Nissan Note (2013-2016) Review

It's surprising that the Nissan Note small car wasn't more successful than it was. It looked much more stylish than the contemporary Micra, with a hint of Juke to its styling. We'll give you the full lowdown on the car in our Nissan Note review.

The Nissan Note's sloping roofline and the design of the rear windows do give the impression that passengers sitting in the rear might be fighting for head- and legroom, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nissan boasts the Note has more legroom than anything else in its class, and the generosity of rear passenger space makes that easy to believe. The rear bench, very cleverly, slides forward, to increase boot space, from 325 litres to 411 litres.

Yet despite all its spaciousness, the Nissan Note's cabin is still quite a drab place, not helped by the acres of cheap-feeling and scratchy dark plastics, which seem to dominate. The Note's seats, both front and back, aren't all that comfortable, making a long journey seem even longer. Even scaling-up the trim levels doesn’t buy that much more interior colour, or a soft-feel dashboard.

Instead, doing so brings a few more basic niceties, like privacy glass and Nissan’s Safety Shield package. This is a clever piece of kit that uses the Note’s rear-mounted cameras to umbrella the Blind Spot Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Moving Object Detection into one easy-to-use system.

Not that the Nissan Note Visia, the entry-level model, is lacking in the standard equipment department. Granted, the door mirrors and door handles won’t be colour coded, nor will it have front or rear armrests, or air-conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity, that sliding rear bench or alloy wheels: these are the preserve of the Note Acenta, Acenta Premium and Tekna. 

Nonetheless, the Note Visia gets an acceptable radio/CD player, remote locking, cruise control with speed limiter, plus electric front windows (those in the rear have to revert to the old-fashioned, on-board arm-strengthening method). But, more importantly, it will have six airbags, exactly the same as the rest of the range.

There’s a three-engine line-up to choose from and all have eco stop/start. They consist of an 80PS, 1.2-litre three-pot petrol, which is appealing as a starting price point but struggles to adequately shift the Note’s bulk. Then there’s the DIG-S version of the same engine. It shares the same block and displacement, only this time, and essentially, it has been gifted with a supercharger to produce 98PS.

There is a noticeable difference in the handling between the two, assisted in part by the DIG-S handling pack, but it’s still not the sporty driving machine Nissan billed it as. Even when either is being pushed to their limits, neither feels as though they are ever likely to endanger a clean driving licence.

Then there’s the Renault-sourced diesel. Out of the three, it is this 90PS 1.5-litre dCi turbodiesel that's best suited to the Note. It is marginally slower, taking 11.9 seconds to reach 62mph from a standing start (11.7 seconds for the DIG-S). However, being able to dollop-out 200Nm of torque does have its advantages, more so in this car, because the transformation is immediate, disguising its modest output and making it feel much faster than it actually is. The dCi is also the most efficient, emitting just 95g/km of CO2 with official fuel consumption of 78.4mpg.

Irrespective of engine, the Nissan Note's ride is best described as compliant. There’s a tautness that keeps it true and level on the motorway straights, yet it shows little sign of prevailing bodyroll through the corners. The centrally-weighted steering is a bit too light, and a bit vague, and never truly communicates with the driver. But is that really important? Probably not.

Most buyers of the Nissan Note won’t be too bothered by such trivial matters. They will be swayed by its many other obvious attributes. Immense practicality, build quality, friendliness towards the family, cheap running costs and Nissan’s reputation for reliability.

Looking for a used car for sale? We've got 100s of Nissan Approved Used Cars for Sale for you to choose from, including a wide range of Nissan Notes for sale. 

Nissan was a little too reliant on a rather grey colour palette when designing the Note's interior. There are a few silver highlights (on the centre console and steering wheel), but otherwise it's almost offensively bland.

The circular climate control panel does little to lift the cabin, either, but all the switchgear is logically laid out and easy to operate. There are plenty of useful storage areas, too, including cup holders in the centre console. 

Large windows and a relatively high seating position provide a good view of what's going on around you, while access is easy. You don't sit up quite as high up as you do in the Nissan Juke or bigger Qashqai, but it's certainly easier to get in and out of than a Micra.

The Nissan Note's certainly not as fun to drive as a Ford Fiesta, but you might be surprised at how enjoyable it can be. It's easy to drive, too, helped by the brand's clever Around View Monitor. This provides a bird’s-eye view of the car thanks to a number of cameras installed in the mirrors and bumpers. The display makes it possible to thread the car into small spaces and tight garages with ease, and it’ll even alert you if a stray pet or person walks into the path of the car.

A downside is the Nissan Note's ride quality. It's quite firm for a car like this, pattering over broken road surfaces and causing some discomfort if you hit a pothole at speed.

You'll find more petrol examples of the Nissan Note on the used market, though, and they're hardly going to drain your pockets in terms of running costs, either. The standard 1.2 officially returns 60.1mpg while the supercharged DIG-S is rated at 65.6mpg.

These figures aren't necessarily that achievable in the real world, though. According to HonestJohn.co.uk's Real MPG data, you should be able to see mid-40s mpg from the petrol models, and more than 60mpg from the diesel.

Nissan Note Visia models feature a CD player, USB and Aux connectivity, Bluetooth, electrically adjustable door mirrors, stop/start, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, split-fold rear seats, electric front windows, daytime running lights, keyless entry and steel wheels. Air conditioning was a cost option on Visia models.

The Nissan Note Acenta adds steering wheel mounted audio controls, heated door mirrors, electric rear windows, air conditioning, sliding rear bench seat, 15-inch alloy wheels, front and rear armrests, adjustable load area floor, body-coloured exterior details plus rear privacy glass.

Note Acenta Premium models get climate control, automatic headlights and wipers, front foglights plus the Nissan Connect sat nav and touchscreen system. Options on this grade included the Safety Pack with Around View Monitor and the Comfort pack with glass roof. 

The Nissan Note Tekna adds the Around View Monitor, i-Key with keyless start button, improved audio system, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, leather covered steering wheel, part-leather seats and 16-inch alloy wheels. Options included a styling pack with front and rear aprons, plus a spoiler.