Best car so far! (Nissan Micra 1.0i 16v S 3dr)

Member Name: walmslei

Product:	Nissan Micra 1.0i 16v S 3dr
Date:	21/04/04 (3168 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Fuel Economy, Reliable, Excellent second hand prices available now

Disadvantages: Insurance might be higher than standard models, No electrics (if you want them!)

Whilst only being 24 I have had numerous cars to date, including an Astra, a Peugeot 405 Estate, a Peugeot 106 and finally a Nissan Micra.

The initial reason for looking at a Micra was more about the insurance, than the actual car itself - I had my previous car stolen, and being young insurance companies tend to hold these things against you (despite me nothing wrong!). I figured if I looked at the smaller cars with smaller engines the insurance companies would give me better quotes, but we'll come to that later.

I took a trawl out to Grimsby and had a look around a few garages, and noticed three Micra's at Dixons that looked suitable cars. I had considered looking at some Corsa's but have heard a couple of bad things about them from friends, and I was intending to do rather high mileage in the car.

I test drove a standard Micra, the 1.0l 8v basic model I think, and was a little bit unimpressed with the performance, but I figured I could live with this. I went away for an hour or so to make up my mind and returned to purchase the car. To my amazement the dealer had sold it whilst I was gone, however, he informed me he put a 16v 1.0l Micra to one site for me to look at.

Now I was a tad annoyed, but figured it was worth looking at, and boy was it! The car has a much better specification than a typical 1litre Micra, and comes with drivers airbag, a rear spoiler and colour matched bumpers. The other features included an immobiliser, radio/casette and all the other things typically included with a modern car. It didn't have electric windows or central locking, but believe me when I tell you this is not such a bad thing. If central locking goes wrong (which it did in the Peugeot) then it can be a whole world of pain (and expense) - and really, it doesn't take much to open the door for your passenger.

On taking the car for a test drive I was amazed at the amount of power it had for such a sm
all car, and it was difficult to believe that this was 1 litre model. I have driven Corsa's (owned by family) with 1.4litre engines and this would give any a run for their money on acceleration and top-end.

I used the car a lot for work (I was self-employed) and did about 25,000 miles in eighteen months, and the car never needed a thing, bar an oil change at 12,000 miles which I did as a precaution as much as anything. We also used the car for our holidays and over the eighteen months it went from Grimsby to Edinburgh, Wales and Torquay, as well as many trips backwards and forwards to Manchester Airport. The car easily achieved a steady 80 miles per hour on motorways, meaning it was more than capable of keeping with traffic, and it handled well at speed, something which is not always the case with smaller cars.

The only problem I had was tyres, which might be more down to my driving style, than a fault with the car. I got through two full sets in the eighteen months (plus the set that came with it), but then I only bought cheap tyres, and was doing a lot of miles, so I cannot complain. The economy of the car was fantastic, and it easily achieved 50mpg on long trips, in fact, it could do Torquay (340 miles) for about £22 (which was a full tank!).

I paid about £3500 for a 1997 model (in 2001), which was a little over the odds, but only by a couple of hundred quid. I recently sold the car for £1800, as I decided I wanted to move up to a Nissan Primera.

Delighted with the car, and would recommend it to anyone. Watch the insurance though if you are at the younger end of the market! My first years premium was over £850 from Directline, who gave me the best quotes by far. In the second year it dropped to around £500, but still, thats a lot for a 1litre car!

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