A car with no road tax to pay, that is exempt from the London congestion charge and with low running costs — that will be one of those horribly expensive, two-seater electric cars then.

No. This one comes with five seats, a range that comfortably exceeds 300 miles and a petrol engine.

But the 1.2-litre engine which powers that latest version of Nissan’s new Micra is no ordinary power plant.

Known as the DIG-S, the engine is a direct injection unit with a supercharger — hence the car’s name: Direct Injection Gasoline-Supercharger.

The three-cylinder engine delivers almost 100 horsepower, as well as the possibility of more than 60mpg consumption, and it produces just 95g/km of carbon dioxide, making it one of the lowest emitters in the world.

Those figures all relate to the entry-level Visia model. Move up the range and as more equipment is fitted and the weight increases, the CO2 figure increases a little to 99g/km, but still enough to keep the tax benefits.

This little gem of an engine is a match made in heaven for the new Micra, which has dropped its Sunderland-built funky design for Indian-built play-it-safe-styling to further its global ambitions.

After almost 30 years and 5.65 million sales, the latest Micra is the first not be built in either Japan or Europe. Instead production has shifted to four plants in China, Thailand, India and Mexico. Examples destined for the UK will come from Nissan’s Chennai plant in India.

With sales planned across 160 countries, there is little doubt that even if the interior is less sophisticated than in the past, the mechanical side of the car will be tough.

The interior has lots of hard plastic on the dashboard and doors. But on the upside there is plenty of space in the rear, boot space comfortably matches its rivals and it has decent equipment levels.

All Micra models have an electronic stability programme fitted, along with front, side and curtain airbags, head restraints in the rear, a Bluetooth phone link and anti-lock brakes.

The top-of-the-range Tekna test model added everything from climate control air conditioning and cruise control, to a combined satellite navigation and entertainment system, a glass roof covering the entire front half of the car and an electronic system that automatically measures potential parallel parking spacest.

There are fun touches too. Turn on the ignition and the dashboard display glows a red ‘Hello’. Switch off the ignition and it says ‘Goodbye’. So as well as being frugal, smart, and technologically advanced, it’s also polite.

Auto Facts Nissan Micra 1.2 Tekna DIG-S

Price: £13,650

  • Insurance group: Nine (1-50)
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 65.7mpg
  • Top speed: 112mph
  • Length: 378cm/147.6in
  • Width: 167.5cm/66in
  • Luggage capacity: 9.3 cu ft
  • Fuel tank capacity: Nine gallons/41 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 99g/km
  • Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles

The Dealer WEST WAY NISSAN Oxford Motor Park Langford Lane Kidlington OX5 1FJ 0844 387 4881