Nissan has launched its new Nissan Note, which is to go head to head with the top three market leaders in the B Segment, Ford's Fiesta, Toyota's Yaris and VW's Polo.
At the Irish launch on Friday, Nissan said the Note offers C-Segment (small-family size ) for B-Segment (supermini ) price. In addition to an entry level price of €15.995 for the 1.2 litre petrol engined, five-door, XE specification new Note with 109g/km CO2, Nissan rightly points to bigger car design, spacious interior, technology and a comparably good specification.
The entry level diesel version, which Nissan expects to account for 15 per cent of sales, is the 1.5 litre dCi five-door XE for €18,245. It has a low CO2 of 92g/km, taking it in to Band A2, with annual road tax of €180 a year.
A bold and much more stylish new design, great practicality and interior space, as well as good value for money, the Nissan has greater appeal in the small family car market. The keen entry price is matched by a good equipment level.
The new Note is available in three grades; XE, SV and SVE. The entry-level XE comes with six airbags, cruise control, central locking, 15” steel wheels, electric front windows and door mirrors, tyre pressure monitoring system, an ecometer and a start/stop system, all as standard. The Note is also offered with four optional packs: Family, Technology, Auto, and Dynamic Styling.
The new Note is available in three engine types. Firstly, the three cylinder 1.2 litre petrol is equipped with 80HP, 108Nm torque, and emissions of 109g/km (Tax Band A3 €190 ). Up next, the 1.2 Litre DIG-S petrol combines 95HP with 142Nm of torque and emissions of 99g/km (Tax Band A2 €180 ). Finally, the four-cylinder 1.5 litre dCi comes with 90HP, 220NM of torque and emissions of 95g/km (Band A2 €180 ).
Buyers need to check their mileage requirements as the increment for diesel over petrol engine is €2,250. Over a three year period, you would probably need to be doing in excess of 20,000km to register savings on fuel, as road tax differences are negligible. For those who live outside the greater Dublin area (and possibly Cork city too ), there is certainly a plus factor residually for diesel engined small family sized cars upwards.
The continuously variable transmission is available for €1,400, a good portion of which is accounted for by VRT due to higher CO2 ratings. It could prove as popular as in the Micra, where one in four sold in Ireland are automatics with CVT, and at a higher increment cost of €2,500.
Nissan Ireland expects to sell triple the number of new Notes over the previous model, that would translate to 1,000 next year. It expects 30 per cent of those will come from existing Note owners, with 70 per cent coming from other brand conquest sales.
