2000 Nissan Micra Celebration review from UK and Ireland

Cat heat shield fell off, no big deal however.

I bought this car for the purposes of commuting to university, also a good excuse to sell my unreliable Vectra DTi. It came with a full service history and was totally and utterly mint. It looked good in silver. Insurance group 3 was an added bonus.

In the time I owned it, it never let me down once. Everything worked as it should, and the engine always ran sweetly. The only thing to go wrong was the heat shield around the catalytic converter rusted off, but I caught it before it finally let go totally, and it spent the rest of the time in the boot.

It's not the fastest car in the world, but considering the little 1.0 engine, it's to be expected. However, it was a bit tiring at motorway speeds, the engine really having to work about 70mph, but the seats were comfortable enough for it to not be such a concern. One thing I did find, was any sort of 'spirited' driving really dented the fuel economy, but I found I was getting roughly 52mpg during the daily commute to and from work. Engine has a cam chain too, so less outlay required for belt changes.

Sadly however, the car's life was tragically cut short when it was hit in stationary traffic, pushing it into the car in front. It was declared a write-off, as the boot floor was seriously deformed. Although considering the accident damage, the boot and bonnet still opened, and the car still started and drove.

Because I liked this one, I've now gone out and bought another, however a 1.4 this time for motorway comfort. Saying that, I highly recommend a 1.0 for new drivers, and city environments where it seems happiest.