 100HP? Strange for a 2010+ car. Why do car manufacturers feel they need to put large wheels and tyres on their subcompact cars?
Only for design reasons, the car is quite tall so it will looks bad with little rims but 16" whould have been a better choice (better performances, less fuel, cheaper tyres)
The 1st gen made a great clubman rally car 😂👍
That’s what I learnt to drive in, my instructor had a K10.
@@sparky4878 haha yea they were fun
You can really see the Renault involvement in the design. It's a pretty similar design language to the Clio.
Its actually a clio ,built next the clio production line on france ,and lacks ...
... I was wondering about getting the manual or automatic ... now I know.
Not a fan of the Micra, but they are solid work horses
My may be you need to lose some weight seats in nissan micra it's perfect for normal people
I owed a 2005 Micra from new it was nothing but trouble will never get another one the deal had in the position long then I did Two sets of door locks one steering wheel one pedal box squeaks and rattles Crank shaft oil leak I now own a 2008 Vw pole the best car I ever had
Nissan Parts supply :- Got loads of CVT's left over boss what do you want me to do ?
Nissan Accountant :- Don't waste them . New Micra it is then.
So, this is a car for people who don't care about cars or driving and just want a small car to get from A to B... And now it's styling means your friends might not be too embarrassed to be seen in the car with you?
😮😬🤣
Production ended in 2022. Indeed these are fun to drive, the steering is just right. I'd recommend the advanced TCe engine with 100 PS. Later it was reduced to 90, and the next Micra will have no power plant at all, it will be an EV. No affordable little cars anymore, the said engine consumes some 6.4 l 100km, 600km range.
I had a used 1.6l petrol Ford Escort in the early 2000's with a CVT that was pushing the car on when needing to slow down or stop! Ford said it could be repaired for £1000 but it would only go wrong again, and the fuel consumption (I won't say economy) was 25mpg which is the same as a Lexus LS400 with a 4 litre petrol V8!! 🙄🤬
CVT should stay on mopeds not in a car great review as always. 👍