It’s a bit like having deja vu these days when you get in some cars, writes motoring editor Sharon Walters.

You know you haven’t driven one before but they seem so familiar.

That’s because so many are the result of close collaboration between manufacturers.

Underneath they are generally built on the same platform and share engines. Outside they are tweaked to make them ‘individual’.

And so it was when I got behind the wheel of Nissan’s tiny baby – the Pixo.

It is produced as part of a joint initiative with Suzuki at one of their plants in India.

It is identical mechanically with the Alto and shares the same engine.

Cheaper

Outside it looks slightly different as it does inside but there’s no denying they are the same car – except for price with the entry level Pixo coming in cheaper by £500.

Amazing when you think it is built for Nissan by Suzuki.

This tiny city car is, with the Alto, in the highly competitive small car sector. It is an environmentally conscious car with high fuel efficiency and low emissions. And that all important price – it starts at £6,995.

There are four trim choices and you get five doors and four seats.

Yes, you can take four people but those in the back wouldn’t want to be in there for long. And don’t think you can get anything other two or three bags of shopping in the boot.

City car

But then this car isn’t made for long journeys with luggage. It is a city car for nipping about busy centres and easy parking.

And it does that very well indeed. At just 3.5 metres in length it is one of the smallest cars on the road and this translates into being very nimble.

There is a choice of manual or auto transmission (go for the auto, much better driving in city traffic, although not available on the entry level model) with a 1.0 litre three cylinder petrol engine.

I very closely matched the official figures of 64.2 mpg in a combined cycle in a manual version and with fuel prices soaring again, that is very good news.

Emissions are 103 g/km CO2 for the manual making it cheap to tax and the insurance group is a very lowly Group 1E.

While this is great around town a long drive on a dual carriageway or motorway would be uncomfortable and quite tiring – but again it is not intended to do that.

Bland

Inside it is a bit spartan and bland – but then what do you expect for the price tag?

I would spend a little more to get more than two airbags as standard on the entry level model but aside from that you get pretty much what you need.

All models include power steering, anti-lock brakes, driver and passenger airbags, ISOFIX child seat fixings, immobiliser and a rear wiper.

Other standard features include a rear parcel shelf, tilt adjustable steering column, two front cup holders and two rear door storage pockets and a CD player with MP3 playback.

Move up from Visia to Acenta and standard equipment also encompasses keyless entry with power locking, electric front windows, 50:50 split folding rear seats, front fog lamps, and body coloured door handles and mirrors.

Safety

The safety package is enhanced further by the inclusion of side airbags as standard.

Air conditioning and pollen filter are provided as standard on the n-tec model, while top of the range Tekna gains curtain airbags and ESP stability control.

Acenta, n-tec and Tekna models are also available with the automatic transmission option.

You also get Nissan’s standard three year warranty.

Pixo is one of the first Nissans to wear the newly revealed Pure Drive badge.

This is being progressively rolled out across all Nissans producing less than 140 g/km CO2 and will enable buyers to identify quickly the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars in its range.

Comprehensive

Nissan expected to sell 7000 Pixos in a full year and, along with Micra and Note plus Cube from late 2009, it will give Nissan a comprehensive, clean and green small car line-up to suit all pockets and customer needs.

“There can be little doubt that our attitudes to the car are changing. It’s clear that in the current climate, customers want an affordable package, which is easy and convenient to live with, as well as low fuel consumption,” said Pierre Loing, Nissan’s European vice president of product planning.

“And they want a car which emits as little CO2 as possible. But at the same time no-one is willing to sacrifice space, comfort and safety or forego the trust implicit in the Nissan badge,” says M Loing, continued.

“Everything to do with Pixo has been conceived to be simple and straightforward.”

And that it is.

By Sharon Walters