• Summary

    4 out of 5 4.0

    What does this car say about you?

    That, for a first car, i have some taste in cars, and havent gone for the usual corsa-fiesta-micra-punto-polo-clio-Ka-yaris, although some may think im mad due to the high insurance premium compared to the usual first cars. Others will just think a minicab has arrived.

    What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

    So far all of them like it, because it is something different, others think its a grandads car.

    Would you buy this car again and why?

    Definitely, so long as the mileage is lower (it was 160,000 when i bought it), it is in allot better condition, and its slightly cheaper to run, e.g. a diesel.

    What are you likely to buy next?

    Unfortunately it was an MOT failure, so i have already replaced it with a Nissan Micra (k11 model, not the fugly k12 model).

  • Buying experience

    5 out of 5 5.0

    Type of dealer you bought from?

    Independent

    Did you buy this car new?

    No

    What price did you pay?

    £280

    When did you buy the car?

    October 2011

    Did you get a good deal and why?

    The price was originally £400, so this wasn't a bad deal even though there was alot of issues with the car, it was incredibly reliable (due to all the japanese parts).

    Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

    We needed a really dirt-cheap car as a temporary replacement for a work-vehicle. This was cheap as it had a long MOT, but was becoming a clear MOT failure.

    What was the dealer like?

    Nice chap, got straight down to business.

  • Driving it

    5 out of 5 5.0

    What's it like to drive?

    Its fantastic, is so smooth yet has the power you need to make the journey enjoyable, although the powerful petrol engine does drink allot of petrol, beware of fuel costs.

    What's it like to park?

    One of it biggest downsides, its simply too long, and with an incredibly long rear, the damn thing wont fit into most parking spaces without a fight (or an accident of somesort, to which i did in my first week of parking it). *Parking sensors are essential for this car*.

  • Living with it

    4 out of 5 4.0

    Have you had any problems with the car?

    When bought it was riddled with faults and niggles, and yet not much went wrong under my our ownership, although it did leak allot of water in the rear spare-tyre compartment, and that completely drenched the rear seats... to this day I havent a clue where that water came from, but we had to drill a hole in the bottom of the spare-tyre compartment to drain the water.

    What's most practical about your car?

    Its incredibly long, and fits alot. The boot is HUGE, and the car is incredibly comfortable both as a driver and as a passanger (front and rear).

    Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

    Compared to todays cars, there is nothing really "special" about it, but considering its 16 years old, I liked its sunroof, incredibly comfy seats and rear boot release trigger. whats more I personally loved the looks, it might be old, but with a bit of a clean, it looked fantastic, smooth, elegant and long.