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Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Nickdm
Anyone know if the new Nissan Tiida will be coming to Europe, to replace the Almera?

Just rented one for 10 days and 2100km in South Africa and I give it a big thumbs-up. Not the kind of car I'd ever look at twice normally, and I can't say it's very pretty, but it swallowed luggage and people and went very rapidly for a small petrol engine.

Not sure I'd recommend South Africa for a driving holiday though, some huge distances to cover across pretty dull landscapes, some dangerous roads (dual carriageways but no central reservation or barrier..!) and cops that hide in strange places with radars....
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - bell boy
never heard of it but it but would give it a waltz round the block if offered
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Avant
We also hired a Nissan Tiida in SA last November - agree with you, it did a good job. I doubt they'll bring it to the UK as there is now the Qashqai which is apparently selling better than the Almera ever did. Nissan's lack of image in this country means that a Nissan must have something special or different about it to sell well. The Tiida (apart from its un-catchy name) dosmn't do anything that a Focus, Golf or Astra can't.

We go to SA every year and I agree you wouldn't go fr a driving holiday but driving from place to place is fine, with much less traffic than here. I'd certainly recommend driving along the south coast (the Garden Route) but I'd fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg or Durban.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Scott H
Couldn't find anything definite online about a UK launch, but Ireland has had it since June apparently. A press release from Nissan says it will also go on sale in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal from next January (snipurl.com/1pz8m). Wikipedia says it will be sold in the UK by the end of the year, but that doesn't tally with what Nissan say.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - v0n
I spoke to some headoffice guy from Nissan last year and asked why we don't get all the good, attractive Nissan cars in UK - Altima, Sentra, Maxima etc. His response was that the company believed there was no market for Primera sized family cars in Europe any more and the only regular, normal family car they were expecting to introduce in 2007 was Versa, which is basically Tiida in Saloon version. I so hope he was wrong.
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Gromit {P}
The Tiida has been on sale in Ireland since it was announced that the Almera would be discontinued (although run-out 07 reg Almeras are about too).

Its a horrendously ugly car in the metal: narrow, tall, small-looking and ill-proportioned. The Tiida looks even worse than the new Corolla saloon lauched here alongside the Auris (itself no looker, IMO). Both look as though they were designed with the Japanese domestic market in mind and then exported to Ireland without a second thought to the styling.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Altea Ego
attractive Nissan cars in UK - Altima, Sentra, Maxima

Attractive? Let me know what you are drinking, its strong stuff.

They all look the same, and that look is, errr..... well..... hmm..... Gosh they are so non descript there is no word to describe them.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - NowWheels
Anyone know if the new Nissan Tiida will be coming to Europe to replace the
Almera?


Isn't it just a rebadged Renault Megane?
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - jase1
The hatch version has a similarly nasty-looking back end, but no this car has greater similarity with the new Clio rather than the Megane -- both the Tiida and the Clio are based on the Nissan B platform.

Isn't the similar Versa supposed to be making its way to the UK at some point?
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Galad
I read somewhere recently in a motoring journal that Nissan has all but given up on competing in the conventional saloon car market and instead is focussing on the more 'quirky' niche designs that the new Qashqai represents.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - GregSwain
I read somewhere recently in a motoring journal that Nissan has all but given up
on competing in the conventional saloon car market...


I've read that too, it's unfortunate because "proper" Nissans were solid and ultra-reliable if a bit bland/boring. I'd rather that than having a car which "excites" me by dying on a motorway in the pouring rain. I find the current range of Nissans utterly unappealing - the Micra is too small for my needs, the Note might as well be called the "Motability", and all the others seem to be big 4x4s or pretend 4x4s. When the Almera's given up the ghost I'll be looking at a 2nd hand Kia Ceed (they'll probably be onto the 2nd model by then) ;-)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - jase1
They weren't boring in any case.

When they came out, both the original Almera and especially the Primera were considered some of the best-handling cars of their time; the Mk2 Micra was Car of The Year when it came out (a rare feat for a non-European car due to inevitable biases), and was anything but generic considering what it was up against in 1993; the Sunny GTi-R was one of the finest hot hatches ever devised at the time (0-60 in 5.1 seconds etc).

OK so they weren't the most exciting to look at, but who really cares about that? They drove well, they didn't break and they were cheap. A winning combination IMO.

Nissan kind of went to pieces in the early 2000s during the financial problems and the takeover, and this is what people refer to.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - GregSwain
They weren't boring in any case.
When they came out both the original Almera and especially the Primera were considered some
of the best-handling cars of their time...


I was talking about looks mainly - my car is extremely ordinary to look at, but unlike many "stylish" cars its handling is superb. My Almera is a heavy car with a little 1.4 litre engine, and doesn't have a great turn of speed (0-60 in 12 secs?). But just today, I took great pleasure out of driving it at speed down a bumpy B-road, and throwing it around the bends. The steering feel is spot-on (thanks to a "proper" hydraulic PAS setup), and the little engine loves being revved up to the redline. Shame the "image conscious" buyers can't see past the exterior though!
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - ed81
I drive both Focus 1.6 TDCI and a V reg Almera 1.4i. In terms of handling, Almera handles a lot better than Focus. I don't know what's all the fusses about Focus, it's just another overrated car. Almera is a very simple plain realiable car. 1.4 litre engine love to revved and it surprises me at times how quick the car goes, almost as quick as Focus 1.6 diesel in my honest opinion. At over 120k miles, the car is uber reliable. My Focus had a new steering rack, crappy brakes and rattles at just under 50k miles. Ok ok it's a good car but give an Almera a go and it could change your mind.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - perro
>>> I drive both Focus 1.6 TDCI and a V reg Almera 1.4i. <<<

I part exed a Focus 1.6 Zetec for my 1.8 Almera and I totally agree ed81, It's an 05 and I've owned it 4 years now - its never missed a beat.
I keep looking at other cars but the Almera does what it says on the tin.
I haven't used it for 8 days (original batt.) ... started 'on the button' this morn. :)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Altea Ego
>OK so they weren't the most exciting to look at, but who really cares about that

Well obviously the general motoring buying public did, or they would have sold by the shedload and they wouldnt have had the financial problems.

