Nissan Note Review

It's surprising that the Nissan Note wasn't more successful than it was. It looked much more stylish than the Micra, with a hint of Juke to its styling.

The slope of the roofline and the design of the rear windows do give the impression that passengers sitting in the rear might be fighting for head and legroom, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nissan boasts it has more legroom than anything else in its class - the generosity of rear passenger space makes it difficult to disbelieve them. The rear bench, very cleverly, slides forward, to increase boot space, from 325 litres to 411 litres.

Yet despite all its spaciousness, the cabin is still quite a drab place, not helped by the acres of cheap, scratchy, dark plastics which seem to dominate. The seats, both front and back, are less than comfortable, making a long journey seem even longer. Even scaling-up the trim levels doesn’t buy that much more interior colour - or a soft-feel dashboard - or seats covered in unicorn leather, stuffed with fairy dust and stitched together with vine taken from the enchanted forest.

Instead, there are a few more basic niceties like privacy glass and Nissan’s new Safety Shield package. This is a clever piece of kit which uses the Note’s rear-mounted cameras to umbrella the Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection into one easy-to-use system.

Not that the Visia, the trim which kicks-off the range, is lacking in the standard equipment department. Granted, the door mirrors and door handles won’t be colour coded, nor will it have front or rear armrests, or air-conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity, that sliding rear bench or and a decent set of 15-inch alloys - these are the preserve of the Acenta, Acenta Premium and Tekna. 

Nonetheless, the Visia gets an acceptable radio/CD player, remote locking and, for the first time, cruise and speed control, plus electric front windows (those in the rear have to revert to the old-fashioned, on-board arm-strengthening method). But, more importantly, it will have six airbags, exactly the same as the rest of the range.

There’s a three-engine line-up to choose from and all have eco stop/start. They consist of an 80PS, 1.2-litre three-pot petrol, which is appealing as a starting price point but struggles to adequately shift the Note’s bulk. Then there’s the DIG-S version of the same engine. It shares the same block and displacement, only this time, and essentially, it has been gifted with a turbocharger to produce 98PS.

There is a noticeable difference in the handling between the two, assisted in part by the DIG-S handling pack, but it’s still not the sporty driving machine Nissan billed it as. Even when either is being pushed to their limits, neither feels as though they are ever likely to endanger a clean driving licence.

Then there’s the Renault-sourced diesel. Out of the three, it is this 90PS 1.5-litre dCi turbodiesel which is most suited to the Note. It is marginally slower, taking 11.9 seconds to reach 62mph from a standing start (11.7 seconds for the DIG-S). However, being able to dollop-out 200Nm of torque does have its advantages, more so in this car, because the transformation is immediate, disguising its modest output and making it feel much faster than it actually is. The dCi is also the most efficient, emitting just 95g/km of CO2 with official fuel consumption of 78.4mpg.

Irrespective of engine, the ride is best described as compliant. There’s a tautness that keeps it true and level on the motorway straights, yet shows little sign of any prevailing bodyroll through the corners. The centrally-weighted steering is a bit too light, and a bit vague, and never truly communicates with the driver. But is that really important? Probably not.

Most buyers of the Note won’t be too bothered by such trivial matters. They will be swayed by its many other and obvious attributes. Immense practicality, build quality, friendliness towards the family, cheap running cost and Nissan’s reputation for reliability.

With the seats slid all the way back, the Nissan Note's boot has a very reasonable 325-litre capacity. Moving them forward increases this to 411 litres, while dropping them provides a generous luggage space of 2011 litres. There's a double load floor, too – with two heights, reducing the loading lip when required.

While the Note's interior is surprisingly spacious, it certainly isn't going to win any awards for style. It's a drab but functional affair, with clear dials and a decent 5.8-inch infotainment system on high-spec models.

It's certainly not as fun to drive as a Ford Fiesta, but you might be surprised at how fun to drive the Note is. It's easy to drive, too, helped by the brand's clever Around View Monitor. This provides a bird’s eye view of the car thanks to a number of cameras installed in the mirrors and bumpers. The display makes it possible to thread the car into small spaces and tight garages with ease and it’ll even alert you if a stray pet or person walks into the path of the car.

A downside is the ride quality. It's quite firm for a car like this, pattering over broken road surfaces and causing some discomfort if you hit a pothole at speed.

You'll find more petrol models on the market, though, and they're hardly going to drain your pockets in terms of running costs, either. The standard 1.2 officially returns 60.1mpg while the supercharged DIG-S is rated at 65.6mpg.

Car tax will be cheap, too. Free, in fact, for pre-2017 models with CO2 of less than 100g/km. Others will cost you £20 or £30 a year in tax. Buy one of the very last Note models and you'll be hit with £150 a year in tax under the latest regulations – something that's worth bearing in mind if you're looking at a 2017 car.

Visia models feature a CD player, USB and Aux connectivity, Bluetooth, electrically adjustable door mirrors, stop/start, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, split fold rear seats, electric front windows, daytime running lights, keyless entry and steel wheels. Air conditioning is a cost option on Visia models.

Acenta trim adds steering wheel mounted audio controls, heated door mirrors, electric rear windows, air conditioning, sliding rear bench seat, 15-inch alloy wheels, front and rear armrests, adjustable load area floor, body-coloured exterior details plus rear privacy glass.

Accenta Premium gets climate control, automatic headlights and wipers, front foglights plus the Nissan Connect sat nav and touch screen system. Options on this grade include Safety Pack with Around View Monitor and the Comfort pack with glass roof. 

Tekna adds the Around View Monitor, i-Key with keyless start button, improved audio system, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, leather covered steering wheel, part leather seats and 16-inch alloy wheels. Options include a styling pack with front and rear aprons plus a spoiler.