Nissan's small car is the Micra by name and by nature. A recent check of the 1.4 litre engined automatic's fuel economy revealed its frugal nature - 6.17 litres per 100 kilometres or 46.08 miles per gallon.

A route around Auckland during morning rush hour before heading south to Hamilton and return achieved the figures in real world driving conditions with no economy rally driving techniques and the power sapping climate control air conditioning switched on all the time.

The test was carried out by the Automobile Association's technical department.

"We wanted to see what the Micra could achieve in ordinary driving conditions," explained Nissan New Zealand's marketing manager, Peter Merrie.

The route took the Micra from Manukau into the heart of Auckland's central business district at 8.15am in the morning. The Micra then headed along the waterfront to St Heliers, before driving through the Eastern Suburbs to get onto the southern motorway.

The trip south on Highway 1 was punctuated by frequented stopping and starting at the road works for the construction of the Waikato Expressway.

The Micra went into the centre of Hamilton before retracing its route up Highway 1 to the top of the Bombay Hills, where it turned onto the Old Great South Rd and returned to Manukau through greater Auckland's southern most suburbs.