- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.8i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
93kW, 174Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 7.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Nissan Tiida Q
After 26 years and more than 385,000 sales in Australia, Nissan's Pulsar badge has been unceremoniously sent to the great automotive graveyard.
Its replacement is the Tiida, a name based on the word "tide", which is now being pedalled aggressively by former Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall in an attempt to give it some market clout.
Get past the new name, however, and it's a business-as-usual Nissan. The Tiida, just like the Pulsar, is a small, front-wheel-drive car available in five-door hatch or sedan styles, powered by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine.
The basic layout sticks to the principles established by the Pulsar, but the Tiida is very much its own vehicle. Nissan's "B" platform and the all-aluminium 1.8-litre four, developed with corporate partner Renault, are new.
The styling also marks a big change, though the striking similarity of both the hatch and sedan to Renault's Megane means we're not seeing anything groundbreaking here.
The model line-up also follows Pulsar. The range kicks off with the ST hatch and sedan, priced from $19,990, and then the ST-L hatch and sedan, priced from $22,240 and equipped with features such as side curtain airbags and ABS brakes.
At the top of the range come the Q hatch and Ti sedan, priced at $24,490 and $26,490 respectively. Both have leather/cloth trim, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, six-speaker sound system and various other features, with the Q available in both manual and optional auto forms, but the Ti an auto-only proposition.
In the case of our test car, a manual Q hatch, there are some surprising omissions, however. Sound comes from a single-CD player rather than the six-stacker now common at this price, and there are no remote controls on the steering wheel for the stereo.
Safety is another mixed bag. Nissan is to be commended for adding side curtain airbags, but for some reason a proper lap-sash seatbelt and a headrest for the centre-rear occupant are glaring omissions.
No issues with the rest of the Tiida's cabin, which has an impressive amount of space for a small car. The back seat in particular is pampering enough to put many mid-sizers to shame, and front occupants enjoy a similarly airy atmosphere with big, comfy seats.
The details, however, aren't quite as good. The steering offers only tilt adjustment, which compromises the driving position. Hard plastics dominate, although the assembly itself is first-rate.
The Tiida's 93 kW 1.8-litre four is a respectably spirited performer on the road. It lacks the bottom-end drive of 2.0-litre rivals such as the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus, but it is more than happy to play the low-rev lugging game around town and zips enthusiastically to the rev limit.
Fuel consumption for our manual test car averaged an impressively thrifty 7.9 L/100 km over our combined urban/highway loop, close to Nissan's official claim.
With six ratios to play with in manual form, the gearshift is also a pleasure to use, although the unusual, clickety-clack noise that accompanies every gear change is disconcerting.
The Tiida rates highly for on-road comfort. The ride is nicely absorbent and quietly soaks up all but the worst surface uglies, and the low levels of road, wind and mechanical noise ensure long distances aren't an exercise in fatigue.
Keen drivers, however, will be looking elsewhere for their thrills, owing to steering that is too lightly weighted and lacks feel, mediocre grip, and a tendency to roll and push the front end wide when the going gets tough. It's capable, but there are much more entertaining options.