Nissan March Goes on Sale

The moment Japanese manufacturer Nissan was waiting for is here, as the March (or Micra, as it is known worldwide), the so called global compact car, has entered dealerships across Japan. The new March comes with a new visual identity and an array of tech goodies which Nissan hopes will propel the vehicle at the top of the sales charts in the 160 countries it will eventually be marketed in.

For Japan, the vehicle comes packing a newly developed 1.2l 3-cylinder HR12DE engine with Idling Stop technology (standard in volume grades 12X and 12G). This helps the March achieve a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over 2010 standards and SU-LEV certification, emitting 75 percent fewer exhaust emissions than 2005 standards.

The March is equipped with ABS, EBD, SRS airbags and SRS side airbags, load limiter with pretensioners for the seatbelts, linked front wipers, dawn sensors and multi-reflector halogen headlights with manual control.

On the interior, March features a "twin bubble" shaped cockpit with a large speedometer placed in the center of the meter cluster. The car is packed with cup holders and pockets: an instrumental panel upper box, instrumental panel under box and glove box, front cup holders and rear cup holder, front door pocket, parking brake side pocket and front seat backrest pocket.

Nissan plans to sell 4,000 units/month in Japan, with prices starting at 999,600 yen ($11,290) and going all the way to 1,644,300 yen ($18,570), including consumption tax. A bit steep, some might say, for a car of its size and with its abilities.