Nissan Tiida test drive

[Cyco]

Last weekend while travelling my hire car was a Nissan Tiida ST.

From the outset of this review I will point out that the marketing in Australia has had a heavy bias towards females with commercials such as THIS.

As a result I was expecting a reasonably basic city car that would appeal to the female part of the population.

This it did by being not being ugly and having a massive glass house to allow them to raise the seat enough to get good visibility. Unfortunately it was let down by 2 major flaws for this market segment:

1) The corners of the car are invisible from inside - making parking more difficult than necessary

2) No vanity mirrors on either sun visor. This is a huge missing of the target market's desire.

The car had 40,850km on it when I picked it up, and considering its a rental has probably not had the easiest of lives. I did not make its life too much easier. The motor really didn't have either a lot of grunt, nor a nice sound. It was quiet below 3000rpm, but above 4500 it just was loud - not any faster.

The Auto 'box was nice and smooth under normal driving conditions, but could be upset by stop start driving with on and off the throttle movements. The steering displayed a very strange tendency that at any speed about 50km/h it would become much harder to make small changes in direction, due to steering stiffness, but a large movement or once moving it would return to its usual light self.

The car would understeer, but in a safe predictable manor. I didn't have a chance to test it on any twisty mountain roads, but suspect that would have just confirmed this. All other parts of the car where fairly unremarkable, and so will not be mentioned.

Only point I missed out on was fuel consumption as the closest service station to the airport had a huge queue so I returned it half full.

[NSXType-R]

This is just a Nissan Versa. I think there's a sedan version coming too. It's the largest of the compact cars. Sounds like an oxymoron.

[fpv_gtho]

I wish they would have kept it badged as a Pulsar locally, but if its like you suggest maybe its a good thing its got a different name.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by NSXType-R

This is just a Nissan Versa. I think there's a sedan version coming too. It's the largest of the compact cars. Sounds like an oxymoron.

Technically it's a C-segment car based on a B-segment platform.

To me it looks a bit like a desperate effort by Nissan to have a C-segment contender (biggest market in Europe) with minimum investment, after the pretty forgetable Almera.

[ruim20]

Looks a lot like the Clio

[NSXType-R]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Technically it's a C-segment car based on a B-segment platform.

To me it looks a bit like a desperate effort by Nissan to have a C-segment contender (biggest market in Europe) with minimum investment, after the pretty forgetable Almera.

So it's a sub compact based on a compact platform?

It seems like you Europeans make up new terms for everything.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by NSXType-R

So it's a sub compact based on a compact platform?

It seems like you Europeans make up new terms for everything.

It's easy. Take an European brand. Volkswagen for example. The Fox is an A-segment car. And then for every model you go up it's another letter. So the Polo is a B-segment car the Golf a C-segment and so on.

This Nissan is based in the Note, which itself share the platform with the Nissan Micra/Renault Clio which are B-segment cars. Yet is it aimed at cars like the Ford Focus or the Toyota Auris, C-segment cars.

Hope it's now more clear.

[nota]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

I wish they would have kept it badged as a Pulsar locally, but if its like you suggest maybe its a good thing its got a different name.

The old Pulsar model enjoyed remarkable buyer loyalty right to the bitter end, despite becoming a very aged design. But sales have tanked for the new but ugly little Tiida, despite those deliciously sexist TV adverts (see Cyco's link). I guess the unwise name-change serves as an abject lesson in why you shouldn't squander established brand-capital through dumping a popular and recognised model name for something new and meaningless. Disturbingly I hear Ford might be intending to make the same mistake with Falcon-Orion

These 'tall boy' Nissans kinda resemble a Renault Megane but without any styling flair and look even worse in sedan form - really spectacularly dreadful in the manner of previous Toyota Echo sedan. However I've recently seen upmarket ST-L sedans (6 airbags) advertised for a paltry $17k driveaway which is sensational value within the Oz small-car context. At those prices they start to make a lot of sense imo as a city or 2nd car - impressively spacious inside for its class sector and great access via the big doors (just perfect for grannies too)

[fpv_gtho]

I thought it was the Megane this was actually based off...

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

I thought it was the Megane this was actually based off...

It's based on a LWB Nissan B platform.

Nissan B platform - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The width really gives it away. At 170cm, it's quite a lot narrower than usual C-segment cars. The Megane is for instance 178cm wide.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by Cyco

This it did by being not being ugly

Great review. But I beg to differ on this point. Unless I need to buy new glasses.
When I was looking for a new car mid year, I drove most of the cars in this segment, but ignored the Tiida - mostly because it is so ugly.
And I agree with FPV - Nissan should not have changed the name.
Nota, I hope rumours of Ford dropping the "Falcon" name are wrong - it would be sales suicide.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I'm kind of glad Nissan changed the name - the Pulsar moniker doesn't deserve something as truly mediocre as the Tiida.

as for the Falcon - that truly would be stupid.

[Cyco]

I stand by my not ugly claims.

In a world of Ssanyongs, and Pontiac Aztecs the Nissan Tidda isn't great, but not woeful.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

It's....ungainly looking in sedan form, for damn sure.

The Hatch is certainly part of the tall hatch trend....and it's quite angular and resolved....but it's going to date tremendously.

[clutch-monkey]

ah yes...had one of these in melbourne for PI...
lol chris we should have done a side by side test, tiida vs 911