Is Nissan's new all-electric Micra the best small EV yet?

Dread Zepplin, Fake That, Oasish: every headliner has a tribute act. And Nissan's first fully electric Micra is being dubbed the Blobbie Williams of the new car market. That's because it doesn't just follow in the tyre tracks of the brilliant Renault 5 EV; it uses the exact same rubber. Prize open the Micra's Nissan-branded packaging and what lies inside is the greatest hits of Renault's incredibly successful electric supermini. From the batteries and electric motors to every chassis component down to the nut and bolt, execs at the Japanese car maker say the total number of mechanical alterations is precisely zero.

The price is the same too, starting from £21,495 when factoring in the Government's £1,500 Electric Car Grant discount. So, what is the compelling argument for why customers should choose the Micra over the Top of the EV Pops Renault 5? Daily Mail and This is Money motoring editor Rob Hull travelled to the European launch in Rotterdam to find out if the Micra is more Deft Leppard than The Rolling Clones...

There's no point beating around the bush - let's get straight into the nitty gritty and discuss the Renault-badged elephant in the room. Yes, the Micra is a rebodied Renault 5. Unashamed Nissan bosses hold their hands up and say the very same. But there are three very strong arguments why this is the case. The first is simply a matter of timing. Nissan and its French partner forged their strategic marriage some 25 years ago in an alliance designed to harvest profitability by sharing resources. That's why the Qashqai parked on your driveway is underpinned by the same platform as your neighbour's Renault. When the 5 entered showrooms last year, it did so to great fanfare due to its retro nod to the eighties original and its stellar drivability. But Nissan's hand in its success shouldn't be overlooked.

The Japanese marque played a vital background role in its development, as well as stumping up towards the cost to bring both vehicles to market. If the Renault 5 project were a band, Nissan would be the bass guitarist in the shadows rather than the flamboyant front man under the spotlight. With the Micra hitting showrooms almost 12 months later, accusations of imitation are simply a by-product of it arriving second. Then there's the Japanese company's own financial predicament to consider, with Nissan posting a record £3.8billion net loss last year as demand for its cars in the US and China - its two biggest markets - crumbled.

Any mechanical alterations to make the Micra feel unique would too bring additional costs - something the Yokohama headquarters can't afford if it's to avoid an automotive break-up of Fleetwood Mac proportions. Finally, and possibly most importantly, Nissan bosses told the Daily Mail they are using the age-old philosophy of: 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'. And having seen the resounding triumph of the Renault 5 in recent months, why would it want to mess with a chart-topping formula?

There's an art to redesigning a platform-sharing car to differentiate it from its mechanical sibling, and Nissan's styling department has done an admirable job given the restrictions of the four-wheeled canvas. While its French counterpart has very much leaned on the boxy trademarks of its 1980s icon to create a retro-chic look, Nissan has taken inspiration from its bulbous Mk3 'K12' Micra, on sale from 2002 to 2010 - a car that many Britons learned to drive in, or had a granny who bought one. And it's in the UK where the looks have been honed, with the design team in Paddington responsible for its extensive cosmetic nip and tuck. It's split elliptical LED daytime running light headlamps are formed in the shape of those used for the 2000s supermini, as is the 'gelato scoop' indent that links the front and rear doors. To the back, there's another oval lighting motif and softer curved edges to the rear window.

From the face and derrière, most unwitting drivers won't make the Renault 5 connection thanks to its cosmetic makeover. And that's an achievement within itself. Inside, the Micra's cabin mirrors the layout of its French cousin, though some effort has gone into using different materials to at least make it feel unrelated. The dual-screen setup is lifted directly from the Renault, so isn't the same system you find in other Nissans. This isn't a criticism, though, with the displays easy to understand and operate - and arguably better than syncing Apple Carplay or Android Auto, which is also available via wireless connection. The driver’s digital instrument cluster is configurable, too, and has the option to display the full navigation display, which isn't always the case for £20,000-something superminis.

Another carry over from the Renault 5 is the three-stalk set-up behind the wheel, which includes the light controls, indicators and - on a separate wand - the drive selector. Unfortunately, this trio of stems can cause some confusion. Adding to the frustration is the R5-inherited lack of a 'Park' button on the drive mode stalk. Instead, you must select 'Neutral' by gently dabbing the stem between 'Reverse' and 'Drive', which is infuriatingly sensitive. My well-versed co-driver - who already runs a Renault 5 as a daily - said this is a major headache and instead reverts to opening the driver door to automatically apply the park setting. In terms of the other major touch points, our top-of-the-range Evolve trim featured lush synthetic leather panelling across the upper dashboard and a carbon-weave looking plastic insert running above it. The waffle-cone roof liner is a nice touch, while the plush door insets distract the eye from the cheaper hard-plastic sections around the lower portion of the cockpit.

The motoring press has almost run out of superlatives to describe just how good the Renault 5 is to drive. And, given it has cloned the DNA of the 'Cinq', the Micra is - unsurprisingly - just as impressive. It benefits from the same agile chassis that's enjoyable at just about any speed. Around town, it's responsive and darty, which is ideal for avoiding wheel-scuffing high kerbs, the odd dropped manhole cover, and the occasional dopey pedestrian crossing without looking both ways. Pick up the pace on a sweeping country road and it's beautifully balanced and tremendously grippy, allowing you to link corners with real precision thanks to its weighty steering and hunkered stature. Even on a motorway, the Micra feels reassuringly stable. Despite its compact scale, it emanates the heft of a far more sizable vehicle.

