First drive: Nissan Micra

Some superminis have gone distinctly upmarket in recent years. Look at the current Ford Fiesta; it's more a fashion statement than a simple, low-cost, easy-to-drive urban runabout, and costing from £11,645 it's priced accordingly. That's not every manufacturer's strategy, though. The all-new Nissan Micra, only the fourth generation car in 27 years, is taking more of a back-to-basics approach. In many ways it has more in common with the 1983 MkI model than it does some of today's hi-tech rivals.