Chennai is buzzing with activity in the automotive sector over the past few months. Being home to so many car-makers, Chennai is abound with to-be-launched vehicles criss-crossing it's landscape undergoing various stages of testing. After BMW's new 5 Series, Mahindra's global SUV, Ford's Figo and Fiesta (Europe Spec), joining the long list of cars being frequently spotted testing in the open roads of Chennai is the Nissan's latest offering, the "Micra" compact car. Though I have spotted it twice before, it was either dark or I was there without a camera. Not this time. I bumped on a brand-new Micra yesterday in broad day-light with a camera on hand. Though most of the people did not mind to have a second look at it, auto-buffs could easily identify the car as the new baby-Nissan, though it had it's badges and logos covered on all sides.
Seeing it out in the open confirmed what I felt on seeing the press release pictures. The Micra looks cute from the front and the sides, while the rear looks somewhat out-of-shape, especially the way in which the C-Pillar merges with the top of the tail lamps. The profile of the car was particularly well designed while the same can't be said for the shape of the tail-lamps. It's only my opinion though and as they say, "Looks are subjective". I had my friend sitting with me who said that the Micra looked so cute and very Beetle-ish from the sides. Girls are sure to love this design though, what with the circular theme of the car not stopping with the exteriors but continuing inside the car as well. The quality and fit and finish of the car was top-notch and if this test car is anything to go by, expect the production Micras to come with superb quality on par with Volkswagen and Hyundai and a notch above Maruti, Tata and Fiat.
The people inside the car gave us curious glances as we followed them from one traffic signal to another and took snaps of the car from both sides. That stopped us from getting closer and taking a snap of the interiors but from what we saw, the interiors seemed to be well put-together with the center console being particularly impressive to look at. The launch of this car along with the Beat, Figo, Polo and the soon-to-be-launched Etios and Honda's small car is sure to spoil the Indian customers for choice. A very nice problem to have indeed, when you are looking out for a new car! Check out the pictures for yourself.
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