The Nissan Micra 160SR Is A Forgotten Baby Hot Hatch

With the exception of the K10 Nissan March Super Turbo, the car we’ve known in Europe for its whole life as the Micra isn’t one you’d ever associate with ‘power’, ‘speed’ or generally any form of heart-stirring performance.

No, from its inception in 1982 through to its recent reveal as a Renault 5-based EV, the Micra has been seen as small, sensible and perhaps for much of the last 40 years, pretty dull. At no point has anyone really considered it exciting, especially given we never officially got that Super Turbo in the UK.

Nissan did once try and have a crack at making the supermini a little bit exciting, though, and it’s often forgotten. This was the K12 Nissan Micra 160SR.

Arriving in 2005, the 160SR name didn’t hint at a 160bhp Micra but rather the capacity of its 1.6-litre engine. Really, it made 108bhp – and it’s worth noting that engine would later go on to produce a fair bit more in the Renaultsport Twingo.

Given it weighed a few kilos under 1,100kg, though, and sent power through a close-ratio five-speed manual gearbox, that seemed like a potentially interesting recipe. Especially when you consider that Nissan engineers in Cranfield (with a CV including tweaking the 350Z for Europe at the ‘Ring) did a fair bit to hone the chassis.

Lower suspension was fitted with increased spring rates, while a thicker front anti-roll bar aimed at improving chassis stiffness. Traction control was fitted, too (before it became mandatory in the EU).

Visual changes for the 160SR were pretty subtle, but it did get a small rear spoiler and some sports seats inside. Oh, and parking sensors.

Reviews at the time of the Nissan Micra 160SR were pretty flattering. Evo described it as “a genuinely able and infectiously enjoyable car”, while Autocar said it was “really convincing”.

So why then, don’t we rave about the Micra 160SR to this day? We have a few theories.

In 2005, the Ford Fiesta ST may have cost around £4,000 more than a Micra 160SR, but the similarly-sized car also offered 148bhp from a 2.0-litre engine. Then there’s the Suzuki Swift Sport introduced at a similar time – it had 15bhp more than the Micra, weighed about 100kg lighter and cost practically the same new.

Quite simply, the Nissan Micra was also not seen as a cool car, and the 160SR’s subtle visual tweaks didn’t really do much to differentiate it from the one your nan would take to bingo. The sort of thing a 20-to-25-year-old who could afford the favourable finance deals on one would’ve cared about.

Finding a good Nissan Micra 160SR today is a pretty hard task. According to howmanyleft, just 543 were still on the road in 2024, and that appears to have dropped at a rate of about 20-30 annually for the couple of years prior.

If you do find one, though, maybe now is the time to show the 160SR a bit of love.