Nissan performed a facelift on the March subcompact it sells in Mexico, and on its own that’s not major news — until you realize that the car has been on sale nearly unchanged for 11 years straight.
The March, otherwise known as the Micra, landed in North America in 2010 at Nissan’s A1 production plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, and it just never left. It got a facelift for 2014, which makes this styling update its second.
This is the K13 generation of the March, and it’s been a consistent seller in the country. The platform moved to a new K14 overseas all the way back in 2016, but Mexico kept production of the K13 going. The K13 page is still active on Nissan Mexico’s site even now.
Elsewhere, the K14 leaned into the newer design language Nissan adopted in the mid-to-late 2010s and the bubble-era roundedness left from the K12 was lost. I was a little sad to see the happy headlights narrow down and the halfway parted grin turn to exclamatory jaws. The new K14 just looked a lot less happy.
The newly facelifted March isn’t quite as angry as the overseas K14, but it’s not as happy as the K13, either. I would say it expresses mischief more than joy, but I’m happy that the facelift retains the overall shape and spirit of the outgoing model. I would call it a K13.5 rather than a K14.
And this isn’t entirely another soulless refresh that’s meant to wring that last bit of margin from a dying model. Nissan is being a little more deliberate.
The carmaker made a few investments this year at the Aguascalientes plant where the March (and Versa and Kicks) are produced. It spent $13.2 million on production of the facelifted March. Those investments have now produced the new March, and there are four model trims, ranging from $219,900 MXN to $304,900 MXN, which is roughly from $11,000 to $15,000 USD.
They all come with a four-cylinder engine that produces about 104 horsepower and 105 lb-ft of torque. Oh, and they all still come with a five-speed manual if you prefer. The K13 had a good, long run overall, and the only thing I think Mexico missed out on is the JDM March Nismo.
To date, 600,000 Nissan Marches have rolled off the line in Mexico. It’s been a staple on Mexico’s roads for over a decade as the bestselling hatchback. It’s one of the best-sellers all around, and in 2020 was outsold only by its stablemates, the Versa and NP300, according to Motorpassion.
With sales figures like that, I won’t be surprised to see another facelifted K13 in another 10 years.