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?
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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.
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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) ;-)
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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.
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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!
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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.
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>>> 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. :)
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>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.
------------------------------
< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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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.
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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?
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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.
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I'm not so sure I'd put the K11 Micra and handling in the same sentence..... ;)
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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!
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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.
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>> Korean filth Wind-up?
Similar to all the Japanese "filth" that started appearing in the 1970s. And look where that ended up
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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
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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.
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>> 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".
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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.
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>>> and you see little "European filth". <<<
What a stupid statement - many Korean cars are made in Europe.
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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
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>>> PS - You forgot the smiley after "Stupid statement". <<<
Sorry mate! - - - - - -> ;-)
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Willl there be a special edition called 'Tilda Basmati'? It is a name of a white rice :-)
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oops soz thought it read Tilda but it is Tiida. Lucky for me i am due for an eyetest
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