Not noted for being shite

[carlo]

Not shite I know, but I just thought I'd recount my experience of test driving a Nissan Note yesterday. We needed something automatic for Mrs Carlo to drive as she's finding the manual Panda a wee bit of a struggle at the mo.

 

This car was a bit of a revelation. I looked at it seriously because it's just about the only conventional, 4 speed automatic small car you can buy at the moment. Everything else seems to be tiptronic or semi automatic with accompanying horror stories regarding reliability. I reckon you can't beat a proper old fashioned auto box, unfortunately they seem to be dying out. This one also has cruise which I love. The petrol automatic uses Nissan, not Renault hardware as well.

 

The thing rode well, handled well, was spacious with a clever interior and had a bit of poke too - and lots of electric gubbins to play with. In the end we didn't go for it as the missus couldn't bear to part with the Panda, but I'd seriously consider one myself one day, perhaps when they get a bit cheaper. There's loads around, Motability seem to do a lot of them, and reputation seems excellent.

 

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Ah, the age-old story!

 

Wife wants new car. Husband spends ages helping wife to find perfect replacement car. Wife loves husband's suggestion. Wife decides to keep old car after all.

 

(The word "car" can be replaced with any of the following: curtains, napkin rings, mobile phone, party dress, dining room table and chairs, etc etc...)

[Morgan84]

Them little Nissans are a pretty good car;I rate them higher than the Honda Jazz as a overall car. Just a shame Nissan linked up with Renault as that can only mean trouble ahead !

[chaseracer]

Just a shame Nissan linked up with Renault as that can only mean trouble ahead !

Aye.

 

This is why we chopped in Domestic Management's otherwise perfectly fine K12 Micra; ironically for a Panda, which she only had for a year as the very stiff suspension (100HP) was making her back complaint worse. The Nissan's 1.5dci Renault motor had apparently cracked an injector...

[r.welfare]

The 1600 seems less prone to stretched timing chains and other engine maladies the 1.2 and 1.4 suffer from.

 

My folks have had one of these for the last 3 years - it doesn't have cruise though and that's the only thing my dad doesn't like about it. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a temperature gauge (same as a lot of other modern tin), and you also have to take the inlet manifold off to change the spark plugs. Otherwise it's well-built, easy to drive, has plenty of space and kit. Averages just over 40mpg too. As you say, popular with Motability and also the Nissan company car scheme - my folks' one was a six-month old job with about 15k on it for just over half the new list price.

 

I'm pretty sure the Suzuki Swift also uses a conventional auto, but that's about it for superminis (apart from the Corsa perhaps). Having had t'old dear's Honda Logo CVT eat a star clutch at a rebuild cost of £2.5k, the olds were understandably keen to go for a conventional slushpump this time around.

[Richard]

Just a shame Nissan linked up with Renault as that can only mean trouble ahead !

 

Ahead? It was over a decade ago. I think Renault have suffered more than Nissan from the partnership anyway.

[Morgan84]

I was thinking about the little Micra's having a Renault influence. The K11 were a good little car,not without their faults,but still a fair product,and considering the last ones in 2002 were kicked out under 6000 made them a damned good buy.One weakness they had ( other than sill rot on earlier ones ) was leaking rear wheel cylinders,don't know why,but Micra's seemed to get weepy,and I've seen this on many of them.The cylinders leak,but the shoes stay bonded together. The Renaults however ( clio ) also suffer leaky cylinders,but they also have the lovely tendancy to unbond the brake linings,and lock the sodding wheel up which is very nice indeed !

Now the K12 Micra can carry on the legacy,plus give more fun by dropping its shoes off at the same time ,as they have the same Renault rear suspension and brakes set up ( on the ones I have seen)

However Nissan can stick the CVT box and use the fluid auto instead.

[Spiny Norman]

I'm pretty sure the Suzuki Swift also uses a conventional auto, but that's about it for superminis (apart from the Corsa perhaps).

Think the Corsa uses something called "easy-tronic" which is one these robotised manual boxes of doom.

 

As for the Note, I quite like them. For a new car they seem free of most of that style-over-substance wank that afflicts so many cars these days. It's usefully big inside and uses fairly old-tech mechanical bits so's not to scare the target market and it doesn't look like a melted caricature of a car like the Joke does.

Dunno how much they are but secondhand they must represent decent value for someone who just wants "a car", and future shite status is almost guaranteed once they pick up the usual giffer dents and duck taped bumpers.