Mercedes Benz

Text Japan is a country that nurtures many motoring sub-niches, with the weird hot hatchback perhaps our very favourite. And it is a good day, for one of the weirdest of the lot has just had a big old update. The Nissan Note Nismo is back, bolder than ever and boasting a new name badge. Meet the Note Aura Nismo, based on the more premium Note Aura – a posher mini people carrier that “aims to exceed the expectations of all occupants,” whatever that means – and possessing styling apparently parachuted down from Formula E. Which thankfully doesn’t mean they’ve binned all but the driver’s seat and restricted your journeys to circling tracks laid out in industrial venues. It means the Nismo’d Note now produces actual downforce, though Nissan has neglected to quote a figure. Lest we chuckle at its smallness, probably. That’s despite the powertrain beneath being no more powerful than before. It’s one of Nissan’s ‘e-power’ setups, which means electric motors powering the front whee...