Faults:

When I bought the car, it had not been looked after at all. Went in for the test when I just bought it; oil leaking, clutch gone, rear shocks gone, seat insecure, rear anti-roll bar bushes gone, and the brake pads and discs were worn down to the last. I fixed all of this (thinking it was a stupid idea), and there has been absolutely nothing that's gone wrong with it since.

General Comments:

For a 1.6 it's pretty quick considering it does 0-60mph in about 9 odd seconds, acceleration is brilliant.

After fixing all the stuff on the car, I couldn't part with it, even after a few offers on it!

I felt rather reluctant to get a 96 one. Great fun during the summer with the roof panels off.

Goes on a sniff of petrol, even if you drive it a bit hard. Looks great, and handles quite well for its height off the ground with the 15" wheels.

Faults:

The paint on the external plastics seems very thin, easily removed by careless driving.

General Comments:

I use my Nissan constantly for all types of driving, maybe 25,000 miles a year, usually loaded up with tools, and can attest to the performance being surprisingly good for such a small car. Power delivery seems perfect for a 1.6 injection motor, as good, if not better, than any other simiar car I've owned. (and I've had a few!)

Comfort is generally very good for front seat occupants, but even average sized people will find a lack of headroom in the rear, the sloping roof and bulkhead which carries the hinges for the hatchback are quite low and a bumpy ride will result in a bruised forehead!!

Reliability has been faultless. The engine has done well over 100k miles and still starts first time every time, in fact I have an alarm fitted with a remote starter which starts the engine with a one tenth of a second burst on the starter!!

The removable roof panels are a superb feature, very practical and the car really does look fantastic with them out and the windows down, and the breeze!! Enough to remove anyones dandruff, but controllable by use of the windows.

All in all I'd buy another without a second thought, but I don't think I'll need to for some time yet.