Faults:

Very little.

Front light bulbs have to be replaced about twice a year. You will sweat for about 2 hours when doing this for the first time. Experienced repairmen were swearing for about 5 minutes and playing around for another 10.

Battery had to be replaced at 180,000km.

Clutch was suddenly dead at 208,000km.

Interior lights have a problem to work all simultaneously. As soon as one is replaced, another one will die.

General Comments:

The car has good brakes, even with cheap R13 tires. Some inexperienced downhill driving produced smoke coming from the brakes, plastic rim covers melted, but brakes were still good for another 15,000km. The brakes were so good, that a taxi driver crashed into me after a car suddenly blocked my way. The crash was something I've always expected to happen.

When cornering, the car feels somewhat unstable.

Seats are very soft and the driver's seat has suffered a lot. Driver and co-driver are sitting on pillows, since the seats are also low and height is not adjustable (talking about people of average EU height).

The trunk is a disaster - little space, lots of corners, no possibility to extend the space at the cost of the rear seats. Trunk cover arms fold into the trunk and need lots of space as well.

Fuel economy with a 1.4 is no better than with a 1.6 litre engine.

Faults:

Starter Motor played up when warm at about 68000 miles, replaced at a cost of 70 English Pounds (a local Garage) - WELL WORTH IT!!!

General Comments:

Great Performance-a Real Pocket Rocket, and the handling is Impressive to say the Least!

The Seats are a bit hard, but you have to remember that it is a sporty car and the Support is excellent.

Faults:

Apart from usual wear and tear items such as tyres and exhaust, absolutely nothing.

General Comments:

My Nissan Almera SRi is by no means the fastest car in the world, but is great as a very reliable run around.

The car isn't that great on the motorway and the bumpy ride can leave you feeling tired on long journeys. However for short journeys around the town etc the car is great.

100BHP means that this car is reasonably quick for this size of car, achieving 0-60 in about 10 seconds.

Quick enough to beat standard 1.6 models by most other manufacturers, and also cheap to insure at (group 7).

The ride is firm, so the car has excellent cornering ability.

The dashboard is naff, but the sporty style seats add to the ride, along with the leather faced gear knob and steering wheel.

And another thing, this engine has a cam chain instead of a belt, meaning greater reliability and less expense.

Patches of rust are starting to appear around the wheel arches. Not unheard of with this year and model.

Faults:

Absolutely NOTHING. Apart from the routine servicing, my Almera has been going and going, just like the Duracell bunny! After nearly 8 years of ownership the seats are starting to show some wear, but other-wise, not even a squeak.

General Comments:

Nearly eight years on, I still enjoy driving this car just as much as the first day.

Performance from the 1.4 ltr engine is strong and economy is very decent. The car pulls really strongly in second gear and the engine thrives on the high rev range (above 3,500 rpm), even though it gets harsh at these levels.

While it's road holding doesn't compare with the best in class, it's certainly very safe and predictable. The downside is traction in the wet. The engine delivers it's power too aggressively in 1st and 2nd gears, and the front wheels spin all too easily.

As regards to comfort, there is decent space for 4 and the ergonomics are simply excellent. Visibility towards the rear is particularly good, when compared to it's rivals.

There is one thing that has bugged me from day one though: if the car if fully laden with a compliment of passengers and luggage, the ride quality deteriorates incredibly.