Faults:

Electrical problems, without end.

Interior rattles and wears easily.

Head gasket blew at 120,000.

Break lines leak.

Engine makes a clanging noise.

Overheats.

Rust.

General Comments:

The car was in really good shape when I got it. Always took care of it. A huge money pit.

I bought the car because my friend said they were great and fast. But they are slow, the tiny 2.4 has to rev 5 grand to make any power.

The car handles OK other than the fact that the rear end is too light. My friend's has a turbo as well as a motor swap, and it still can't keep up to my Monte Carlo.

Faults:

Turbo blew.

Heated rear windscreen burnt out!

ABS stopped working.

General Comments:

This is a very quick and reliable car, but it can be costly to run.

The fuel economy is good if you potter along at 60mph on the motorway, but as soon as you boot it, the turbo munches fuel. It is rear wheel drive, and in the wet the turbo can make it a little scary! Power slide Tastic!

The seat is a little uncomfortable, but I am 6ft tall.

Be very careful with this car, as it has a turbo and they need looking after. You must make sure you let the car tick over for about a minute before switching the engine off after a high speed run, as it takes time for the turbo to spin down. When the engine is off, the turbo does not get oil to cool it!

Most 200sx owners change the oil every 6000 miles or 6 months, to prolong the life of the turbo. This is a wise thing to do.

A great source of information on these cars is available for the UK 200sx owners club website. The forum is particularly good: www.sxoc.com

It is a good car; just pick a good one and look after it!

0-60mph in 6.5 seconds.

Top speed: 142 mph.

Faults:

Intermittent loss of power.

Otherwise just wearing items, wheel bearing, clutch judder etc.

Some rust appearing here and there.

General Comments:

A fast, comfortable car which has been fun, but reliable.

I think that it is a bit more grown up than its boy racer image and following. It is quite happy to oblige when the hooligan comes out in you, but frankly it seems a bit soft when on a real charge. Handling is OK, but it seems happier (and more comfortable) when cruising swiftly and being driven smoothly. Power over-steer is always there to catch out the unwary, but it is not that progressive or predictable due to the sudden nature of the boost arriving at 3000 revs. I would rather tackle roundabouts at speed in my wife's Almera GTi. Not much can keep up with it on faster, straighter roads however. I'm sure that modification would make it sharper and more focused.

I think it still looks quite fresh although the 'penis extension' and 'Knightrider' jokes still come my way.

Fuel consumption is poor when driven hard, service costs are scary and insurance is pricey, but set this against the fact that £2000 (or less) buys a genuine 140mph coupe that goes as well as the latest breed of 200bhp hot hatches. The Nissan badge isn't fashionable, but it has been as reliable as a Micra or Sunny.

Seats are comfortable, all round vision is good, standard stereo is rubbish and there is only enough room in the back for amputees. The boot is surprisingly big however.

I do get irritated by the warm up and warm down wait that is necessary to protect the turbo, but you learn to live with it.

A tight turning circle makes it surprisingly easy to park.