A Grand Monday: Nissan Micra K10

In many ways, it was the K10 Micra that put Nissan on the map. True, the Japanese maker - as Datsun - had made some serious inroads into the UK market with the earlier Cherry and Sunny models and their 100A and 120Y predecessors, but it was the boxy supermini that finally got the company’s sales figures where they wanted them to be. 

The K10 was a supermini that wasn’t just up there with the best that Europe had to offer, but was better than many. It was well packaged, fun to drive, had a very pleasant gearshift and a dash layout that, while dated by modern standards, featured a modern ‘grid’ graphic background that was considered so evocative of the microcomputer generation that Austin-Rover copied it for the Metro. 

It was also as reliable as clockwork, and was also one of the first Japanese cars to not give the Alfasud a run for its money in a rusting competition. Admittedly, K10s had their grot spots, but they were no worse than any of their contemporaries, while mechanical dependability and a slightly older than average buyer demographic meant many outlasted their peers. 

This one’s a good example of that - owned by just one person from new, It has covered just 77,000 miles and has all the hallmarks of elderly ownership, including the corners knocked off the bumpers and a worn syncromesh going into third gear. Nothing horrific, though, and at £450, it’s a bit of a bargain in our book.

• Read our Nissan Micra K10 review and buyer's guide
• How many Nissan Micra K10s survived? Find out
• Find a Nissan Micra K10 for sale