The Micra (finally) goes electric as Nissan ramps up its range of EVs

Nissan truly trailblazed in the full-electric vehicle segment 15 years ago with the mass-market launch of the Leaf in 2010. It quickly became the world’s best-selling EV, long before most traditional brands – and even then-newcomer Tesla – had mainstream models on sale. But despite that strong start, Nissan failed to maintain that electric leadership as the aforementioned Musk-mobiles plus many others caught up and overtook. Indeed, in 2020 the Tesla Model 3 surpassed the Leaf to become the best-selling electric car of all time.

But that situation may be about to change. Nissan is introducing four new EVs by 2027, including third-generation – and much cooler-looking – versions of the Leaf and Juke, plus a new city car, and the sixth-generation Micra supermini, fully electric for the first time.

While the Juke small crossover firmly attracts the ‘look at me’ crowd, the Micra’s job is to stay as cute, friendly and unassuming as possible, as it has largely done over the previous five generations – bar the slightly racier 2016 Micra Mk5, which mixed raked-back front lights, complex creases and sloping rooflines.

Unsurprisingly then, inspiration for the Micra Mk6 comes not from the Mk5 but more from the 2002 Mk3, with its full ‘smiling-eye’ elliptical headlamps morphing into two LED rings split in the middle for the 2025 model (and which also ‘wink’ at the driver on approach by pulsing from left to right and back again). That’s a good way to differentiate this Micra from the Renault 5 E-Tech – which shares its electric-only platform and has almost identical dimensions. Nissan’s designers have sought other ways to create visual space between the two superminis on the exterior’s sides and rear.

Down the Micra’s chunky flanks, there’s a long and horizontal concave feature dubbed by Nissan a ‘gelato scoop’ for fairly obvious visual reasons (and friendly positive associations) while the car’s – big for a supermini – 18-inch wheels and tall black sill cladding in-between the wheel arches add to the proportional tidiness while reducing the size of the body-coloured panels above. At the back, that friendly Micra light trick is repeated, albeit in a slightly different way, with dial-shaped rear lamps, with red tab offshoots at ‘ten o’clock’ (on the left side) and ‘two o’clock’ (on the right).

The interior is less differentiated, with dashboard and driver-angled centre screen and door cards largely the same as the Renault 5, but some software and surfaces are distinctly Nissan (and Japanese). A good example is the Mount Fuji-referencing silhouette on the rubber slip mat covering the centre console storage floor, which looks and feels more convincing in the flesh, than perhaps it sounds.

As the cabin is shared with Renault, the accommodation inside is the same – decent in the front for tall adults and OK in the back – while luggage space extends to 1106 litres via rear seats that fold nearly flat. Two motor options – 120hp or 150hp – can be paired with two lithium-ion batteries variants and electric ranges (40kWh and 192 miles or 52kWh and 253 miles), and Nissan’s well-established e-Pedal system for one-pedal driving will feature. There is also the option to adjust levels of regenerative braking via steering wheel paddles and change driving modes through the centre screen.

Google is embedded in the car’s infotainment system, although compatibility with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay also comes as standard. And like the 5 E-Tech, the Micra offers a lot of safety kit not usually present within the supermini segment including emergency braking, lane keep and adaptive cruise control.

Prices have yet to be announced but expect them to start just under the Renault 5’s current £22,995 entry model with first UK deliveries in January 2026. Those customers who opt for the new-electric Micra might not get the public attention of those choosing the more obviously nostalgia-inducing design of the Renault 5 E-Tech, but chances are, that’s probably just how they’ll like it. Under-the-radar cute.

More information at Micra.Nissan.co.uk