About the
Redback purchased this used for $48,000 (including all on-road costs) in 2024. Redback would buy this car again because: “If this car was made available through Nissan dealerships in Australia, I would not hesitate to buy one.
This is a very economical, sporty and quite techy car. Very unique looking too. If it was available through Nissan, I would have no doubt the Note Aura would be it’s top seller.
Despite the car being a Japanese import, you would expect some niggling problems but so far, the Note Aura has been extremely reliable with no issues at all.
The car was well maintained and looked after by the previous owner in Japan.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
Despite the car being a Japanese import, you would expect some niggling problems but so far, the Note Aura has been extremely reliable with no issues at all.
The car was well maintained and looked after by the previous owner in Japan.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
I have purchased this car from an Importer in Brisbane, I have had the car for 6 months and it’s been fantastic so far, the build quality is solid, the red paint stands out.
I have only mainly used the car for my morning commute to the train station and being a hybrid, I haven’t really needed to fill up every week, at most 6 or so weeks that I fill up the car despite having a relatively small tank (36L).
The digital cluster instrument helps detailing my trips, fuel and battery usage, even gives me a warning when driving for almost 2 hours continuously. And I also like that it gives me an economical report and rating on my driving.
It’s expected the car to be serviced every 10, 000km or every 12 months (whichever comes first), there will be no cap priced servicing, and I don’t think Nissan Dealers will be too keen on servicing a Nissan Grey import.
The car is currently insured with Shannons and I am playing roughly $130 per month for the full comprehensive insurance.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
Honestly, I think the price I had to pay plus blue slip, greenslip and registration was a little bit too much even for a used car. it’s almost comparable to buying a new Toyota Corolla ZR. But I still think it’s too much.
However, the car is stacked with the following features:
- Lane Departure warning system
- Front forwarding and rear warning system
- AEB
- Autohold braking
- 360 Round View camera
- Digital rearview mirror
- Faux Carbon fibre centre console
- Push start/Stop button
- Half of Nissan’s Pro Pilot (I’ll explain this later)
- Heated steering wheel
- Wireless qi charging
- Apple carplay (wireless) and Android Auto
- 16 Inch Nismo wheels with Michelin Pro Pilot 4 series tyres
- Nismo bodykit
- Nismo Tuned brakes and suspension
- Front and rear fog lights
- 2 USB-A ports (1 front, 1 rear)
- 1 USB-C port
- HDMI Port (what?)
- Bose Premium Sound System
The biggest disappointment in this car is the interior as it does feels quite cheap and dated because unlike the previous Note Nismo model, it does not come with Suede interior. Instead it comes with the cheap and scratchy plastic panels, black piano trim, and the old fashioned cloth seats with Nismo logo stitched on the seats which kind of looks bang average.
The Note Aura does also come with a Recaro seats option but in Japan it has proven to be a very pricey option and it’s not very a popular seller over there either as there are only a handful that have bought this option with the car in Japan.
The rear LED foglight on the rear diffuser is the same one they have used for their previous Nissan Formula E car, not special but makes it look quite sporty when turned on.
One thing I have noticed is the car is missing the side and curtain airbags and its the same with most other JDM cars missing these basic safety features.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
Under the bonnet you will find a 1.2L engine but this itself does not drive the car, instead it acts as a generator to charge the 100kW battery which drives the wheels.
The Note Aura Nismo comes with 3 drive modes, Normal, Eco and Nismo. Eco mode I would only use this to drive around the suburbs or in traffic, would not really use it to drive the car normally. I barely use the normal mode unless I am going downhill to help regenerate the battery and Nismo mode which is the one I mainly use the most.
The Nismo mode just makes driving the car so much more enjoyable, it helps with acceleration and overtaking, and if you need to slowdown, the NISMO mode helps the car slowdown significantly and at the same time, regen the battery.
In terms of economy, ever since I have owned the car, I have averaged about 5.9L/100km. However in Winter, the engine needs to run for about 10 minutes as its cold but it also charges the battery at the same time which effectively can use a lot of fuel as the engine is running idly.
And also the battery needs to be warm enough to get proper efficiency and performance when driving it. Once the engine is warm enough, I put the car in EV Mode and just let it drive on battery for as long as I can before the engine kicks in to charge the battery again.
