Nissan thinks it may have found a solution to the problem that people find cars with high fuel economy and low CO2 emissions often lack driving kicks and performance. With the Japanese car maker designing the Micra DIG-S, an all new version of the iconic Nissan Micra supermini which will use a engine unlike any others in the range thanks to a direct injection supercharge. A supercharge is a mechanism which is used to boost power in a car, cars that contain a supercharge are usually very fast cars like the Jaguar XKR. By pushing air into the the engine thanks to an air compression unit the engine gets more oxygen into the cars combustion process. With a bigger bang comes more power and by adding petrol to a supercharged oxygen supply you get just that! Supercharges are generally not used in superminis due to the fact that they are not very efficient. This is because by having a supercharge in a supermini you are usually increasing fuel consumption as they are generally connected to the crankshaft in a car which turns the wheel. However, the DIG-S's supercharge is combined with a three cylinder, 1.2 litre direct injection engine to allows low friction and components which are mirror polished to minimize drag. The Nissan Micra DIG-S also delivers a much better compression that other cars which use the Otto cycle thanks to the use of a combustion method called a Miller cycle.
