1996 Nissan QX SEL review from UK and Ireland

The car has been exceptionally reliable. The only thing that has required attention since I bought it is a new rear brake caliper and brake pads.

It is very comfortable and spacious with both front and rear occupants having plenty of room.

The ride and handling, I think, is on the whole excellent. It is surefooted and quite agile for such a big car. The car corners very well and inspires confidence. The only (very minor) quibble is the ride can be slightly jiggly on poor surfaces. On the motorway though the car comes into its own. It is very quiet, rides very nicely and due to the high gearing with the overdrive (approx 30 mph per 1000 revs) it makes a very relaxed mile eating cruiser.

Performance does not disappoint either with a good turn of speed available from the 3.0 24 valve engine when required. The engine is seriously smooth too with very little or no vibration coming through to the interior. It sounds nice too, muted but smooth and sporty.

The car is very well put together with a very good panel fit all around. Paintwork too is very good with no flaws or "orange peel" effect. The interior too is of a very good quality, the black leather of my car is of a high quality showing little signs of wear. Some small parts of the interior such as the fastener for the centre box between the front seats are not so good, although this is only a very minor quibble.

Equipment is excellent too, with electric seats, mirrors, windows, sunroof. Airconditioning is also fitted along with cruise control, overdrive, multi-disc CD player, leather trim, alloy wheels, alarm, immobilizer, remote central locking, remote boot release, etc etc.

Running this big car doesn't break the bank either! Considering the size of the car, a fuel consumption of 40+ mpg on a long motorway run at 70 is very good. Around town a figure somewhere in the low to mid 20's can be expected. Insurance is group 14, which again for a car of this size and power, is really quite good.

The Nissan QX has been a pleasure to own and drive. It has also been totally reliable too. I hope to own this car for a very long time yet, but if I did replace it, it would be with another QX, possibly the later Maxima QX.