1993 Nissan Micra 1.3 LX from Netherlands - Comments

(My native language is Dutch, since I'm from the Netherlands. So please ignore or change any spell errors which I'll probably make ;) )

- Bought it with badly worn clutch, let a Nissan dealer replace it. I cannot tell why the clutch was in such a bad shape, but after 188,000 km (116 817 miles) it's not an unusual problem.

- Front beam (below radiator) was in bad shape. I let the Nissan dealer replace it, this was also necessary for the Dutch MOT. This problem could have been solved easily, but because the previous owner knows nothing about cars this didn't happen and the problem got too bad to solve easily.

-catalyst cap started to rattle at certain speeds, easy fix. I mean the one under the car, the second catalyst.

-All kinds of rattles in the dash, fixed easily using tie-wraps to re-fix the brake lines etc. under the hood. After the years the plastic joints keeping the brake lines etc. in place become loose.

The car always runs, also with low temperatures. For example on my ski holiday in the Czech Republic after a week on the parking lot. The car started effortlessly with a temperature in the morning of only -14 degrees centigrade (7 degrees Fahrenheit).

Reliability is perfect, even after 198.500 km (123 342 miles) everything is still working. From the blower to the rear window heating, you name it, it works. No rust is showing on the outside of the car. The paintwork is still "shiny". I had to fix some problems on the inside of the door on the steering-side however. (my version is left-hand drive) There is a piece of foam inside the door, which catches the window when you turn it down. This piece of foam started to collect moisture, and thus the underside of the door started to rust.

Since I have the 1.3 LX version the car is quite fast for it's size. It only weighs 800 kg, but has 75 HP (56 KW) of power. This means it handles quite well on the motorway, better than the 1.0 version which a friend of my has. The engine is smooth and revvy, but also economical when you drive easily. Fuel consumption varies from 13 (36.72 GB mpg) to 16 (45.2 GB mpg) KM per litre depending on the type of traffic and the weather.

I live about 20 km from the German border, and so I have easy access to the autobahn. I tried the car on the autobahn and it effortlessly reaches 160 km/h (about 100 mph) and it can go even faster, but than the car becomes uncomfortable. Quite nice for a little Nissan Micra.

Affordability is also a good point. As it is quite expensive to own a car in the Netherlands because of taxes, it costs me only about 27 euro/month for insurance and road tax to own it (that's about 18,1 pounds). The maintenance is relatively cheap, because it doesn't need much and never breaks down. Since I'm a student and it's my first car, this is great.

There is only one downside, the image. Almost all people in The Netherlands driving a Nissan Micra are old, very old. It's known here as a old woman's car. (this seems to be the case in most countries) However I don't care, I like my reliable Nissan Micra!

Great review... too bad the Micra isn't sold here in the States.

If your Micra is still getting such good fuel consumption after such distance I look forward to owning mine another few years. Mine is the automatic SLX reviewed here, and its fuel consumption is probably approaching 50mpg (18km/litre or so) on long-distance cruises. That in an automatic as well.

Little note from the owner here, the car has done 215.500 KM now, and is going to have maintenance in early February. Engine is still running fine, no oil consumption whatsoever.

In the mean time I had to replace the battery (50 euros) and the blower-fan (30 euros from another micra on the scrapheap). Everything else is still OK.

I'll post a follow-up about the things that come up in February.

Mr Netherlands, how is your car faring? Mine is nearly on 50,000 miles (80,000km) and it's been nearly a year since I wrote my review so I'll be doing a follow-up on it within the next few weeks.

I would agree with your comments about the Micra being favoured by women, my mother owned a 1.0 5 door K10 Micra on a G plate and had it for 10 years, selling it in 2004 when it was 15 years old. She replaced it with another Japanese car, a 1999 Toyota Yaris CDX and still owns this car as of Sept 2008.

The Micra was a Mk1 and I have been in it as a passenger - it pulled very well and was so reliable. She swore by it and would have kept it longer but at 15 years old it was starting to look very dated. It just went on, and on, and on and...

The 5 door is less common than the 3 door, but is more practical. Several people in my street own K11 Micras K reg to 02 reg, and they are all women, and they have had them for some years as well. If I wanted a small car and had to make the choice, I would have a Toyota Yaris as the Micra although very reliable, is too much seen as a girl's car. Japanese cars are the ultimate in reliability and hold their prices well.

Little update here from the owner.

The car is still running OK. I've just seen the 232.000KM mark pass and so far everything is still OK. Today on a long run at about 130 km/h the fuel consumption was about 16 kilometers/litre which is, even to todays standards, excellent. Also a good sign for me the engine is still in good shape.

During last maintenance there were some minor issues, the left steering column switch was broken and as a result my right headlight wasn't working. Fixed by replacing the switch.

Also a plate was welded on the floor on the rear left seat. My car mechanic told me he'd never seen rust there, so it was probably damaged long ago and started to rust.

Another issue was the left-front joint, it was damaged because the rubber seal was broken and therefore broke. I let the Nissan dealer replace it.

The quality of the engine and driveline keeps amazing me. Since 1993 and 230.000KM the only parts on the engine and driveline that have been replaced are a clutch (worn out), front-left joint (because the rubber seal wasn't replaced in time) and an oil pressure sensor.

So far so good, still an excellent car. I've driven about 45.000KM and paid (including the initial purchase price and excluding fuel) about €2800.