Discussion
The Micra shares 90% of it's DNA with the Renault 5 and I don't suppose there's many that would argue that the R5 isn't the better looking/cooler car but for those of us that don't much care about form over function the Micra offers a few benefits.
For starters it's significantly cheaper. Not on paper as the RRP's are pretty much identical but do a bit of ringing round and it's easy enough to find big discounts on the Micra (the 52 kWh Advance was under £20k a couple of months ago). This isn't so easy with the R5, at least not in my experience. Yes, come resale maybe some of this advantage is lost due to the R5 being more desirable but if you're planning on keeping the car for a few years then this isn't so important.
The Micra also now comes with a 6 year warranty provided you continue to have it serviced at a main dealer. The service plan isn't too expensive and also includes RAC breakdown cover but you must activate it within 2 months of delivery to get the full term.
Plus more minor things like it's slightly more efficient (drag coefficient of 0.29 -vs- 0.32) backed up by range tests by people like Bjørn, it has a more mellow interior, possibly better dealer support (varies I guess!) and you can get heated wheel/seats on the mid-range spec rather than just limited to top spec with the R5.
Anyway, just thought I'd start a thread for any hints and tips, questions, photos, etc.
For starters it's significantly cheaper. Not on paper as the RRP's are pretty much identical but do a bit of ringing round and it's easy enough to find big discounts on the Micra (the 52 kWh Advance was under £20k a couple of months ago). This isn't so easy with the R5, at least not in my experience. Yes, come resale maybe some of this advantage is lost due to the R5 being more desirable but if you're planning on keeping the car for a few years then this isn't so important.
The Micra also now comes with a 6 year warranty provided you continue to have it serviced at a main dealer. The service plan isn't too expensive and also includes RAC breakdown cover but you must activate it within 2 months of delivery to get the full term.
Plus more minor things like it's slightly more efficient (drag coefficient of 0.29 -vs- 0.32) backed up by range tests by people like Bjørn, it has a more mellow interior, possibly better dealer support (varies I guess!) and you can get heated wheel/seats on the mid-range spec rather than just limited to top spec with the R5.
Anyway, just thought I'd start a thread for any hints and tips, questions, photos, etc.
SteBrown91 said:
Controversial opinion but I actually prefer the Micra to the R5.
I don't think its that controversial, I actually like the design better too...Also I will say my Nissan X-trail went in for a service and I had one as a loaner. What a fantastic little thing, lovely to drive but nippy is the best way I can think to describe and all controls very intuitive.
That being said at just over 6 foot there was no way I was comfortably sitting behind myself, my 5 foot 4 wife was less than happy behind me. But I dare say that is a common problem in cars of this size unless you go really upright high seating like the Inster etc.
Moonpie21 said:
I don't think its that controversial, I actually like the design better too...
Also I will say my Nissan X-trail went in for a service and I had one as a loaner. What a fantastic little thing, lovely to drive but nippy is the best way I can think to describe and all controls very intuitive.
That being said at just over 6 foot there was no way I was comfortably sitting behind myself, my 5 foot 4 wife was less than happy behind me. But I dare say that is a common problem in cars of this size unless you go really upright high seating like the Inster etc.
And no triple stalk on the right as well I guess?Also I will say my Nissan X-trail went in for a service and I had one as a loaner. What a fantastic little thing, lovely to drive but nippy is the best way I can think to describe and all controls very intuitive.
That being said at just over 6 foot there was no way I was comfortably sitting behind myself, my 5 foot 4 wife was less than happy behind me. But I dare say that is a common problem in cars of this size unless you go really upright high seating like the Inster etc.
Not offering heated seats on the mid range Renault 5, or even having it as an option is massive miss. However I always wanted to Iconic Renault 5 just for the yellow interior. Had it been the other way around and yellow was only on the mid spec I would have been having a massive crisis. I did wonder how the Micra would be able to stand itself apart other than outer design. Offering longer warranty, slightly increased range and mid spec heated seats is a good way to do it.
Not seen many Micra's around yet but I see several Renault's every day now. Done 230 miles today in my R5 no sweat. Where I was working at half way the car park I used had 7kW chargers at 50p and in the 4 hours I was working it charged the 45-80% I had it set to with time to spare. Just got home with 30% remaining. Could have knocked it back a bit to save a couple of quid but what is likely an £11 day with the home and public charge combined, and claiming £126.50 business miles from work I couldn't care less. The difference covers my entire home charging bill to do 8k miles since April. Public charging really is not the big issue that people think it is with a bit of forward planning and I don't think I have ever paid more than 59p yet even for rapid charging, which has only been 9% of all my charges. Where I can I attempt to do my charging at the destination on a slow charger, one because it's typically cheaper and two because I plan to take this to 100k and beyond so hoping to keep the deg down.
All the above said, if I couldn't charge at home I would never entertain an EV. All the public chargers for locals near me are constantly vandalised and having the cables cut. The BP ones have been down for nearly 8 months now. The Lidl ones got replaced after 3 months and then they were chopped off again after a month. If I bought one with the intention of using these it would be doing my head in. Having it forced upon us is ridiculous and hybrids will still work and be relatively clean for so many people. Anyway random side rant over!
Not seen many Micra's around yet but I see several Renault's every day now. Done 230 miles today in my R5 no sweat. Where I was working at half way the car park I used had 7kW chargers at 50p and in the 4 hours I was working it charged the 45-80% I had it set to with time to spare. Just got home with 30% remaining. Could have knocked it back a bit to save a couple of quid but what is likely an £11 day with the home and public charge combined, and claiming £126.50 business miles from work I couldn't care less. The difference covers my entire home charging bill to do 8k miles since April. Public charging really is not the big issue that people think it is with a bit of forward planning and I don't think I have ever paid more than 59p yet even for rapid charging, which has only been 9% of all my charges. Where I can I attempt to do my charging at the destination on a slow charger, one because it's typically cheaper and two because I plan to take this to 100k and beyond so hoping to keep the deg down.
All the above said, if I couldn't charge at home I would never entertain an EV. All the public chargers for locals near me are constantly vandalised and having the cables cut. The BP ones have been down for nearly 8 months now. The Lidl ones got replaced after 3 months and then they were chopped off again after a month. If I bought one with the intention of using these it would be doing my head in. Having it forced upon us is ridiculous and hybrids will still work and be relatively clean for so many people. Anyway random side rant over!
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