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Nissan's Alto-native. Image by David Shepherd.

Nissan's Alto-native
Nissan's Pixo is the result of a partnership between it and Suzuki and it's our pick of the twins.

   



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| First Drive | Paris, France | Nissan Pixo |

Nissan and Renault are a cosy pair, which makes us wonder why Nissan has gotten into bed with Suzuki to produce its new Pixo - the smallest car in the Nissan line-up - when the Renault Twingo would have made a perfectly good base to start from. Anyway, here's Nissan's version of the Suzuki Alto.

In the Metal

We could say, "it looks just like the Suzuki Alto" and leave it at that... That's technically not true though, as Nissan points out the new bonnet, front lights, front grille, bumpers, wheels and erm, different colour choices. The rubber bumper inserts are designed to withstand 'contact parking' too - a favourite pastime of Parisians, but perhaps not so common in Market Harborough. To our eyes, the Pixo is better looking than its Suzuki cousin, thanks to a less gaping front grille, though the Nissan test cars were all fitted with the higher spec alloy wheels, which help the Pixo's cause further.

On the inside, the Pixo is just as plasticky as the Suzuki alternative, though it actually feels very well put together - it's just not very tactile. In contrast to Suzuki's goal to attract stylish young things, Nissan openly admits that cost is one of its highest priorities. Against that remit, the lack of a closing glove box and the fitment of push-out rear door windows are a little more acceptable. Your acceptance of such cost saving measures will depend on the price...

What you get for your Money

Nissan has sensibly undercut the Suzuki Alto with the entry-level Pixo costing just £5,995. Although that price does better the cheapest Alto, it does without some of the basic Alto's equipment. It gets you the Visia trim, which includes ABS with EBD and twin front airbags, along with power steering, a CD player with MP3 playback and well, four wheels and an engine. The Acenta model should be the best seller, starting at £6,745 and adding side airbags, remote central locking, electric front windows, front fog lamps, colour-coded mirrors and door handles plus a 50/50 split folding rear seat to the Visia's specification. That compares will with the Suzuki Alto SZ2. You can spend as much as £7,645 for the Tekna model, which then comes with all the equipment you need, but is potentially too expensive for this market segment, while a four-speed automatic gearbox costs an extra £910.

Driving it

There is virtually no difference in the driving experience between the Alto and Pixo. The only engine option is a 1.0-litre petrol three-cylinder, and with just 67bhp (and 66lb.ft of torque) on tap, it's not going to set the city streets alight. Still, as slow as the performance figures suggest it to be, it suits the laid back nature of the Pixo. Although you need to wring its neck to get anything we would call performance, when you're ambling along it's remarkably hushed, as is the car in general. We didn't experience the same wind noise issues in the Pixo as in the Alto, for whatever reason.

The standard manual gearbox is slick, though you will find yourself dropping down a gear on inclines, while the optional automatic transmission makes a sensible partner to the little engine, with well-chosen ratios and smooth changes. It's a pity that choosing the automatic option means CO2 emissions rise from 103g/km to 122g/km.

Ride comfort is mostly good, as you'd hope, though it seems to be optimised for rural roads rather than city streets, as there is an initial firmness to the damping that makes itself felt over speed bumps and the like. Yet on the open road it copes with everything you can throw at it and it doesn't feel out of its depth on the motorway.

Worth Noting

We had a little giggle when we spotted a button to turn off the traction control in the Pixo. Admittedly, most motoring journalists like to switch off the electronic nannies now and again to see what the basic car is capable of, but the Pixo's 67bhp is unlikely to trouble the front tyres - no matter how slim they are. However, most 'traction control' systems are actually stability control (ESP = Electronic Stability Control) and they've been proven to be invaluable in the event of a skid, regardless of the skill of the driver. The European Parliament has now agreed to make ESP mandatory on all passenger vehicles from November 2011, which we support fully.

Summary

It's difficult to understand why you'd choose the Suzuki Alto over its Nissan twin. We prefer the looks of the Pixo and it does everything else in the same fuss-free, if unexceptional manner as the Alto, but crucially the Nissan line-up starts lower down the financial ladder. We'll leave you to pore over the actual specification differences, but if you really must have a new car and you have between £5,000 and £7,000 to spend then the Pixo is one of your few decent options.

Shane O' Donoghue - 17 Apr 2009



  www.nissan.co.uk    - Nissan road tests
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2009 Nissan Pixo specifications:
Price: From £5,995 for Visia to £8,555 for automatic Tekna model.
Combined economy: 64.2mpg
Emissions: 103g/km
Kerb weight: 850kg

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.



2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 

2009 Nissan Pixo. Image by David Shepherd.
 






 

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