Nissan Tiida Review

After some time doing real world stuff here’s a review of the Nissan Tiida otherwise known as the Nissan Versa and now the Pulsar.  This my first car review since I haven’t posted any decent articles in the past few weeks due to just being busy and also that I had to drive this car as a run about for a few days. The Nissan Tiida was essentially a relatively small and affordable hatchback in most parts of the world. The is due to this particular model the C11 series was the model which I drove was replaced by the an all new model in late 2012. The Nissan’s equipment grade I drove was badged the ‘ST’ which means more or less a mid range model. 

The Nissan Tiida’s interior is relatively basic. There are no interesting gadgets or design touches to speak off. The materials used throughout the dash board are hard plastics which looked Ok with a nice textured surface and largely felt solid to touch. Unfortunately touch a little harder and it is a bit flimsy. The switches were of good quality and felt Ok to touch and use. 

The velour seat trim and highlights looked OK but its quality reminded me of the 80’s without the interesting patterns. This type of fabric unfortunately induced the hot butt syndrome which made it uncomfortable after about 30 minutes. The seat design was comfortable with the basic adjustments. I also thought the seat width was a little lacking. Likewise the standard stereo system which merely does an OK job. 

Overall the interior is basic despite being a mid-range model but the most impressive thing about the Tiida was the level of quietness. This is a relatively quiet car, the engine sounded distant and over most types of roads – actual road noise was it was sufficiently hushed likewise next to no wind noise.  This made the turn indicator sound stand out with a different ‘bing’ noise rather than the serious and annoying dull tick tick of other cars. On standard tyres I was quite impressed with the low level of road noise if not best in class! It’s not up to Lexus standards but for its price range it is very good.

The most obvious problems with the Nissans Tiida’s interior design is that you sit quite far back from the dash and lower down than most despite the seat height adjustments and cannot see where the front of the car ends which was very annoying. Other problem where dash rattles over regular bumps and the auto up button up the power window that refused to work. 

The exterior design of the Tiida is modern but conservative and its not exactly ugly but not pretty either. It probably better described as quite awkward at many angles. I could live with the looks if it where cheap enough but there are other affordable cars I’ve driven which I prefer. The doors are quite tinny too… much better than the ultra light ones on the Subaru XV.

The Tiida’s engines come in 1.6 or 1.8 petrol and a 4 speed auto or 6 speed manual. I drove the 1.8 litre automatic ST specification producing 94Kw @ 5200RPM 174 Nm @ 4800RPM using 91 Octane unleaded. Engine power was good with a good initial punch off the line but faded very quickly. Good initial impression not so the in gear followup. For example kick down overtaking resulted in distant noise but not much thrust. During the general road drive it’s OK there is sufficient power but not much to spare. I expected a little more form the 1.8 litre engine. The fuel consumption was about 8.3 litres in mixed driving conditions. 

The most obvious problem with the Tiida is it’s leisurely power delivery which is probably why the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic sell better. All Tiida models also have rear drum brakes! They may be cheap to maintain but not the safest barking system.

In terms of handling Tiida is on the boring safe side. It has standard front wheel drive understeer at any speed. Steering feel is minimal which means you just sort of guide it rather than drive. There’s really nothing wrong with the setup since it is a shopping trolley not a race track car. 

To conclude I do think that the Nissan Tiida is an average small car. The Tiida’s real and much appreciated feature is its relative smoothness and on road quietness. I’d be happy to have one if I only had to drive to work and back. Buy only if you value quietness above all else in a small car. Unfortunately I want much more in a small car than what the Tiida can offer especially in the looks and interior design departments hence why it never really sold well.