Nissan Tiida 2006 review

It's one of those ads that people love to hate, but I guess that means it must be doing its job for Nissan – because it's attracting attention to the car.

Anyone who has ever watched Sex In the City will know that none of the oh so hip New Yorkers would look sideways at a Tiida.

In fact, none of the overpaid, under-worked cast members including the featured Kim Cattrall would be seen dead in anything less than a Benz . . . for goodness sake darling!

Tiida has been getting a pretty hard time from motor noters since its launch a couple of months back.

Not sure why after driving the top of the line Ti sedan this week.

The trouble with Tiida is absolutely nothing.

It's a good, solid motor car in the tradition of Pulsar which it replaces and like Pulsar offers a largish interior in what is otherwise a small car – and at a small car price too.

But – and it's a BIG BUT – Tiida happens to be up against some very good competition in the form of Mazda3 and Honda's all-new Civic.

And it brings nothing new to the table worthing talking about.

The entry level Tiida might be a fraction cheaper than either car, but it offers nothing extra to attract interest.

The Ti like all models in the range is powered by a 1.8-litre four cylinder petrol engine that delivers 93kW of power at 5200rpm and 174Nm of torque at 4800rpm.

That's less power than Civic or Mazda3 and less torque than Mazda3 (but the same as Civic), although peak torque is developed higher in the rev range.

The Ti gets the $2000 automatic trans- mission as standard. It's only a four-speed unit but makes a good fist of it, with an overdrive lockout button for quick change downs.

Civic meanwhile offers a five-speed auto.

Performance from the 1.8-litre engine is good without being remarkable, but probably not quite as good as either the Mazda or the Honda.

Fuel consumption for the auto is rated at 7.8L/100km, with a 52-litre tank takes ordinary unleaded petrol.

The sedan is roomy inside with a big car feel on the road and a big boot to match.

It has a bright airy interior with good vision all round and height adjustment for the driver's seat.

Our test car exhibited some torque steer under hard acceleration and some steering wheel rebound in rougher corners, but handled well otherwise.

We were surprised to find that the rear brakes are drums, although the Ti gets ABS with brake assist and brake force distribution.

We were amazed to discover the centre rear seatbelt is only a two-point lap belt which we believe is unforgivable for a major manufac- turer of Nissan's standing.

Safety is becoming a big issue for buyers and manufacturers need to take note.

However, the company has equipped the car with a full-size steep spare wheel which should please Aussies.

Standard equipment includes driver and passenger airbags, airconditioning, keyless entry with central locking, CD player with four speakers, power mirrors, with the addition of curtain airbags, ABS brakes with brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution, rear headrests, power windows and 15in alloys wheels as you move up the range.

Ti adds leather steering wheel and luxurious leather/cloth blend seat trim, polished metallic interior trim, front and rear armrests, overhead console, six speakers, front map lamps and passenger vanity mirror.

The Nissan Tiida Ti is priced from $26,490.