Nissan NOTE Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Nissan NOTE range
Prices: £9,990-£14,290 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-6
Emissions: 119-159g/km
Performance: [1.6] 0-60mph 10.7s / Max Speed 114mph
Fuel Consumption: [1.5 dCi 86] (urban) 55.4mpg / (extra urban) 67.3mpg / (combined) 62.8mpg
Safety: Twin airbags, ABS with EBD
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 3990/1530/1690mm

NOTE PERFECT?

Our Rating: 7.1 / 10

A small car with a versatile remit, Nissan’s Note may be all the family car you need. Jonathan Crouch reports

Nissan’s Note sits somewhere between a supermini and a compact MPV but its blend of qualities should prove highly desirable to small car buyers. Good to drive and pleasantly styled, it’s extremely spacious and very practical for family duties. With Nissan’s first class reliability record thrown in, this is a car noticeably lacking in major faults.

Just because cost or circumstance means you need a small car, it doesn’t necessarily have to feel small. As customers demand versatility in ever-smaller packages, manufacturers have come up with a couple of options for buyers on a supermini budget who want something with a bit more flexibility. The first little group are based on converted compact vans – models like Citroen’s Berlingo Multispace or Renault’s Kangoo. But if you can’t face the thought of putting the kids into something originally designed for packages and plumbing equipment, then you’ll probably be more comfortable with the second, normally referred to as ‘supermini-MPVs’.

Here lie models like Vauxhall’s Meriva, Renault’s Modus and the car featured here, Nissan’s Note, which in the form we’re looking at here has been facelifted inside and out. All borrow tricks from more conventionally sized mini-MPVs so that a family of five, who’d normally have to squeeze very painly fully into a supermini, can be seated relatively comfortably with lots of space for their odds and ends. And all of this can be achieved without the family in question having to forgo little Johnny’s new shoes because they’ve had to stretch up to something Focus or Astra-sized. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Try and imagine a GTi hot hatch version of the Note. You can’t can you? And that’s just the point. Giving a car like this a powerful engine or stiff suspension would be as pointless as giving a fish legs. It’s not what it’s about. Still, the Note always feels highly nimble on the road with ride firm enough to resist roll and steering that’s light but accurate.

It’s perfect for nipping through the city streets and it inspires confidence thanks to good all-round visibility and a tight turning circle. If you really value supple suspension, one of the Note’s rivals may be a better option but otherwise, this Nissan should suit its intended buyers pretty well. Three main engine choices are offered, all shared with this car’s arch-rival, the

In the unlikely event that you fancy giving some spotty oik a run for his money away from the lights in your Note, the 1.4-litre car will get to 60mph in 13.1s, the diesel is fractionally slower at 13s and the 1.6-litre petrol takes 10.7s. None of the engines are what you would call quick but they’re all more than adequate for everyday driving with even the 1.4 pulling reasonably strongly through the gears.

One interesting but useless nugget of information is that this car was designed by Toyota – Taiji Toyota that is – one of Nissan’s most talented stylists. He’s done a good job too, managing to avoid the formulaic box-on-wheels shape that afflicts some of the Nissan Note’s contemporaries.

On paper, this car is roughly equivalent in size to its immediate rivals at just under four metres long, 1.53m high and 1.69m wide. In the metal however, it appears lower and longer with minimal rear overhang and quite a pronounced nose protruding at the front. The facelifted model we’re looking at here has been on the receiving end of tweaks including a reshaped bumper and bonnet, revised headlights and a shiny black front grille. At the back, the tail lights are darker and models with parking sensors get them incorporated more neatly into the bumper.

It’s on the inside, however, where the most significant changes to the Nissan Note have taken place. All models now have better-quality, soft-touch interior plastic and mildly redesigned instrument graphics. As ever, the interior feels very spacious and that’s in no small part down to the fact that the wheelbase of 2.60m is longer than that of theoretically roomier cars like the 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 arrangement. Cup holders, bag holding hooks and umbrella stowing points also hint at the Note’s attention to detail. There’s room in the glovebox for up to nine cans of drink and you can opt