When we first got HIS Tiida the family asked why we decided on a Nissan Tiida and not something traditional like a Volkswagen (the choice of the wifes side of the family) or another Opel (at that stage I had an Opel Astra 200IE Euro)? There are two answers to that question…
Answer 1 of 2:
In 2007 we were staying in Cape Town. The firm that I was working for required me to spend 2 weeks in Pretoria, then spend a weekend at home and then back to Pretoria for another 2 weeks. This went on for 3 months. During this time I had a choice of hire cars from the rental companies. I tried a Toyota Corolla 140, Toyota Corolla 160, Renault Megan Sedan, Renault Modus and of course a Nissan Tiida 1.6 Visia Sedan.
The Toyota Corolla 140 ran on the fumes from the petrol tank, but had almost zero power/speed at the Reef altitude. I recall one Friday I was running late for my flight back home for the weekend and flooring the Toyota on the way to the airport on the R21. I was weaving between traffic, engine roaring and it felt like I was going 180km/h…I briefly looked down at the speedo to see how fast I was going – 100km/h…
The Toyota Corolla 160 was more nippy than its 140 sibling, but not as economical. Something I remember from it was that when closing the drivers door it sounded hollow. I know that sounds strange, but it really did not “feel” solid, it was otherwise an OK car – a typical Toyota.
The Renault Megane sedan had a very comfortable ride and felt solid, but I had a fun time trying to turn the car on and off. It uses a card instead of a key and an On/Off button. Also you had to have your foot on the clutch to start it. One thing that I did not like about the car was the water that used to dam up between the body and the bootlid – as an Opel Astra driver you know this is a rust spot waiting to develop…
The Renault Modus I renamed “The Bitch from Hell“. It is a very cute car, love the dash with the electronic speedo and lots of glass…but…those brakes are something to get used to. When braking at a constant pressure she would decide that you have jumped on the brakes with both feet, and the car would come to a VERY sharp stop, this when all you wanted was to gracefully come to a stop. Those two weeks could not pass soon enough…
My first Nissan Tiida 1.6 Visia Sedan, a plain white one, I remember opening the boot first and putting my bags in and noticing that there was enough space for at least another 3 bags with space to spare. I climbed in and the driving position felt high (almost SUV high) and the door closed with a solid thud. I remember starting the car, listening for the engine and wondering why there was no engine noise… I pressed the accelerator and the rev needle jumped – yes the engine was running! Wow this car was quiet I thought!
Over the next two weeks I was impressed with the ride comfort, silence of the engine, space for back seat occupants and most importantly fuel economy. OK the fuel usage was not as light at the Toyota Corolla 140, but was better than the Renaults and about on par with the Toyota Corolla 160.
When I got home the weekend I joked with my wife saying that I had found our next car – a Nissan Tiida. We went on the internet and at first she said what my brother-in-law Pierre says till today: “That is an ugly car!”… I just smiled knowing that I had found our next family car.
The firm that I was working for as a thank you gift decided that instead of me flying back the one weekend, my wife and 1 year old son would fly up to Pretoria. Guess which car I had at that stage – yes, a metallic light blue Nissan Tiida. Needless to say the wife was really impressed and agreed that it was comfortable and spacious and indeed when we were to get a new family car we would seriously consider a Nissan Tiida.
The second part of the answer in next post…
