Nissan Note Range
According to Which? magazine, a well equipped Nissan Note is all the car youll ever need. If youre looking for a compact family car, thats as good a recommendation to start with as any.
The Note, in case you didnt know, is one of those supermini-MPVs, a breed of small hatches with slightly larger dimensions and a series of MPV-style touches. Cars like Renaults Modus, Fords Fusion, Vauxhalls Meriva and this Nissan all campaign in this sector and more are coming. To keep their offering fresh, Nissan have recently introduced a series of improvements. The latest model year cars come with fully body coloured bumpers, Bluetooth phone operation with steering wheel activated controls, an MP3 auxiliary jack socket, air conditioning with glove box cooler, Nissans flexi-board storage system, front seat storage nets and foldaway tables, front and rear electric windows, plus the combi-meter display which is now set in a silver background with orange indicator needles.
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This seems like a decent deal as this package includes quite a lot. The R stands for Red to acknowledge the unique black on red detailing in the upholstery for the seats and door pockets, plus an exterior colour designed to get your heart pounding called Emotion Red. If Red is not your favourite paint colour, then this variant can also be selected in a pearl Black metallic. You also get TEKNA-styled 16" alloy wheels and rear privacy glass. If all thats not enough, TEKNA is the flagship specification.
"Designers of supermini-MPVs can make them bigger, smarter or both. The Notes stylists opted for the latter option"
As before, three engine choices are being offered. The two petrol units comprise an 87bhp 1.4-litre as well as a 108bhp 1.6-litre powerplant as seen in the sportiest Micra supermini but the big seller is likely to remain the diesel engine, a 1.
5-litre dCi common rail unit borrowed from the Micra range with 85bhp on tap. Designers of supermini-MPVs can make them bigger, smarter or both. The Notes stylists opted for the latter option. This car was designed by Toyota Taiji Toyota that is one of Nissans most talented stylists.
Toyota points out that the Tone is "tall, but not too tall. We wanted a roomy interior and the benefits of a high driving position but we did not want to make the car look top heavy. With the long wheelbase and body we feel we have achieved a shape that will appeal on both a practical and emotional level." It would be natural if potential buyers were comparing this car to its French cousin, Renaults Modus, a car which shares all three of the Nissans engines. However, at 3.99m long, the Note is significantly longer (by 20cm) over its Gallic stablemate. At first glance, the Modus looks cheaper but only because it comes with the option of a 1.
2-litre engine the Nissan doesnt bother with. Compare like-engine derivatives alongside each other and the Note is a few hundred pounds cheaper car for car. The Nissans interior certainly feels very spacious and thats in no small part down to the fact that the wheelbase of 2.60m is longer than that of cars like the MK5 Volkswagen Golf.
This available space can be optimised between luggage and rear passengers with the aid of a sliding rear bench seat as well as the usual folding rear arrangement. The Notes most interesting feature, however, is the split level luggage bay. Most would never know that beneath a flat loading deck theres a 250mm deep second layer that can keep valuables out of the way of prying eyes. Cup holders, bag holding hooks and umbrella stowing points also hint at the Notes attention to detail.
Although the exterior design isnt going to set pulses racing, the Note has an athletic, wheel at each corner stance that gives it a rather more masculine look than the rather mimsy supermini-MPVs that have become the norm. The dashboard isnt going to have designers in black turtle necks swooning but its a tidy piece of work with even the entry level models offering a level of fit and finish thats rare in this sector. Colour and material choices are far from conventional and the cluster of instruments around the centre console is rapidly becoming a Nissan trademark. The underpinnings of the car are nothing too novel with MacPherson strut suspension up front and a torsion bar at the back.
A sporting RX version is on sale in Japan although its doubtful that enthusiast drivers here will queue up for such a Note, especially when Vauxhall seem to have that sector of the market squared away with their 180bhp Meriva VXR. For the majority of supermini-MPV drivers, however, the Note is a model theyd be ill advised to overlook. Perhaps Nissan are rather belatedly realising that the Note has been rather overlooked by buyers up to this point. Unfairly so in fact for its an excellent product if youre looking for affordable, no-nonsense family travel in a compact package.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Nissan Note range
PRICES: £9,990-£14,190 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 3-6
CO2 EMISSIONS: 136-156g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.6] 0-60mph 10.7s / Max Speed 114mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.5 dCi 86] (combined) 55mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags, ABS with EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 3990/1530/1690mm
