Nissan Micra Active Diesel spotted testing in Chennai

When Nissan launched the facelifted Micra hatchback last year, it decided to not discontinue the older model. Instead, the car was stripped inside and out, subjected to a subtle redesign and repositioned in a segment below as the Micra Active. Now that rebranding and repositioning of older models to make way for new has become the norm of the industry, that wasn't surprising. But, what was indeed surprising was the fact that Nissan chose to launch the Micra Active with only a petrol engine. It was quite an irony, given that diesel variants of the old Micra were popular and carrying them forward to the Active would have made perfect sense in our market that prefers diesel.

While speculations about the impending launch of the Micra Active diesel were rife in the media, there was no concrete proof to support the claim. That changes today, as we managed to nab the Micra Active diesel while on test. Spotted on the busy GST Road in Chennai, Nissan's familiar 'Pure Drive dCi' badge ensured that we didn't ignore this car as another regular Micra. While the one you see in these pictures with a 'test' registration plate is the XL variant, there was another XV variant following this car. Nissan didn't bother to hide the badges as neither the car nor the engine is new for the Indian market.

Since the Micra Active essentially shares the platform, sheet metal, mechanicals and most of the interiors with the original Micra, we expect the same 1.5-liter K9K diesel engine under the hood of the Micra Active. Power output may be reduced to differentiate the Micra Active from the facelifted Micra, but we aren't sure about this. With decent looks and loads of interior space being it's major trump-cards, the launch of diesel variants will make the Micra Active a more attractive proposition in the highly-competitive small car segment in India.

Currently, the petrol variants of the Micra Active are priced between INR 3.50 Lakhs and INR 4.79 Lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. In a segment above, the facelifted Micra is pegged between INR 4.99 Lakhs and INR 6.65 Lakhs for the petrol variants and INR 5.65 Lakhs to INR 7.29 Lakhs for the diesel variants. Again, all figures are ex-showroom Delhi. That gives Nissan a comfortable cushion in between to position the Micra Active diesel and we expect the car to be priced between INR 4.5 Lakhs and INR 5.5 Lakhs. At that price point, the Micra Active diesel will still be a value-for-money buy as the car is literally one size bigger than the existing competition.

Nissan has already lost potential customers and market share by not launching the diesel variants of the Micra Active last year. Will the company make up for it by launching the Micra Active diesel soon with an attractive price tag? Let's keep our fingers crossed.