Nissan Micra

When the previous Nissan Micra was launched a decade ago, it won major awards for its cheeky retro style as much as for its engineering excellence. It looked different to anything else in the segment. It was always going to be a hard act to beat for the brand, but the new Micra has the same cheeky attitude in a 21st century incarnation. It has some intriguing features such as the stowage box under the front passenger seat, accessed by lifting the seat itself. The styling is absolutely current Nissan, with the 'droop-snoot' front end premiered last year in the new Primera and now continued in the uprated Almera and completed in the Micra. The engine range of 65-88PS petrol and 65-82PS diesel is also a major improvement for a model which has had only a 1-litre in Ireland for most of its life. Nissan says it is targeting the new car at a different type of customer to that which the older car has attracted. Now it wants a 'demanding, confident, free-thinking individual who doesn't follow the herd'. Provisional Stars: 8/10

Nissan Almera

The current version of the Almera is a decent-looking, solid and pleasant to drive car which consistently sells near the top of its segment despite the pooh-poohing of many of us professional motor critics. Recently given some minor upgrades, mostly cosmetic interior and exterior because there’s not much wrong with the innards, you can have three-, four- and five-door versions, powered by either 1.5-litre or 1.8-litre engines, that latter a really flexible and relatively new unit first introduced in the Primera. You can have automatic with a couple of the 1.8s, which would be the way we’d go. The hatches have a sporty styling inside and out, while the Japanese-built saloon is a little more staid in interior trim. Stars: 7/10

Nissan Tino

A compact MPV based on the Almera running gear and neatly done. It is strictly a five-seater, but for five large people and providing them with decent luggage space behind. Now available with both the excellent 1.8-litre petrol engine from Almera and Primera, and a 2-litre automatic that’s likely to be priced off the wall after the McCreevy Mullocking. Both have aircon as standard. it would have a greater impact on its segment - where the real competition is Opel’s Zafire and Renault’s Scenic - if it had both smaller and a diesel engine options. The Tino drives very capably, with little or no extra roll over the car it is based on, and the only crib we have is the engine noise - built-in-Japan cars still sometimes show short cuts have been taken in soundproofing their smaller and niche cars while the yen economy finds it difficult to export into Europe. Stars: 7/10

Nissan Primera

The first in its respected nameplate to be avant garde in looks, Nissan’s latest Primera comes as a saloon with very coupe lines, a hatchback, and an estate that to some view is maybe the nicest version. Interior styling distinction comes from the central pod for the pleasingly large instruments set, and a quite dramatic curved dash-into-door trim design. A central switchgear unit has everything accessible with the span of a hand, and while the positioning takes a little getting used to, it works out ergonomically very well. All but the entry level cars also come with a rear-view camera mounted above the numberplate, which transmits an image to a screen in the dashboard. The car is available with 1.6-litre and 1.8-litre petrol engines and a 2.2-litre turbodiesel, . An automatic is available with the 1.8-litre engine, and the diesel has a 6-speed manual gearbox. There are three specification levels. Stars: 8/10

Nissan Maxima

Believe it or not, one of my favourite large cars, because of its very American ease of driving allied to good Japanese quality build. Sales have dived a bit this year, but there are only so many buyers of large cars out there, and anyway a totally new Maxima is coming next year. The excellent, nay, superb 2-litre V6 is the one to go for, and an auto version won’t set you back much extra in the overall pricing scheme. There’s also a 3-litre. The sprint performance of the basic car isn’t anything to write home about, but the gearing is long-legged and aiming for a quiet trip more than a storming one. We like big cars anyway, and people in big cars with a good autotrans tend to drive less aggressively than those in sound-and-fury GTboxes. I certainly wouldn’t mind a runout version at the right price, though a used one is more likely to be within my personal affordability. Stars: 7/10

Nissan Terrano

When it first arrived it had ‘car-like’ driving characteristics, but cars have since got better. However, the current Terrano II this is a true offroader, capable of really dirty duty, and it is very ruggedly built. Not for the light of muscle, though, and boulevarding would simply anger the local poseurs with the diesel clatter. The power unit is a tough 2.7-litre turbodiesel that’s actually quite powerful and would pull trees out of woods, though slowly, which is how that should be done. There is also a 3-litre diesel available in the current year’s model. There’s one SWB and a number of LWB versions of different specifications, including one providing an autobox. Getting on in years, and looks, really, but Nissan still sells more of them than Isuzu sells Troopers here. Stars: 6/10

Nissan X-Trail

Aha, another example of Nissan’s burgeoning ethos of excellence, and the soft-roader that to my mind is amongst the best in the business and likely to offer a decent challenge to the established in the segment. It has a sophisticated part-time 4WD system linked to an array of other electronic features, and while it is clearly aimed at the 4x4 boulevardier, it is claimed to perform as well in the rough as some much earthier machinery. It comes highly-equipped for comfort and style, and from a safety point of view, the X-Trail has front and side airbags, and ABS with EBD. A new 2-litre petrol engine is the only power unit - Nissan’s current diesel is a 2.2-litre and falls foul of Ireland’s penal VRT regulations, indeed as the 2-litre is now bound to do, so is there a liklihood that the brand’s 1.8-litre might be offered in coming months? There’s now an auto too. I’ve driven X-Trail extensively and found it to be a really solid road car, as smooth as you'd like to drive for a long time. Stars: 8/10

Nissan Patrol GR

Despite a luxury facelift a couple of years ago, it is now not refined enough to compete as a general purpose big SUV where comfort on the road is more important than mudslinging ability. Generally, the competition has evolved to have more comfortable road manners, and the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser is likely to increase that nameplate’s current lead over the Nissan that used to be ahead of it. The Patrol feels big, it IS big, and it is very strong, and wherever the UN is trying to stop a war or mop up after one, you’ll see it in numbers and white, because it can handle the rough stuff well. Fortunately, we don’t travel in any worse war zone than the Mad Cow Roundabout and the Naas Road. Come to think of it, maybe this IS what we should be driving? Leather is not optional, but A/T is. Stars: 5/10