Faults:

I bought a 1993 Nissan Micra LX 1.0 in 2003, and it had already clocked 80K miles.

Despite it needing relatively common repairs every now and then, it did not break down often.

I insured the Nissan with Tescos, and guess it is hard to find an cheaper insurance company than them.

I was really surprised about the boot space; it was spacious, and the passenger space was also nice (I am 5’11 and did not have a problem).

I think the Nissan did about 100 miles on a 30 liter full tank. The visibility is great.

Acceleration is reasonable for a 998cc; I do admit though that despite its lightweight and that it has 16 valves and a twin cam engine, I was a bit disappointed with the power. A possible explanation is that the Micra I had was automatic (requires more power than manual), yet I was able to push it to 80-100mph on motorways, which I consider is fair enough, especially considering speed limits. But let’s face it; it’s not a great idea to use the Nissan to race against other cars!

If anyone wants more power; a Nissan Micra 1.3 is a good alternative.

I drove once a Nissan Micra 1.3 and was really surprised about its power. It behaves well on motorways, and the only thing I can complain about it driving on motorways is that it does use relatively a lot of petrol compared to an 998, if you drive it fast, but that might be a fairly common problem.

A word of warning thought; I bought the car imported, and once when some vandal or careless driver broke the rear light; my local garage could not replace it with a standard British rear light, so be careful if you think about buying an imported Nissan!

General Comments:

The Nissan might not be sporty or cool, but this car is a great choice for anyone that needs an quiet, economic car that doesn’t break down often, and that is easy to park; a real city car.

The only things I can complain about it is:

1. The Nissan 1.0 is very low so sometimes it bumped on the asphalt.

2. Did not have an intermittent wiper on the 1.0 LX.

3. As I will start as a PC engineer soon; I would not recommend it as a company car as I think the Micra is too girly and unsuitable for that, but on the other hand the majority of us does not run a company!

Faults:

I have had to replace the battery at 55,000 miles.

Other than that there has only been one exception to the otherwise flawless reliability performance. After 30,000 miles the Mass Air System Sensor broke which cost me about £450 (all told) from a Nissan garage. This regulates air temperature within the engine and is important in order to make sure the engine does not perform erratically. Since then though there have been no problems, not a hint. I fully expect this car to go for ever. Unfortunately that won't be with me because I can afford not to own a girls car anymore.

Tyre wear good, and as they're so remarkably dinky they're cheap too.

General Comments:

The car is a great little runner. If someone is looking for a car that gets you from a to b, or a first car then look no further. Its very reliable, and never fails to start. Handling is surprisingly good considering the size of the tyres and the fact that its so small you feel like you could blow it over. Downsides: 1.Doesn't like the rain much, either in terms of handling or in terms of leaks (passenger footwell). 2. You feel like you're in one of those submarine orca things out of Jaws as the windscreen seems to stretch all around you. 3. It's a girls car.

Acceleration isn't bad for a 998cc, but lets face it, you're not going to go for a track day with it. Top speed is quite impressive though, just don't try to reach it uphill (it doesn't like that, especially not with people in the back.)