1999 Nissan Micra SE 1.0 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Ideal beginner's car

Faults:

Interior wore a little early, and new brakes pads.

General Comments:

Was my first car, and a good honest little car it was as well. To drive it was nothing special, but the 1.0 engine gave decent economy as to be expected, but pulling out onto motorway slip roads and getting up to speed took some nerves! Managed 70mph eventually though.

A car I learned to drive in and went on to be my car for the next year or so, the only complaint was the brakes wore out a little earlier than I expected, and the interior already had the shine of an older car pretty soon. The interior was dull and full of grey plastic, but was all functional at least, and comfortable for what it was.

In conclusion, a reliable beginner's car and very 90s bubble shape I believe to be the last of its type before a major makeover, which was even more "cute" if you could call it that. Would I buy another Nissan? Yes - they make great reliable cars, from this Micra to the Skyline. Would I buy another Micra? Of course not - I've since spoiled myself with sports cars and bigger executive saloons over the years, but looking back I have to give credit where credit is due - it was the ideal car to learn the basics of motoring in, and from what I remember, was a very popular car in the UK for driving schools at the time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st September, 2016

1999 Nissan Micra GX 1.3 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A perfect car that does the job from A to B. Road humps are not good for small cars

Faults:

This Micra 1999 GX was the most reliable car, as with other Micras from 1990s to early 2003.

A good car, never had any problems apart from normal wear and tear etc... but on road humps and bumps, the car feels uncomfortable; as with other small hatchbacks, this is common.

The reason I got rid of it because it was too old and was showing signs of rusts.

General Comments:

Fantastic car. Apart from potholes, broken roads, road bumps, humps etc... especially those humps in Asda carpark and most supermarket car parks are the worse humps ever. You have to drive very, very slow. I hate humps, especially with small cars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th August, 2016

1999 Nissan Micra from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Very reliable nice car, but severe rust problem

Faults:

Lovely little car, very reliable; it never gave us any trouble at all. We had it for 3 years and my wife was very happy with it until it went in for its M.O.T. in June 2007, and it failed for 'severe corrosion within 30cm of a mounting point'. The garage that carried out the M.O.T. advised us that the car was 'uneconomical to repair'. My wife was gutted; her pride and joy was rotten right around the front to the extent that the radiator and the plate beside it were not attached at the bottom. There simply was nothing there!!!

General Comments:

This amount of rust on a 7 year old car is not acceptable.

It is a very reliable little car, but that is little use if it rots away.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th July, 2007

1999 Nissan Micra GX 5 Door 1.0 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Reasonable car, but not without problems!

Faults:

The car has numerous scratches and grazes on bright red paint that are impossible to get out even with assistance from high grade compounds.

The gearbox has recently lost the spring on the gearbox which allows the gear stick when resting in neutral to sit in the centre of the box (edges over towards 1st & 2nd gears).

Handbrake is unsure at times, can pull to end of the travel on flat road, yet halfway on hills???

Drivers side electric window has broken away from runners and is now useless.

The drivers door trim is broken and cracked, looks 10 years older than the car itself.

Front number plate is cracked, chipped and in bad general state of repair due to being exposed at the front with zero protection.

Boot lid gets stuck when opening, requires hands to free from the latch.

Remote locking sounds slow and each door locks individually.

Standard radio display has broken and shows partial station's and frequencies.

Drivers wing mirror replaced when it got knocked off, and cost in excess of 70gbp to replace!!! This is manual not electric...

Exhaust has recently begun to blow, and rattles when the engine is switched off, sounds like popping corn in exhaust for up to 1 hour after engine is turned off.

Wheel trims have scars all round, are cracked and buckled, easy to scratch as exposed from the wheels!

Local dealer went into liquidation soon after purchasing the car, and a few years extended warranty disappeared with them.

General Comments:

The Micra feels like it rides on bicycle tyres most of the time which can be fun yet adventurous in corners and roundabouts. The tall sides do not help the handling on exposed roads with cross winds or indeed any winds at all.

Can pick up speed easily if pushed hard, but this enivitably eats your wallet after a time of doing so.

Inoffensive styling is not to everyones taste, generally the elderly, and females favour it, as there is a 'cute' look about the car.

Dash is simply laid out, with most buttons to hand. steering wheel is bulky, but does have airbag inside which is a bonus.

With seats laid down (not flat) storage is quite reasonable, access to the the load space s good with square opening and upright boot.

The all round visibility is fantastic, but interior mirror is a bit on the small side for full rear view.

I like the upright seating position and height of the car, but this tends to be achey on longer journeys.

Insurance and parts are pricier than european competitors. The engine starts first time everytime which is a bonus.

Re-sale value is poor in relation to similar european models.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 12th March, 2006

16th Nov 2006, 06:15

This seems a little unfair... it sounds like you basically have not taken care of your car.

Bottom line is... if you reguarly change the oil and filter the engine will go on for a long time with no problems.

Yes the styling is rubbish and body work not great, but in terms of engine mechanics for the money nothing beats its reliability.

3rd Sep 2009, 16:35

Scratches? Broken wing-mirror? Cracked number plate and damaged wheel-trims? Pushing the car hurts your wallet?

Wow, it's just madness that the above should happen. I would definitely blame Nissan for not looking after your car for you.

20th Sep 2009, 08:27

I think the dealer sold you a bad one, just to get rid of it. I have a 1.3L 16 valve Nissan March, and I would not trade it for ANY car. It's just too reliable (has 177,650 Km on it and still going strong).

Friends of mine have had or have the 1.0 16 valves, and they have never had problems with their ones.

If anyone wants to read my review:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/nissan/micra/r123178/

16th Mar 2012, 16:24

I agree with that.

I'm on my second Micra now, and have nothing to report.

First one was a 1.3. Could not fault it.

The one I have now is a 1.0 litre, and it's a really good, reliable, economical car, that is cheap to insure and to tax.

12th Oct 2013, 14:00

It's a good car. I've had 5 in my time, and only one gave up me; first the gearbox, then the engine, but overall it's a good car.