Had a go in one yesterday, very impressed indeed, engine is sound, pulss very well from the bottom to the top and feels like it has a lot of go in it. There is excellent pick-up, once the foot is to the floor, it is not long before you are up to 6.5k and moving a lot quicker.
Interior is frankly not very special, is exactly the same as the low-spec models, seats could do with being more supportive, like on the K10 and K11 Super S', but everything worked and there were no dodgy noises.
Stereo sounded good and the 6-disk changer in the HU is nice, saves going to the boot/under the passenger seat.
It has a lot of toys, like rain-sensing wipers etc that I feel don't really fit in with what the car is, hopefully there will be a lighter cup version without all those heavy gizmos, saying that, weighinh in at (allegedly) just over a tonne is not bad at all, and is lighter than most of the competition.
There are, however, some very cool toys on it, as well as teh mandatory thesedays ABS, there are also systems that combat understeer by braking the inside wheels to help turn it in and stick to the inside. I tried this on a roundabout, floored it in second and there was no wandering to the edge, it stuck to the inside and I was turning off before the grip was.
Didn't really like the powersteering, felt heavy and unresponsive to me, but I have never been a fan of it anyway.
Gearbox is also not something I was to keen on, after stalling twice, I realised that I had actually put it into 3rd instead of first, the box is very tight and I was concerned about goin for 3rd and hitting 1st, I am sure that this is something that you would easily get used to, but prefer my K11 box TBH. Saying that, the stick has a nice short throw and changes are precise and effortless.
Clutch was also different to what I am used to, is a good deal harder than the (very soft) K11 clutch, which would also take geting used to, but in traffic it was smooth and didn't need the nuts revving off it to pick up speed.
Ride is excellent, people have said the the K12 is a tad firm, but this was very smooth, more so than the other K12 I have drive, I would say, and it doesn't feel like you are going particularly fast, or straining the engine too much at 80+ (which it is quick to get up to) and the ride is nice and quiet and very pleasant, doesn't feel like you are driving a car made to go fast (like Clio 182 etc) as it acts just like a normal car.
All in all, I was very impressed with this car, lived up to my expectations and even exceeded some of them, it is a very quick car out of the box, felt quicker than some of the 100 brake K11's I have been in and definately a good deal more power can be wroung out of the engine without too much bother and if non Micra owners have a go in it, I am sure that they will also be very impressed, my conclusion, top car for the money, has the power and the comfort that some similar cars (e.g. Zetec Fiesta) have sacrificed. If I were buying a hot hatch, it would almost certainly be one of these.
Interior is frankly not very special, is exactly the same as the low-spec models, seats could do with being more supportive, like on the K10 and K11 Super S', but everything worked and there were no dodgy noises.
Stereo sounded good and the 6-disk changer in the HU is nice, saves going to the boot/under the passenger seat.
It has a lot of toys, like rain-sensing wipers etc that I feel don't really fit in with what the car is, hopefully there will be a lighter cup version without all those heavy gizmos, saying that, weighinh in at (allegedly) just over a tonne is not bad at all, and is lighter than most of the competition.
There are, however, some very cool toys on it, as well as teh mandatory thesedays ABS, there are also systems that combat understeer by braking the inside wheels to help turn it in and stick to the inside. I tried this on a roundabout, floored it in second and there was no wandering to the edge, it stuck to the inside and I was turning off before the grip was.
Didn't really like the powersteering, felt heavy and unresponsive to me, but I have never been a fan of it anyway.
Gearbox is also not something I was to keen on, after stalling twice, I realised that I had actually put it into 3rd instead of first, the box is very tight and I was concerned about goin for 3rd and hitting 1st, I am sure that this is something that you would easily get used to, but prefer my K11 box TBH. Saying that, the stick has a nice short throw and changes are precise and effortless.
Clutch was also different to what I am used to, is a good deal harder than the (very soft) K11 clutch, which would also take geting used to, but in traffic it was smooth and didn't need the nuts revving off it to pick up speed.
Ride is excellent, people have said the the K12 is a tad firm, but this was very smooth, more so than the other K12 I have drive, I would say, and it doesn't feel like you are going particularly fast, or straining the engine too much at 80+ (which it is quick to get up to) and the ride is nice and quiet and very pleasant, doesn't feel like you are driving a car made to go fast (like Clio 182 etc) as it acts just like a normal car.
All in all, I was very impressed with this car, lived up to my expectations and even exceeded some of them, it is a very quick car out of the box, felt quicker than some of the 100 brake K11's I have been in and definately a good deal more power can be wroung out of the engine without too much bother and if non Micra owners have a go in it, I am sure that they will also be very impressed, my conclusion, top car for the money, has the power and the comfort that some similar cars (e.g. Zetec Fiesta) have sacrificed. If I were buying a hot hatch, it would almost certainly be one of these.
