Nissan Micra Active Luxury

Covered in a mixture of light grey Alcantara suede and leather, the Micra’s seats are classy, and each chair features a neat terracotta-coloured stripe, also fashioned from leather, down the centre. Look inside the glovebox, and you’ll find it’s trimmed in the same colour, too.

The seats certainly serve to enhance the upmarket ambience of the Micra’s interior, but they are still mounted too high and don’t provide much support, especially for taller drivers.

Still, the upgrades don’t end on the inside. Chrome surrounds adorn the headlamps, there are neat foglights and a boot spoiler at the rear. Smart 16-inch alloys are standard, as is new light grey ‘Porcelain’ metallic paint.

Nissan has left the driving experience alone, though, and it’s clear the Micra is starting to feel its age, with an unsettled ride, vague steering and loose gearchange. Our test car’s 82bhp 1.5-litre diesel engine was noisy, too, but it did provide punchy performance.