Faults:

The bottom of the car door is sharp and sticking out:

This car has a large defect that owners should be very wary of. The bottom of the car door sticks out where you enter and exit. A friend closed that door, thinking his leg was clear, yet the sharp part of door sliced his skin. He had 7 stitches and required a skin graft.

I worry for women who use this car for their commutes - eventually there will be several casualties due to this defect.

Faults:

Nil.

General Comments:

A quiet, comfortable, nimble, economic small car.

It is ideal for my use, as it fulfills all my needs, just as my 08 Hyundai 3.3 Sonata Elite did. Without either the high fuel bill, or the financial exposure, when big car prices eventually collapse.

The Hyundai I bought new, and had done only 21000km before selling it.

My 05 Tiida Latio is the 18G model with leather/ woodgrain trim/fog lamps/CVT transmission/many electric facilities/ etc, and altogether is a most satisfactory, well performing vehicle.

This car is a direct import from Japan, and I am its second lucky owner from new.

Faults:

Driver's electric window auto-up doesn't work, auto-down is fine.

General Comments:

The biggest small car I've had! This car really feels like a large car when you sit inside it. I am a tall person, and have excess legroom in both the back and front. I suspect it is due to a more upright sitting position.

Comfort is excellent for its class. After picking it up from the dealer and driving 7 hours home, I still felt great at the end, and not fatigued at all. The seats are wide, which would be beneficial to a person more solidly built than me; I felt like it was 10cm too wide to be a snug fit, although I am not a heavy build at all!

Interior soundproofing is good, although there is engine noise once rpm gets above 4000, but I think it contrasts a lot to the otherwise silent engine, which makes it more noticeable. Plastics feel good quality, and the interior is well put together. I think the half-leather seats are actually half-vinyl, but as long as it lasts, I'm happy with that. The interior is modern and reminds me of Philippe Starck style of design. The storage in the two front doors is huge, lots of space for your bits and bobs.

Feature wise this car is rather slim, this model doesn't have cruise control, adjustable headlights, intelligent key, climate air conditioning, MP3 stereo and a lot of things that have been in cars of higher classes for many years. It's not a huge issue, because I consider those 'luxuries' rather than necessities, but some stuff would be nice to have.

Safety in this vehicle is supposedly very good, just youtube some videos to see crash tests and how well the Tiida protects the occupants. The Ti model is fitted with front and back curtain airbags, which is not on the lower models till later on. Driver and passenger airbag is fairly standard these days. Front seat seatbelt pretensioners are nice to have. ABS, EBD and brake assist are there in the stopping department. The brake pedal is sensitive, but that is very common on modern cars. Braking performance is more than adequate, given the driving style this car is likely to see. The suspension is well set up and the car sticks to the road well. Bumps are firm - not back breaking - but the car does not wallow at all. It is a good balance between sharp handling and comfort.

I am very glad we got the MR18DE engine rather than the HR15DE, The MR18 does not feel like it needs to rev as much as the 1.5, it feels torquey and does the job with no fuss, while when I test drove a 1.5 model, it felt like the engine was working hard with a brisk driving style. The engine is quiet till about 4000rpm, when it starts to become audible. I think it would be nice for this noise to hold off till maybe 5000rpm.

The 4 speed automatic unit is good, but I think it needs an extra gear between top and third - on the open road in hilly areas to maintain 110km/h, sometimes top gear is too high, but 3rd gear is a little low and brings on the engine noise. In areas other than open road hilly sections, the transmission copes just fine. Passing performance is very good, just hit the overdrive-off button if you want to eliminate the 1/2 second kick down delay. Acceleration is smooth; so smooth it feels slow, but the speedo tells otherwise. Economy has been about 650km to 44 liters (60% open road).

Boot space is surprising given the interior space. I was expecting to see a small boot, given the large interior, but that is not the case, there is plenty of room in the boot (sedan).

Given all this space inside, the exterior is not all that large. The car is taller than our older cars, but no longer or wider.

Overall, I would recommend this vehicle to people who need a roomy car, but do not necessarily want a large car. It is suitable for both open road and town driving. Hopefully it provides many years of trouble free motoring, like all our other Nissans have.