1989 Nissan Micra GLX review from UK and Ireland

Doors need a bit of a slam to shut.

Timing was out, resulting in reduced performance, increased fuel consumption and juddering... eventually this and a dodgy carb caused the car to stall when the accelerator wasn't being applied.

Installed new leads, plugs and distributor fixed a few problems with poor starts, uneven idling and misfiring. Even so it doesn't always like the cold or wet and needs a good kick of the accelerator to get going.

It's not glamourous, speedy or exciting. But it's reliable, robust and easy to drive.

Perfect for a city runabout, it's nippy and nimble. It goes 0-30 quite fast, and can handle up to 50 happily. Motorways (70 and above) mean twitchy handling, an uneven and noisy ride and a bit of terror. Nevertheless even with 1 litres of throbbing power it's managed 90mph and could have gone off the speedo at 100 if I didn't value my life as much and eased off the throttle.

If you need a car for shopping, or as a new driver's first car, it's perfectly suited - however long distance cross country runs are best left to something a bit more powerful and bigger.

DO: take it to the shops, drive a friend around, commute, drive around town and the backroads.

DON'T: take it on the motorway for a long trip, try to accelerate with five people in the car, go around a roundabout at more than 30mph.