Not quite the winning combination you think perhaps. You keep forgetting the fundamental equation about the car business. They have to sell.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - jase1
Nissan's financial problems were never primarily a question of sales. They were a function of the general Japanese financial crisis of the 1990s and poor fiscal management at the company over many years. There are many parallels with the state-run Renault of the 80s and early 90s -- sales were OK but the company was a basket case.

What people seem to forget about Renault-Nissan is that it was not a case of Renault saving Nissan as such -- it was good businessmen who took over an ailing Renault, turned it around, and then used the money to buy in to and sort out Nissan as well.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - jase1
Looking back at the figures, Nissan were selling more vehicles in 1997-8 than Renault are now, worldwide.

That difference has now widened of course -- Nissan 3.2m vs 2.5m, Renault 2.4m vs 2.1m.

Just because a company can't make a profit doesn't mean it isn't shifting the boxes. Consumers certainly weren't shunning Nissan in the late 90s -- else they must have been shunning Renault as well, no?
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - GregSwain
Looking back at the figures Nissan were selling more vehicles in 1997-8 than Renault are
now worldwide.


Not surprising when you consider the excellent Nissan range of the mid to late 90s. K11 Micra, N15 Almera and P11 Primera - who could ask for a more solid, reliable and better handling range of cars? Contrast that with the early Megane and the first incarnation of the Laguna - no comparison.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - jase1
I'm not so sure I'd put the K11 Micra and handling in the same sentence..... ;)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - GregSwain
I'm not so sure I'd put the K11 Micra and handling in the same sentence.....


Compared to other superminis around in 1992-3 when it was launched, it didn't do too badly (OK, it was never a Pug205 I'll admit)! The N15 and P11 had a particularly good reputation for handling and drivability, and that still stands today IMO, even against far more recent competitors. The N15 had multilink semi-independent rear suspension, a feature that Alfa Romeo still use as a selling point in their recent TV ads. The downside of this is that taking a speedbump at speed results in a chiropractor's appointment, and a near-deafening thud as the back of the car "lands" on the road. Makes it very nimble on B-roads though!
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Mr Fox
To get this thread back on track . . .I just spent a Week in the UAE with a Tiida, 1.6 Automatic Hatch. I can honestly say it was a fine car, very comfortable seats, reasonable driving characteristics, and a very easy going feel to it. I thrashed this poor little car for 1700 Kilometers, and I grew very fond of it. The driving conditions around there are some of the worst imaginable.

It is somewhere between a Golf and a Renault Clio, in terms of size and character, surely there is a market for such a rugged, comfortable, no-nonsense car in the UK, if the price is right. It must be better than all this Korean filth that is apparently selling in huge numbers to the retired, the uninterested and the Impecunious.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - maz64
Korean filth


Wind-up?
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Armstrong Sid
>> Korean filth
Wind-up?


Similar to all the Japanese "filth" that started appearing in the 1970s. And look where that ended up
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - maz64
Similar to all the Japanese "filth" that started appearing in the 1970s. And look where
that ended up


The Koreans seem to be doing quite well already, according to most reviews I've seen (including HJ).

Edited by Focus {P} on 17/12/2009 at 08:53

Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Old Navy
Arnold Clark sold a batch of these cars recently, don't know if they still have any new ones, but they have a few low mileage ones listed on their website.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Old Navy
>> Korean filth
Wind-up?

>>
More likely ignorance, travel to the far east and it will soon become obvious that their cars are tough, and you see little "European filth".
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Happy Blue!
I rented a Tilda earlier this year for 10 days. Found it to be perfectly adequate and quite roomy for the external size. I had a few minor gripes about the positioning and operation of switches but nothing that would really put me off at all.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - perro
>>> and you see little "European filth". <<<

What a stupid statement - many Korean cars are made in Europe.
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Old Navy
What a stupid statement

>>
I meant you see very few European cars in far eastern countries.

PS - You forgot the smiley after "Stupid statement".

Edited by Old Navy on 17/12/2009 at 13:02

Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - perro
>>> PS - You forgot the smiley after "Stupid statement". <<<

Sorry mate! - - - - - -> ;-)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Old Navy
No problem. :-)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - wazza
Willl there be a special edition called 'Tilda Basmati'? It is a name of a white rice :-)
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - wazza
oops soz thought it read Tilda but it is Tiida. Lucky for me i am due for an eyetest
Tiida Is it coming to the UK? - Avant
Nissan's market research has shown them that the Tiida wouldn't have a USP over the Golf / Focus / Astra, and so they sell something a bit different, namely the Note and the Qashqai.

Market research isn't always right but in this case they seem to be spot-on. Note and Qashqai are silly names but the cars are what plenty of people want in this country.