Faults:
Slight transmission leak.
Faulty cassette player screen, seems to be cured now.
Rattling of back speakers.
Gear lever rattling.
Stiff sunroof.
Nothing mechanically, so far a reliable runabout.
General Comments:
The car has very good acceleration, I also have a Mazda 1999 323F 1.5GXi. The micra is on par with it for acceleration, but the Mazda is a bigger and heavier car with only 200cc more, so I guess this is expected.
Fuel economy is very good rather than outstanding. If you drive it hard, it uses a lot more fuel.
Cramped for long journeys for anyone over 5ft 10.
Seats are flecked in a rather gruesome pinky-red with grey.
Styling is not particularly great, but Nissans never have made particularly good looking cars until 2003.
Steering is light and it is very easy to drive.
Engine is very noisy and not at all smooth (1998onward models are much better).
Top speed of 104mph is good for a small car.
Petrol warning light-does anyone know if it should have one?
This is the last of the 'SLX' models before the faceflift (it then became 1.3SE), they stopped on 1998/R plate, which is ours, but overall the car is very good. One impressive thing is the way the central locking can be activated from either front doors and when unlocking the doors, the interior light comes on before even opening the doors. The Mazda has this, but it is unusual on a small car (Toyota Yaris doesn't have this feature.)
The Mazda is a better car to drive and is better all round, but as a small cheap car, look past the styling and few cars can better this Japanese gem. I guess I should be comparing it to a Peugeot 106, not a Mazda 323F as it is in a different class, but I have been impressed with the car, if only it drove as nicely as a Clio.
5th Jul 2004, 02:09
Yeah, agree about the styling. If there was a polite word for poxy, then it would apply to these cars!