Opening the door reveals a large and roomy cabin - 4 x 6 footers can sit in this car pretty comfortably, although people much over 6'1" will find head room a little tight in the back. The middle seat on the rear pew is really not that great - tight for all but the more petite souls and is missing a 3 point restraint. The next thing I noticed were the huge rear side wall mounted "cup holders" - actually you can't miss them as they look like a convenient place to stow your anti-tank rockets - they were really designed to hold large bottles of drink (note, these only appear on the 3 door). Don't worry though, there are 4 other "real" cup holders for your lattes and Evian and lots of places to store maps, CDs, cards, etc. - even a space big enough in the glove box to hold a big box of tissues! Importantly for a car that will likely find many homes in cities, visibility of your surroundings is very good from the driver's seat. However, with all the obvious effort spent on getting the packaging right, I was a little surprised to find that the rear seats fold, but leave a fairly big step-up in the floor, rather than going flat, or nearly flat.

So getting closer to actually driving the car I proceed to investigate the new smart key system. It really is well thought out and convenient - it does not unlock anything unless it is told to - either by hitting the unlock button on the fob or the owner carrying the key pressing a black button on the door handle while pulling the door open - the system is smart enough to know if the "key" is in the car or not too, so preventing the little ones from starting the car while Mum has a chat about grades with teacher in the school car park (assuming Mum is actually carrying the key of course).

The body is rigid enough to not exhibit any rattles or squeaks (even during an unintentional trip across some king size cats-eyes), but a little spirited cornering soon has the standard Goodyear tires making themselves heard. They can't really keep up with what feels to be a well accomplished ride/handling compromise (although lacking in roll rigidity). I can't help but feel things will be tightened up a little for Europe where higher road speeds are more common, and there is nothing evident in the car's manners that a little stiffer set-up won't fix.

Braking is good, although again a little let down by the tires, with front lock-up coming in quite early - having said which, the standard ABS/EBD/Brake Assist package does a fine job of keeping things tidy, and stopping distances short. Young/small ladies in particular have little to fear from this center pedal as it is light in action but offers plenty of stopping power.

Perhaps the only blight on the scorecard is the slightly vocal nature of the engines - they are a little more intrusive than I would personally like when pushed a bit, and the note is not that pleasant either - rather a dull drone in fact. Although somewhat aurally challenged, the 1.2 liter engine's performance is good enough to not leave you wanting for much more in day-to-day city driving, with the 1.4 offering a little more urge without really offering a huge difference in performance when both are backed by the JDM standard fit 4 speed autos (although Europe will see manual transmission models).

We await the forthcoming all-wheel drive version with quite a bit of anticipation - with electric motors driving the rear up to a set speed this promises to be an innovative system indeed. Response should be lightening fast with no fuel or power sapping mechanical diffs or slow viscous couplings in the way. While not being intended to make the car a rally-special, it should add some extra surety of foot for those who live in places where snow falls or slippery/icy road conditions can make things tricky.

All round the new March is a capable package with much to offer in its well packaged body and keen pricing. It is not aiming to be a thrill machine, but it is firmly aimed at being an easy to live with car, with perky looks, a well thought out interior and plenty of room. In that sense it looks a winner.
The surprise package was sitting at the back of the lot: the Nismo Version - fitted out with a muffler, air filter and full suspension kit, forged wheels (a special Rays design weighing only 6.7 pounds!) and sticky tire package, this version really caught with me (although it still misses out on a tachometer and manual transmission). I have to reserve final judgement for when we get one on the open road for longer, but I feel this upgrade will get quite a few takers in the budget enthusiast crowd (especially if Nissan takes all the tasty bits to Europe) as it adds some very welcome extra solidity to the suspension and makes the car feel quite a deal more sure footed and chuckable than the standard car (that set of sticky Bridgestone Potenzas is helping a lot).

Then there is also the track only race version of the car, a one make series for which is already planned for 2003 (and they may be the only manuals sold in Japan - officially at least). Sitting a good deal lower and looking altogether more aggressive, there should be some good, fun racing to be had!

- Anthony Winston

Related topics...
Will the new March compete in the the popular World Rally Circuit?
· More information: Nissan Press Release