1990 Nissan Sunny zx 1.8

Summary:

Performance with attitude!!

Faults:

Rear brake caliper failed at 64 thousand miles. Easy to repair with replacement factor part.

General Comments:

Very use friendly car with huge fun factor built in.

Excellent performance and handling, body kit sets it apart from lesser Sunny's.

I would recommend these cars to anybody looking for something a little different to hot hatches of the same era.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th September, 2002

1990 Nissan Sunny zx 1.8 twin cam

Summary:

A rocket on wheels for a very good price

Faults:

I've had problems with the following-

Handbrake.

Engine pinking.

Spot lamps letting in water.

Exhaust blowing.

General Comments:

The car is very, very fast and should not be over looked as an old, slow mobile.

I've showed up boy racers in saxo VT s's, GT s's and had people tell me that they have won an RS 2000.

The only thing that you should look for when buying one is rust. If you are lucky enough to get one keep hold of it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th July, 2002

1990 Nissan Sunny LS 1.4 petrol

Summary:

A decent, reliable small car!

Faults:

Steering rack and ball joint needed replacement.

Minor welding needed around the rear sills and suspension.

Electric window front far side jammed at 100000 miles.

Rust around the doors on the far side.

General Comments:

The car's performance is very good for its age, and the engine ticks along like one half its age!

The problem I've had is corrosion. The bodywork is a bit worn out, although the car was very cheap at £400 and has not given any trouble apart from the electric window (now held up with a piece of wood!) and the battery needing replacement.

If you can find a low-cost example with little corrosion you'll be onto a winner. The engines in these things go forever!

Watch out for the dreaded rust though! :(

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th January, 2002

7th Jun 2002, 08:37

Six months on I still have this little car, I've now covered over 15000 miles in it with no mechanical failures. The clutch plate is getting a little bit noisy at times, but it's not really too much of a problem yet. I have total confidence in this car, if it gets through the next MOT in January I'm quite sure I'll still have it in 18 months.

10th Sep 2003, 10:17

I bought a 1990 Sunny 1.4LS with absolutely no rust except a blob in the middle of a door, which I patched a few months ago. It had only 84,000 miles on the clock - not bad for 13 years' use.

I agree that if you can find a rust-free example, you're onto a winner. Before I bought it, Sunnys were dull, boring things that only old people drove. But, for a 1.4 litre engine to pull like it does is amazing - my next car will be a Nissan too! (That's if I ever need a next car!) I can imagine this car doing another 84,000 miles, and I see no reason why it shouldn't pass its next MOT - more than can be said for most Escorts and Astras on the road.

Japanese cars are just better than Euro-trash.

1990 Nissan Sunny ZX 1.8i

Summary:

Wolf in sheep's clothing?? - it certainly is!! :)

Faults:

Absolutely nothing, although I bought it with a broken window motor and the fuel and temp. gauges weren't working - although this is a common problem.

The only problem I had was I got too mechanical and managed to bust the air flow meter, which then cost me 500 quid.... although this was entirely my own fault.... Doh!!

General Comments:

This car has been amazingly reliable, discreet and yet really punches with power. It is so unknown, your average RS Turbo racer won't believe what he's seeing when a Sunny beats him at the lights.

The ZX 3 door hatch is everything I wanted my old sunny 1.6GS to be in looks, sound and speed. It revs forever and has a V-tec like pickup at 4000rpm, it makes you want to drive it all day everyday. Believe me when I say this car is a hot hatch dream.

It's a shame there aren't more performance parts for it, but there's plenty you can do. The ZX was only made for one year and they are rarer than you can imagine in hatch form, but buy a well looked after example and you'll be grinning as hard as I have been for the last year - I don't ever want to get rid of this car... I only wish I'd had it from new :)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th September, 2000

16th Jan 2001, 06:01

Well!... the ZX is still in my ownership and after a brief upset with the increasing amount of bodyroll, I discovered that all four shock absorbers at 70,000 miles were completely knacked... the rears especially on Sunnys tend to go first so an all round set of KYB shocks and Chassis Dynamics springs sorted things out wonderfully!!

The car has been as reliable as ever with the only problem being a worn front passenger side ball joint.

I sorted out my passenger side electric motor by making a trip to the local scrappies and sourcing the regulator/motor combo from a poor old 1.3, 15 quid thank you very much and she's working again, after a little DIY. Much better than the 150 quid it would have cost from Nissan.

The car has now donw 75,000 miles on a G plate and I don't think I will ever sell it. The Janspeed half exhaust system and K+N 57i have done it well, but a chip is on the cards in the next week, more importantly a rolling road setup to check and maximise the performance, not that it's slow after beating a Celica 2.0 16v GTi last week, and having had 127mph out of it before realising my license was in real danger!!

Love the car... if you are thinking of getting one, then do, before you never find one again!!

12th Apr 2001, 14:44

Well, my 2 years with the ZX are up, having had a great time with the car, it is time for someone else to enjoy it as I cannot keep it under the circumstances. It has many modifications, only 78,000 miles under its belt and is in very good condition, with tonnes of service history.

EEmail me at b1zkit@yahoo.com for more info. Dated... April 12th 2001.

24th Jan 2005, 06:01

127mph? My friend had one of these and we had 140mph out of it on the M6, still as standard. Very quick hot hatch for its time!