Faults:

-Engine broke after driving on some rocks. This really wasn't the cars fault.

-Had a few problems with the electronics.

-Some minor rust.

General Comments:

This was my first car after getting my drivers licence. I think that the car was far better and faster than I expected in the first place. It's quite rare and doesn't look that aggressive, which makes it a little beast. It was faster than BMW 325i (E36) or Audi A4 2.8 quattro from standing start, I don't know about the "opponents" transmission though (auto or manual). Even I was surprised from the performance. The handling was good when compared to the age and type of the car (It wasn't a sportscar, but still better than my newer Nissan Almera or Volvo 850 Turbo).

I had some problems with the electrics. Windows and lights didn't always work properly. Within last year I owned the car some minor rust appeared on the rear arches and trunk lid. The car was also painted quite badly by previous owner (some paint dropped off).

Mechanically the car was really good. I drove it quite hard and never had any problems before a rock hit the engine (I sold the car after the accident, and I miss it).

Driving the car wasn't that expensive either. No matter how hard I drove it, the fuel consumption was about 8-9 litres/100 km. (approx. 30 mpg?) Original spares are twice the price of the normal Sunny (depends of the specific part of course).

If you find a good (or a little bit better than mine) expample of this truly fun car, I would recommend it if you are looking for a sporty little hot hatch. Cheap to buy, relatively cheap to maintain and drive. A wolf in sheeps clothes. (GTI-R would be a nice experience)...

Faults:

New battery

New exhaust

New tyres

New electric window motor

One dashboard light blown

Tape on radio has broken

Timing needed changing on engine

Needs some welding at every MOT

Headlight connectors sometimes faulty

Corrosion on bonnet right at the front.

General Comments:

It's cheap, but the engine will run forever. The body has rusted in parts, as to be expected on anything this old and Japanse, but it's not as bad as similar age Vauxhalls or Fords. The steering is heavy, but it's fairly nippy from 3rd gear onwards and it looks OK from the back and side (just the front is square and boxy). Cheap to run, plenty of room. It tends to fail it's MOT every year due to some welding needing doing underneath, out of sight. It's ultra reliable and can happily sit in long queues in summer whilst the Vauxhall Corsas and Fiat Puntos overheat on the hard shoulder. Not bad for a first car and better then some of my mates' old heaps. It is happy at 85mph, it's top speed being 112mph apparently, which is pretty good for an old 1.4.

Faults:

When we bought this Vehicle we were pretty exited about it. It seemed 1.0 liter engine would be good and would be pretty economical. It turned out to be other way, it used to drink 12.5 to 13 liters of gas per 100 Kilometers. Nissan made a huge mistake by introducing such a small engine in a big body, the engine just keeps on sucking more gas. Took the car to Nissan dealer and they say it would use 10 litres per 100 KM of distance, after tuning from Nissan dealer, even then could not use less than 12.5 litres per 100KM, without any hard load or any air conditioning. This was a very bad investment that my father made on this stupid stupid car for buying it at 8500 US dollars. Sorry Nissan this car is a failuire. Would never buy anything from Nissan again, they cheat!!!