The launch of Nissan Micra provides stiff competition to Maruti Suzuki Swift, which is a strong player of the company. Nissan enters the fourth generation with the introduction of new Micra in the Indian market. From its predecessors, the car takes a lot of design cue. The exterior of this car is extremely eye catching, which contributes towards its sales. With the mini like grille, huge bug headlamps and lots of curves, the car can attract the attention of any passerby. The greenhouse and the curving roof in the profile makes it stand out. On the other hand, a combination of features and sharp bulges is used by swift to attract the customers.
For passengers at rear and front, excellent space management is used by Micra to liberate acres of head, leg and shoulder room. This style icon from Nissan India comes loaded with a hi-tech stereo system electrically folding mirrors (all on the top-end XV) and key-less start-stop (a first in the segment). The dashboard of Nissan Micra appears to be cluttered due to the presence of too many surfaces and colours. This is a major drawback of this car. Plastic used in the interior of the car is not of superior quality but the car has an impressive switch gear. However, on the inside, new Maruti Suzuki Swift is a hue of black. The plastics used for the interior can be appreciated. Swift comes with comfortable front seats including stereo controls on the steering. The car lacks in electrically folding ORVMs and Start-Stop button, which are some drawbacks.
Space is a cause of concern and the passengers at the rear will not feel themselves comfortable enough. The car Micra comes with 120cc three-cylinder petrol engine, which makes it suitable for both city and highway use. It takes 15 seconds to reach a speed of 0-100 kph. Even though there are some issues, the overall driveability of new Nissan Micra is decent. The engine sounds coarse past 5000 rpm as it is a three cylinder unit. Further, the gear shifts of Nissan Micra 2011 are not as slick as expected. On reaching a speed of 80 kph, lot of tyre and wind noise enters into the cabin. The new Maruti Suzuki Swift on the other hand comes with a four-cylinder 1.2-litre K Series unit, which is more powerful than Micra engine. The car has excellent acceleration and in just 13.5 seconds, the car can cross 100 kph mark.
The diverability and overall refinement of Swift is good and the gear shifts are slicker. With numerous revisions during a time span of five years, Maruti Suzuki Swift has now become the car with excellent ride and handling balance. The low and high speed ride of the car has improved to a great extent although new Nissan Micra attains superiority in this aspect. In terms of braking, both cars get positive mark but swift's braking attains superiority. If a complete analysis is made, it seems that Swift would be a better option as it comes with a powerful engine. Further, the infallible service network from the car maker ensures maximum reliability.
