As popular as ever, find out about the development of the Nissan Micra.

The Nissan Micra has been a staple vehicle in the UK since 1982 – discover its history as a popular car model.

For four generations of manufacture the Nissan Micra has set the standard for popular, easy to drive small cars. Known for its compact size, simple design and affordability, the Micra has affectionately become one of the most commonly purchased small vehicles in the supermini class.

In 1982 the Nissan development teams produced the Micra K10 model in Oppama, Japan as a rival model to the Honda City. The Nissan Micra was created to replace the Nissan Cherry and the body style was a 3-door hatchback which would later be joined by a 5-door hatchback style. The Datsun name was still part of the company fabric and the car was initially marketed as the ‘Datsun-Nissan Micra’. However, within two years the Datsun badges had been eliminated from the production lines.

The first engine to be fitted in a Micra was the MA10S SOHC all-aluminium engine which was later upgraded in June 1985 to the Micra Turbo/MA10ET car. Further changes were made in March 1989 when new grilles, bumpers and headlights restyled the overall look. The late 1980s saw the arrival of the Micra Superturbo which showcased viscous limited slip differential in its gearbox technology.

In 1992 the second generation Micra K11 was introduced with new 16 valve engines and the option of power steering. Important safety upgrades were made to make the roll cage more resilient and extra in-car features became available such as anti-lock brakes and airbags.

From 1997 to 2003 the Micra K11C offered improvements in style with a much rounder look to the vehicle front and grille. The third generation Micra K12 was brought onto the market in 2002 and showcased a radical redesign with a much curvier exterior and prominent headlights. This was reinvigorated in 2007 to offer the Micra K12C with more adaptations made to the exterior.  The current generation Micra K13 was released in 2010 as both a 5-door hatchback and a 4-door sedan with a 5-speed manual gearbox or CVT transmission.