No excuse for lazy parking in Nissan Note

The new Nissan Note is much more appealing looking than its predecessor

Drivers who find parking a traumatic experience should check out Nissan’s Around View Monitor – one of the options in the Nissan Note, this week’s test car.

This excellent feature offers a 360 degree bird’s eye view around the car, so you can see exactly what you’re doing, from above.

A five-door mini-MPV, the new Nissan Note is far more attractive looking than the outgoing model, with playful lines striking a pose on the sides, moving away from the solid, boxy look of yore.

Inside, the cabin is sleek and minimalist, with the large dialed instrument panel and the unusually shaped chrome door handles giving it a futuristic look.

Legroom is great in this car, both in the front and especially in the back, the biggest rear legroom I’ve seen in a car of this size.

The secret is the rear bench seat, which can slide forwards to create extra boot space, or back to give that great legroom.

The blue light in the instrument panel measures driving economy

The boot itself is large when rear legroom is prioritised, gaining about six inches when boot space takes precedence. In this instance, rear legroom is adequate.

The rear seats can also be folded to create a large, almost flat loading area.

Two adults would be comfortable in the back as the middle seat isn’t full size. It can be repurposed as a pull down armrest with two cup holders.

Storage space in this car is also decent. It has a double glove compartment, the top one being a media box with USB and Aux ports.

There’s also uncovered storage between the front seats and there are nicely moulded bottle holders in the door bins, as well as underfloor storage in the boot.

Infotainment is by way of a central touch screen, which provides access to the SatNav, radio/CD/USB/Aux and Bluetooth controls.

It also provides visuals from the Around View Monitor.

I found the Bluetooth in this car simple to set up, both from a phone and music streaming point of view. The sound system was also excellent.

The SatNav too was easy to use and I had no problem finding addresses on it.

The Around View Monitor in the Nissan Note is an excellent parking aid

Our test car showcased the technology Nissan has on offer and it was fitted with the optional lane departure warning, blind spot monitor and the aforementioned Around View Monitor systems.

The lane departure system beeps when you cross the white line without indicating.

I do quite a bit of motorway driving and I find the blind spot monitor excellent for this kind of road as it will beep when you indicate to move into another lane if there’s another vehicle in your blind spot.

I was really impressed with the Around View Monitor. This was my first experience of such a system and I think it eliminates all excuses for bad parking.

At its simplest, it offers the driver a bird’s eye view of the area in which they’re trying to park.

For example, if you’re trying to reverse into a shopping centre parking space you can actually see the lines of the rectangle you’re backing into on the screen.

If you’re parallel parking, you can direct the system to show you the kerb so you can get nice and close.

I also found it handy for tight manoeuvers as you can see the front and the back of the car, which have parking sensors. Heavy rain did not pose any problems for it.

The Nissan Note offers a huge cargo area when the rear seats are folded

The test car was a mid-level SV trim five-speed manual 1.2-litre petrol.

Our route saw us mostly in the city, with motorway and country back roads thrown in as well.

I found the city was the Nissan Note’s natural habitat and it was quite zippy in eco mode, easy to handle and to manoeuver.

The fuel efficient Stop/Start technology was also handy when stuck in traffic.

However, at motorway speeds in Eco Mode I found that I quite literally had to floor it to get any decent acceleration and it was a very slow climb from 0-120kph.

However, I had a much more satisfying drive when I turned off Eco Mode in such conditions.

Wind noise is quite loud in the cabin as well when you’re driving at speed. It was quite fun to drive on the winding back roads though and it handled the twists and turns well.

The car also gives you an eco report on your driving at the end of each trip if you have Eco turned on. I never managed to get higher than a 3 (out of 5), a result which is considered normal.

Overall, I enjoyed the Nissan Note. Technology, albeit mostly optional, was excellent and while it’s not an aggressive car it’s very easy in the city and liveable-with on the motorway.

The new Nissan Note is available now, with prices starting from €15,995. Prices for the SV model I was driving cost from €16,995. The Tech Pack is an additional €1,000 and the Family Pack, which includes the sliding rear seat and front and rear armrests, is an extra €400.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.2-litre 80PS petrol
Acceleration: 0-100kph in 13.7seconds
Maximum Speed: 168kph
CO2 emissions: 109g/km
Combined fuel economy: 4.7l/100km
Annual road tax: €190

Visit the Nissan Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.

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