Solid acoustics enhance this sensation, with its cabin well-sheltered from wind noise even at Dutch 120kph (75mph) speed limits, though there is slightly more tyre rumble than rivals with skinnier rubber. The chassis does a decent job of ironing out tarmac imperfections without jolting you out of your seat, though it can feel somewhat crashy when driving below 30mph. Overall, it feels far more mature than the junior dimensions would typically deliver. My only slight cavil is the elevated SUV-like seat position, which is a consequence of the battery pack sitting in the floor below. While not an issue for folk of average stature, six footers will find it harder to fine tune an optimal setup.

Like the Renault, customers will have the option of a 40 or 52kWh battery with respective e-motors of either 121 or 148bhp sending drive to the front axle. During our two-day test, I took to the wheel of the more potent variant in range-topping 'Evolve' trim. Foot to the floor, it will complete a 0-to-62mph sprint in 8 seconds. While that's slower than a Mini Cooper SE, it's a lot quicker than the most powerful Citroen e-C3 and Fiat 500e, with which it is in direct rivalry. There are four different driving modes to explore: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Perso (short for personal). You can shuffle through them using a dedicated button on the steering wheel, though you're forced to move between each mode in the sequence listed above rather than jumping from one to another, which is a tad annoying. By doing so tunes the power delivery, the eagerness of the throttle response, and the resistance of the electronic power steering rack. While Eco is the default setting, it's a little too cumbersome for my liking.

Comfort provides the adequate compromise between sufficiently urgent acceleration without rapidly emptying the battery of crucial kilowatts. And there are two major performance trump cards in the Micra's arsenal over its 5 counterpart. Thanks to its redesigned bodywork, the Nissan is aerodynamically slipperier than its French sibling. As such, this translates to a - marginally - longer range. Our 52kWh version boasted an official distance of 260 miles between charges versus the Cinq's 252. On a mix of different roads and a fully charged battery, our test car wasn't quite matching those claims, though. After combining the impact of 120 miles of driving and the remaining distance quoted on the instrument cluster, a figure closer to 240 miles seems more realistic, which is still more than acceptable for a car of this size.

The Micra's second advantage over the 5 is a feature the Evolve-trimmed version boasts but the Renault does without entirely: three-way adjustable regenerative braking potency. Using paddles behind the steering wheel - like you'd usually find in a car with a semi-automatic gearbox - the driver can increase or reduce the force at which the regen system slows the vehicle. This can be tailored from barely any brake assistance whatsoever all the way up to Nissan's 'one-pedal' mode, which decelerates with real vigour as soon as you release the throttle. While this feeds the most energy back into the battery to extend the available range, it is a little too intrusive. The Goldilocks medium setting feels less invasive and is easier to adapt to.

The smaller 40kWh battery pack is limited to 80kW DC charging. This will replenish the battery from 15 to 80 per cent in around half an hour. For my larger capacity 52kWh test car, it is capable of charging speeds up to 100kW. Find a suitably powerful public charge point and the larger battery pack can be upped from 15 to 80 per cent in the same 30-minute time as the smaller unit. Both battery options feature an 11kW on-board charger for domestic AC charging or when there are only slower public devices accessible. Using a standard 7.4kW home wallbox, it takes 6.5 hours to fully recharge the smaller battery, while my 52kWh Extended Range version takes 8.5 hours.

While the boxy proportions and grown-up drive exude a bigger vehicle experience, this doesn't quite translate to large-car interior space. From the front seats it feels enclosed, especially as a result of the narrow windows, high dashboard and dark roof lining. On the plus note, occupants in the primary seats have access to spacious door bins, cupholders and a decent centre console, inclusive of a wireless charging pad for your smartphone. Move to the rear bench and it feels distinctly more cramped. While the flat floor does mean there's foot room under the front chairs, there's limited knee space for adults of a modest five foot seven (I know, I'm that tall/short). Head room is also restricted, which is a result of the battery pack being sandwiched into the floor and pushing the seating position higher. Tapering rear windows increase the feeling of being cocooned in the back, too. These smaller window frames also provide sparse over-the-shoulder visibility for a driver when changing lanes or pulling out of acute junctions.

Fortunately, standard parking sensors, the option of a reversing camera, and active safety functionality including lane keeping assist and blind spot warning intervention all temper the scant all-round view. More practical is the Renault 5-matching 326-litre boot, which is about average for the supermini class. However, with no front storage area, some of your available loading space will ultimately be taken up by the charging cables. And while the compartment is practically square in shape, the sill is high, so you need to lift heavier items over waist height to drop them into the boot. Fold the 60-40-split rear backrests down and lugging capacity increases to 1,106 litres. But the seats don't drop completely flat, which can be anger-inducing when trying to slide leaden items - like flatpack furniture - into the back.

If a small electric car is what you want, the Nissan Micra and Renault 5 are streaks ahead of their rivals and combined should become platinum sellers. Engaging to drive, offering more than adequate distances between charges, packed with a bounty of big-car features, and oozing luxury appeal, nothing else comes close on the market today. The choice between the two sister models will simply come down to personal preference. Whether you're a fan of Renault's retro design or Nissan's softer styling approach is very much a matter of opinion. And with almost identical pricing and similar residual value predictions, your choice can't even be financially driven. Do I think the Nissan looks better than the reborn R5? Personally, no. But where I will fight the corner of the Micra is its fractionally longer range and the availability of adaptive regenerative braking. This gives it a USP that could strike a chord with customers despite the fact it sings from almost the same hymn sheet as the Cinq. Whichever you choose, neither will feel like a broken record.