On the highway continuously doing 100km/h I have averaged about 6.4L/100km however, in urban driving or driving around town, I managed to get around 4.1L/100km, the best fuel mileage I have gotten was 3.9L/100km after driving nearly 200km from Bathurst back down to Sydney.
With the fuel mileage I get for daily use I have averaged about 4.8L/100km, and with that I have only needed to fill up the car with 91 octane unleaded petrol every 4-6 weeks or so and I don’t really have to pay anymore than $50 to top up either.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
Since the car is a Japanese grey import, some of the tech features are not available in Australia like TV, digital radio and connecting the system to the network. However these are not deal breakers.
As mentioned above the car comes with stack of tech features that is useful, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 9.0-inch infotainment system with phone mirror capabilities and a HDMI Port.
I have an Android Phone, unfortunately there is no wireless Android but regardless this still works fine when connected.
With the HDMI port, when I connect my phone to the car’s HDMI Port, it does not project or mirror on the car’s infotainment system, however when I tried connecting with an iPhone, it instantly projected, I am not exactly sure why this doesn’t work with Android but again, not an absolute deal breaker. It’s just an unusual feature to have.
The Note Aura also comes with Bose Premium stereo system so the sound is nice and crisp when playing music or listening to podcasts through it.
The cameras has been Nissan’s weak point as the 360 camera view is not quite clear, it’s very grainy and at times blurry so I am not exactly sure why Nissan haven’t bothered to improve their cameras on all their model line ups when other manufacturers have made so much improvements with their cameras.
There’s also the digital rear view mirror where it uses the camera on top of the rear glass and unlike the 360-view cameras, the rear view mirror camera is actually very clear and easy to see who’s behind you.
I have mentioned the Note Aura gets 50 per cent of Nissan’s ProPilot System, Nissan’s intelligent Cruise Control is still functional on the car, this system works the same as the Radar sensing cruise control, when you get close to the car in front of you, it slows your car down and keeps a safe distance, it also helps your car come to a complete stop without having your foot on the brake.
Steering assist is also functional but I have it disabled as it weaves the car from side to side.
What’s missing is the ProPilot linking up with the Navi-link which is the Japanese digital map system, in which highways in Japan are digitised and the Navi-link and Nissan’s Pro Pilot system are able to read the roads that helps the driver guide the car to its destination with real live traffic information and updates.
There is probably no way to get the Australian maps installed on the infotainment system otherwise I’d have to replace the whole unit but I have no intention to as the Android Auto works fine and I am able to use Waze and Google Maps without any issues.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The car is very low, and does have very low profile tyres however, feeling the small bumps on the road is not quite noticeable thanks to its tuned suspension, it is fairly comfortable car to drive with plenty of headroom and leg space in the driver seat, however not so for the back seats where the legroom is quite narrow.
The seats are comfortable but not plush or huggable like the Alcantara seats from the previous model.
Thanks to its tuned suspension and the Michelin tyres, the Note Aura’s handling is very sharp with little to no body-roll, it feels like I am driving an AWD drive rather than 2WD. Speaking of AWD, Nissan has recently launched the series 2 Note Aura Nismo that will come with AWD, I am not sure if it would use the same ‘e-4orce’ that’s in the X-Trail and Ariya.
Only issues I have is that because the car is so low, I’d have to grit my teeth when the bottom part of the car has to scrape the driveways and speedhumps.
Do you have any additional comments about your car?
Please do your research very carefully if you are choosing to buy an imported car from Japan, and best to buy one from a very reputable importer. Some functions and features will not be available and may not work either, Manufacturers and dealers do not want to know about the imported cars and will refuse to service them and the cars will not be covered under their manufacturers warranty.
As for the Note Aura itself, it was my decision to get this car and I have no regrets about it, I love this car a lot and I have connected with the like minded Note owners in Aus, Japan and NZ with helping and supporting each other.
It’s an absolute shame that this car is not available through Nissan Dealers in Australia and people have to buy it through other means by importing the car from Japan.
Back in 2022 I attended a roadshow at my local Nissan dealer, I have spoken to one Nissan executive about the Note, he has claimed that Nissan were very close to bringing it to Australia back in 2017 but have found that it wasn’t feasible at the time to bring it here but now in the current market, he said it makes a bit more sense to bring it here but has said there is no plans to have the Note available in Australia.
I have no doubt that the Note and the Aura would have been Nissan’s top sellers and would give the Yaris and Corolla hybrid a very good run for it’s money.