UK Press Launch, Eton 

Nissan chose Dorney Lake in Eton (the place where the Olympic Rowing was held last year), to launch the all-new Note. So why Eton, and why have a rowing theme? Well Eton is Note spelled backwards, and the rowers face backwards, a little cheesy maybe, but a good place to hold an event.

Until you get alongside the long lake, you can’t imagine just how long the distance is that the rowers had to cover. Even walking it is tiring, never mind having to row it as fast as you can.

The all-new Note is literally all-new, with no carry over parts from the previous model, even the chassis is a new design, and all the body parts are changed. Despite all the changes, it is still very easily recognisable as a Nissan Note, if you saw one 200 metres away you would instantly know what is was. The roofline is lower, giving it a more sporty look, the doors have some very unusual yet clever swage lines, and the front headlights are now less clumsy and more attractive.

The interior is still as spacious as it ever was but it now somehow seems to have even more legroom, maybe it’s because of the way the front seats seem higher, giving more room for your feet underneath them – similar to aircraft seats. All this makes very good rear legroom, which is probably more spacious than cars in the next sector up and certainly as good as a premium large saloon.

The boot is also spacious and has the ability to increase in size by sliding the rear seats forward. This is at the cost of the rear leg room though. However it is a very clever option to have, especially if the back seats are empty or you only have small children sat in the rear seats. The boot also has a moveable floor so you can have it at sill height for easy loading or move it down by around 12-inches and get a much larger load area.

The Nissan Note is a B-Sector hatch competitor, and that means it has some great cars to compete with like the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo, KIA Rio and Vauxhall Corsa. The Note does offer much more than those other hatches, as it is more of an SUV Crossover than a standard five-door hatch, which means it is much more practical and useable.

Out on the roads around Windsor and Eton the Note does not do anything wrong, but it does not do anything exceptional either, it is just a good all-rounder. It is quiet but not quick and it handles OK but is no sports car. However the people who this type of car is aimed at do not expect to have the best performance or the best chassis, only practicality.

There are four models in the line-up: Visia, Acenta, Premium and Tekna. There are two engines available a 1.2-litre petrol engine with either 80ps or the supercharged version with 98ps, and a 1.5-litre 90ps diesel. C02 emissions are very competitive with the figures being as low as 92g/km for the diesel and 99g/km for the petrol. 

Prices start from £11,900 for the Visia, but this price does not include air-conditioning, as it is not standard on this model. The Acenta 1.2 80ps is the model to go for as the engine is sufficient for a vehicle of this size and it has a good range of equipment for a vehicle costing £13,250.

The new Note is certainly an improvement all-round from the previous mode. Although if it is an exciting car you are looking for then this very practical Nissan is not the one to have.

Martin Ward, CAP Manufacturer Relationship Manager