By: Jason Woosey
Nissan's Micra is moving in a bold new direction and the two pictures of the orange car in the gallery below are our first official peek at the new hatch before its official reveal at the Paris Motor Show next Thursday.
As it goes with these 'teasers' Nissan is remaining tight-lipped about its new baby, apart from a caption promising us that "a revolution is coming".
Whether it's the next big thing in its segment remains to be seen, but the evidence we've seen thus far shows that the Micra is taking a bold step upmarket, growing in both size and perceived quality while also sporting a far sexier design. Whereas the Current Micra competes with smaller, budget-oriented A-segment hatches, its replacement will thrust itself straight into the B-segment heartland where it'll take on the likes of Ford's Fiesta and VW's Polo.
It's been reported that the Micra will be built by Renault in France, meaning it's likely to share many components with the latest Clio, including engines. If that's true you can look forward to an 898cc turbo-triple, 1.2-litre turbo-four and 1.5 dCi turbodiesel. Dare we also pray that the alliance's 1.6-litre turbopetrol, as fitted to the Juke and Clio RS, might also find its way into the engine bay of a GTI and ST rivalling hot version.
Though many of the parts that you can't see will be shared with Renault, the Micra will have its very own design inside and out, and the teaser pics show that it borrows heavily from last year's Sway concept (also picture above), albeit toned down somewhat. Stay tuned.