Faults:
Fan belt squeaking - adjusted by dealer multiple times and replaced twice. It's squeaking again right now.
Heater motor developed a very powerful vibration and needed to be replaced.
Lamp in A/C button to indicate on/off failed.
Lots of rattles from the trim.
Squeaking clutch thrust bearing
Failed to start, turning over but failing to catch. After 15 minutes or so it started fine on another attempt. No repeat of this in the 6 months since.
General Comments:
Great warm hatch - quicker and better handing that I'd expected, and not a liability on the motorway by any means like the smaller engined versions. I took this on a continental trip and it was quite happy cruising at 90, with enough power to spare for reasonably rapid acceleration to well over 100mph, and felt stable and secure at these speeds. It also has decent flexibility, and you can make good progress without having to drive it hard. It's certainly enough to give idiots who get off on intimidating people in little Micras a shock.
The ride is noticeably firmer and, for want of a better word, jiggly than the standard cars but does make for massively improved handling and a genuinely fun car to drive quickly down a B road.
The electronic stability program is extremely effective, and feels quite uncanny when you overcook it on a wet bend.
The brakes are as powerful as you need on a car like this, and only fade under sustained abuse. The ABS kicks in at a sensible point and with EBD keeps things nicely controlled no matter how ham fisted you are.
The engine noise at higher speeds (70 and upwards) can become tiresome and the car would benefit from greater sound insulation.
I am of average height, and have found the seats to be fairly uncomfortable, with poorly positioned lumbar support.
Fuel economy has been excellent, averaging 40 - 45mpg ish in mixed driving and capable of 55 - 60mpg on a long gentle run. Unless you're doing high mileage it calls into question the financial sense in buying the smaller engined versions.
Tyre wear is higher than expected, and their aren't many low price alternatives to the 185/50 R15 tyres it uses. The factory fit Continentals are available online for about £70 - £80 each.
The equipment level is high for a car of this class, and particularly worth of note is the Air Con which is not the normal pathetic effort you get in small engined cars. It's very powerful, however it does blunt the performance quite significantly. The automatic lights and wipers work flawlessly.
As you can see above we've had a couple of niggly problems with the car, particularly with the fan belt squeaking. As our first new car from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation this was a little disappointing, but the real problem was the poor service we received from the dealer. Not one problem was fixed on a single visit and the wait for parts to come in was often measured in weeks.
