Faults:

Air con incapable of cooling the car.

Engine vibrations on idle.

Door trims tend to warp.

Numerous rattles and squeaks.

General Comments:

The Sunny was bought to replace a three year old Isuzu Gemini (I-Mark in the US) as I had a good trade in deal on the Isuzu, which was not popular locally.

Although the Sunny was peppy, handled well for a Nissan of that time, sipped fuel, was roomy and proved popular, it was not one of my better buys.

This owed to the general cost cutting very evident as the car got older, with the door panels starting to warp under the tropical heat and numerous rattles and squeaks accentuated by engine idle quality which would shame a diesel of that time.

The most serious defect by far was the pathetic air-con that was totally incapable of cooling the cabin and was noisy to boot.

Thus, after a brief seven month ownership, this car was sold. Fortunately, I did it before the characteristics of this Sunny series became more widely known, thus managing not to lose too much money in the process.

Faults:

Corrosion on the engine block.

Idle rpm has risen from 750 to 800.

Noise from the front off side suspension whenever the car is steered after having stood for a while.

Believe it or not rust! Yes, rust on the front right wing (the car is less than a year old); rust proof coating on chassis has fallen off; couldn't be sure if it was there in the first place.

Dash was made in a toy factory, China written all over it (cheap nasty plastics). Build quality?Maybe Nissan should buy that from the Germans. Bitterly disappointing.

General Comments:

Nissan, in Singapore, is selling very well so far this year. But believe me, the cars are shoddy. Nissan must seriously improve the build quality of the cars they make. They've been claiming that they are doing just that, I, for one, don't believe it. The agent in Singapore, simply put, is lousy.

Deplorable service, if you could call it service in the first place. Complaints are brushed aside and customers are made to look stupid. Think twice about a Nissan!

Faults:

Front disc pads get a brownish oxide after washing the car! This results in a slight screeching noise. The brown oxide will rub off after driving and braking lightly a few times.

General Comments:

The best selling car in Singapore in 1999/2000. So spare parts are relatively cheap and widely available. A practical reliable family car that gets you from point A to B - but don't expect anything much more than this!

Plus points - silent engine, it is reasonably quiet below 4000rpm. Very smooth manual transmission box. The steering is very "meaty" and nicely weighted unlike most Japanese cars. One of the safer Japanese cars around as it scored "AAA" rating in the Japan NCAP crash tests. Body shell seems to be quite strong and rigid with no drumming of the panels heard.

Minus points - Suspension is not very composed over rougher roads and humps, as it lacks an independent rear suspension. Loud roaring tyre noise over certain sections of expressways and rough roads. This despite original factory fitted Bridgestone tyres being changed to Michelin MXTs. Lack of three-point rear centre seat belts, only has a rear centre lap belt. Cheap drum brakes for the rear wheels.