1990 Nissan Pulsar GTIR SR20DET
Summary:
Very cheap to run if you own an oil refinery, otherwise the fuel bill will leave you in tears
Faults:
Pedal box snapped twice.
Tacho stopped working.
Alternator became very noisy.
Piston rings wore.
Gearbox blew.
Turbo failed.
Radiator started leaking.
+ a whole lot more problems!
General Comments:
This car was reasonably fast, but drank horrendous amounts of fuel. When driven sedately, it would go through around 17L/100KM around town. Fuel economy at a constant 100kmh wasn't much better.
I took it to a Nissan dealer, and several other mechanics who had a look at it, and couldn't find anything wrong with it to explain the high fuel consumption.
The car was as reliable as a politician's promise. It wouldn't go for more than a few months before something failed. It cost the previous owner about NZ$10,000 in repairs, and cost me thousands of $ just to keep it on the roads for the 3 years and 13,000km I had it for.
I have only included a few of the things that have gone wrong with the car, because I have forgotten about most of the problems the car had.
Handling is often dangerous and unpredictable; the back end lets go without warning, and other times it understeers like a front wheel drive car.
The car is very big on the inside for the overall dimensions of a car, and can comfortably sit even a very tall person in the front.
I strongly recommend that you stay far away from these cars, as it will likely cost almost the entire GDP of a small country just to keep on the roads.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th February, 2011
2nd Jul 2011, 03:46
There is no reason for it to have such a high fuel consumption. It was slower than my mate's stock WRX, and drank about 1/3 more fuel than the WRX. The WRX got driven a lot harder as well.
The GTI-R was immaculately presented when I bought it, so it looked like a car that had been very well looked after, and not something that had been thrashed constantly.
In an average year, it cost me about 1/3 of the value of the car just to keep it on the road, excluding petrol, insurance, tires, taxes etc.
19th Mar 2011, 07:03
Plain and simple.
You got a GTiR that wasn't looked after.
I have owned 2 GTiR's; first one was a gem, 40,000k and nothing more than oil changes. The second I bought as a trashed and thrashed example, replacing pretty much the whole car with new or original parts; I haven't even ticked over $5,000 AUD.
The fuel readings you've given are so far off it's a giggle. Just remember something, 4WD drivetrain, 1400kg (or so). If you want economy, buy a Prius, you don't own a GTiR to be a Greenie. Either change your driving style, or give the car to someone who knows how to treat and appreciate a piece of WRC history.