A CAR with a device which gives a wash and blow dry is on the way from Nissan as the Japanese car maker rewrites the score with its new Note.

Smartly styled and with some class leading technology, the second generation Note is the first model to be fitted with Nissan's Safety Shield to give the driver extra awareness of potential hazards.

Available as standard on top grade Tekna versions the system uses an array of cameras and other sensors to show what is going on around the car.

Not only can the driver see what is in proximity to the front, side and rear of the vehicle when manoeuvring in tight spaces there are also blind spot and lane departure alerts while on the move.

Tiny cameras are fitted on the new Note in the bottom of the door mirrors, in the front grille and in the tailgate - and it's that one on which the system relies to detect the position of the car.

Because of its importance Nissan has devised a clever cleaning device which washes and blow dries the lens with a jet of air should the system detect the image is degrading - and that's an industry first.

The Note Tekna costs from £15,150 and the Safety Shield is also available as a £400 extra on top but one Acenta Premium trim priced from £14,150.

Overall the new Note line up starts from £11,900 which is an increase of £200 over the original.

The Note is built in Britain at Nissan's Sunderland factory alongside the top selling Qashqai and Juke and it features some lean and mean engines in the shape of a 1.5-litre diesel and a 1.2-litre three cylinder petrol.

Developing 80ps the 1.2 is quite lively under acceleration but the emphasis is on economy with Nissan claiming 60 to the gallon on average.

That's not pie in the sky and we managed to return 57mpg without trying too hard. With a gentle touch we even managed to exceed the official figure, clocking up 64 to the gallon and that is impressive.

The 1.2 Note uses a five speed manual box and through the gears it accelerates well feeling livelier that its official 0 to 60 time of 13.7 seconds.

Top speed is 105mph while at the other end of the performance scale a push button eco mode is available which dulls throttle response - and turns on iridescent blue illumination at the top of the instrument panel.

Stop/start is standard and emissions for the 1.2 are 109g/km. That is fairly tax friendly but not as green as the diesel which is rated at 92g/km which translates into 78.5mpg.

Like the petrol model we found it very easy to drive and achieved an average of 67mpg over a similar route. However, that extra economy is tempered by the £2,000 premium the diesel commands.

It develops 90ps and is quicker than the petrol achieving 0 to 60 in 11.9 seconds with a top speed of 111mph but realistically the difference in performance is marginal.

A supercharged version of the 1.2-litre engine developing 98ps and fitted with a CVT gearbox will be available later.

Nissan has made the new Note much more of a family hatch than a little MPV but has retained plenty of room in the back, even though the roofline slopes noticeable towards the rear.

The back seats are adjustable to create more leg room and as a result luggage space ranges with all seats occupied ranges from 325 to 411 litres.

A quick release system is fitted to the seat backs which can be folded flat in seconds increasing space to a theoretical van-size 2,012 litres if the car is loaded to the roofline.

There's also an adjustable boot floor with a good sized storage area below allowing fairly sizeable items to be stowed securely - but that is at the expense of a spare wheel which is replaced by a tyre repair kit housed at the back of the boot.

Inside the Note has a double glovebox, the top compartment coming with connections for music players and other devices while standard equipment includes cruise control and tyre pressure monitors.

Air conditioning is not fitted to the basic Visia version but is featured on all other trim levels kicking off with the Acenta which costs from £13,250.

Overall the new Note has a fresh appeal and is a small car which is not only cheap to run but offers a degree of big car sophistication when fitted with the advanced safety systems.