Built with a special ‘Her’ in mind

It’s the model with fun, stylish women in mind – and that’s just for starters.

By DUNCAN DANLEY

For Nissan has joined forces with the world’s best-selling fashion magazine, Elle, to develop a special version of its ever popular city car, the Micra.

And one of the first Nissan Micra Elles, which went on sale in the UK this week priced from £12,000, is in the showrooms of Polesworth Garage – the Midlands premier independent car dealership.

With bags of stylish looks and special features, the car comes with a panoramic glass roof, chromed accents to the lower part of the grille, chrome interior door handles, 15-inch titanium grey alloy wheels, fog lamps and a roof spoiler.

There are three colours available – Shiraz Red, Alabaster White and Atlas Blue – as well as a new seat fabric covering.

The award-winning Nissan Connect integrated satellite navigation and infotainment system is available as an option. Discreet Elle badges on the tailgate and front wings, front floor mats and front door guards mark out the new model on the high street.

But that’s not all. As the Micra Elle is based on the mid-range Acenta model, it has a long list of standard equipment including automatic air conditioning, Intelligent Key for keyless entry and push button start, electrically heated and folding door mirrors, along with a speed limiter and cruise control.

You’ll have to hurry though as just 500 Micra Elle models will be coming to the UK and buyers have the choice of either the 1.2-litre 80PS normally aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine or the sophisticated 1.2 direct injection supercharged (DIG-S) petrol engine, which develops 98PS yet produces just 99g/km of CO2.

The DIG-S engine has plenty of punch for the urban jungle with 142Nm of torque and a 0-62mph time of 11.3 seconds. It also has a maximum speed of 112mph and posts combined cycle fuel economy figures of up to 68.9mpg.

Both 1.2-litre engines produce emissions low enough to qualify for Nissan’s ‘Pure Drive’ badge, given only to the cleanest cars in Nissan’s line-up.

‘This is far more than just a badge on a car,’ said Geraldine Ingham, chief marketing manager for Nissan in Europe. ‘There is a lot of common ground between the Micra and Elle, with both the car and the magazine appealing to very similar buyers.

“The vast majority of Elle readers are fun, positive, stylish women, all highly individual and with the capacity to surprise . . . just like the Nissan Micra Elle.”