Nissan Tiida

OP, the Nissan Tiida are great, reliable cars and are very popular for good reason. They are a no frills car that do what they are designed to do.
Don't be put off by people who like to trash them online, but don't drive them. I personally prefer the 4 speed auto to the CVT and some come with a decent spec level over the base Latio version. They offer good, basic reliable transportation.

That all makes perfect sense.
I am going to end off now because my posts as I said enrage the dealers and I don't want your thread to be spoilt. For what it's worth, for your situation it's actually another Fiat I would probably go for every time.

If you stretch to about $8k you can buy a Fiat Panda that is only 2-3 years old. They are perfect for your circumstances. Everything is laid out simply, they are really compact on the outside but clever design means they are roomy inside. Visibility is great and I have bought these for a few people to learn to drive in now.

If you love VVT you will be amazed by these little motors. They use solenoids to assist the camshaft so have unlimited valve lift and duration. To the point they can even turn valves off completely. The engine design is otherwise quite simple so reliability is great too.

Here's what you won't believe until you drive one. The engine is tiny, just 900cc with a small turbo. However because of the technology you get both low end torque and high end output. So the little 2 cylinder Fiat will happily keep up with many 1.6 and even 1.8 traditional vvt cars. Plus they are FUN to drive. Economy is amazing, they are rated for about 4.2l/100km combined although I get closer to 5l/100km because they are so much fun in sport mode and I drive them like an Italian.

They are galvanised so no rust, parts are good quality. You will have next to no depreciation the next few years (look at what a 10 year old one goes for to see what it will be). You will be getting almost new, NZ new with very low km for your money and you should be able to take it right through to 250'000km if you look after them.

My advice is take one for a drive, then jump in the Tiida, Ractis, Yaris etc. I don't see you wanting one of those after the Fiat even before you consider the numbers which are almost impossible to beat.

That's the joy of living in NZ. Our used car import obsession means that you can buy one of the most popular cars in it's class that is well revered overseas for chicken feed here because people think anything not Japanese is rubbish. The funny irony of this whole situation is that the Tiida you are looking at might be assembled in Japan but it's really French anyway. None the less it has a Japanese badge so magically becomes superior.

Best of luck with it all, that's going to be very exciting for your both having your wife learn to drive. I hope she loves the experience and wish you both all the best. If you have specific questions for me yell out but other than that I am going to try and leave your thread alone so that you can hopefully get some other good opinions and ideas.

Here you go again!
No one is enraged it seems but you.
Why not let others post their opinions and you do the same and leave it at that?
Seems you just can't help yourself but disrespect other peoples opinions.

Apparently (for the past 5 years) the Nissan Tiida has been the most popular 2nd hand vehicle imported from Japan.
Have a look around there are thousands of them buzzing around NZ.

They will be oblivious why the little man in the 2 cylinder Fiat going the other way looks REALLY pissed off

In the nicest way, there must be a reason that people are quitting them so quickly because they don't seem like an ex-lease car to me. Additionally, in your enthusiasm you may have missed that we live in a rural area? There is a reason we buy 4-cylinder cars.
If I had money to burn I'd get a Subaru with the H6 engine. But I really don't think that's a learners car and in any case my budget won't stretch to it. She needs something she can get to a job when she gets a work visa shortly.

The Nissan Bluebird I have is ideal. It's economical without being gutless. There is heaps of them on the road so plenty of spare parts (not that it's come to that yet). Insurance companies don't dislike the car for a learner driver (ie: my wife and sister). And it has a JNCAP 6 star rating. Perfect on those counts. Just comparing the the Tiida and seeing if anything else ticks the same boxes.

You need to drive the 2 Cylinder before knocking it. It's the complete opposite of what you are expecting, lots of low down torque etc because of how it works. They are also a brilliant car on the open road and have good ground clearance (also available in 4WD). It's not a rocket ship but it's plenty capable. As I type there are thousands of these things doing 160km/h down Europe's motorways quite happily with power to spare.

I bought one for a Friend, he had his wife who usually drives a Mercdedes ML AMG V8 pick it up and drive it 500km home. She loved it and passed others without ever considering she didn't have enough power, all while returning a 75% fuel saving over her usual car!. That's new technology vs old for you.

Anyhow, you buy what you want. It's just my suggestion as they are exceptionally hard to beat from a practicality and financial standpoint plus are an absolute joy for a learner driver. The Panda isn't some rare orphan it's a big seller internationally, far more so than the Tiida ever will be.

Also, if safety is a factor, I would suggest you stay right away from anything that is Japan market only. A good quick and dirty indicator as to whether something imported is up to international safety standards is to look for a 3 point middle rear seatbelt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKtOkgtsnmQ (read the comments below) Here is one being wound right up to 200km/h. I would like to see a 4 speed Tiida catch that, although I certainly wouldn't want to be in the Tiida while they tried.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLSpyaQwKr8

Performance is a little lack luster over 160km/h but she does get there eventually. Note how relaxed the engine sounds at that speed, not how many would expect a 2 cylinder to sound at all while giving it's all.

I would go as far as to say that you yourself if you enjoy a sporty drive will love one of these. It's not an Alfa Giulietta (you would want to spend 12k for one of those) but it's still a lot of fun in the twisty hilly stuff. The Tiida by comparison is just a slow wet rag.

Ok Jazz, I bit the bullet and drove a 2 cylinder Panda over the Rimatakas last week just for a bit of fun. 3 guys up, and my normal foot into it through the tight and twistys as I'd normally do, andddddd, what a gutless piece of shit! With 3 of us blokes in it the bloody thing wouldn't pull a sailor of ya sister. And it averaged 9ltrs per 100km going nowhere fast. To put it in perspective, the Jazz handled better, went better and, while driving it like I stole it over the same road, it averaged 6.5ltrs per 100km. Sure, it will maintain 100km on the flat ok but point that tiny 2 cylinder at a hill and you might as well get out and push. So, I've driven what you always recommend and I'm not all impressed

Wow, 9L / 100km is the sort of economy I get in Auckland. On the open road I get 7-8L / 100km, though I have seen as low as 6.9.

So with 2 opposing posts I ask myself "what make sense"? Put another way, would I want 4 cylinders and 1500cc or 2 cylinders, 900cc and a lightweight car with a turbo?

On the "what makes sense" scale, member berg makes sense to me.

I don't know whether the Tiida is a great or a mediocre car. I have only driven a loaner one over a couple of days. But what I do know is the HR15DE engine is quite impressive. Sure, it's no sports car. But when I expressed my concern to the dealer prior to buying the Sylphy that 1500 was too small for a rural area, he suggested I give it a try. And he was right.

I make no bones about it comsolve, I thrashed both of them but the Fiat you really had to beat without mercy to get it up the hill. 3 blokes all around 90kg ish. And, when you did cane it that hard it become a noisy uncomfortable thing. The Honda that we normally take is also a bit noisy when thrashed but not as bad. 1300cc v 900cc I suppose. Also Jazz, are they all surgey and bunny hoppy especially round town? Almost like it's too lean and struggling for fuel all the time?

My biggest complaint about the Tiida I drove was it had no electric mirrors and I can't recall if it even had electric windows. But some Tiidas seem to be half way towards Slyphy spec level.

All good enjoy your Tiida. Funny I have never been able to do more than 5l/100km over a tank with one but each to their own.

Panda, longer service interval, transmission doesn't require regular service, uses less oil and if you need something obscure it's quicker and cheaper to get.

I'm not surprised you were not impressed
Car salesman mate at large multi brand dealer tried to sell them for a few years. Potential buyers were put off as soon as the lumpy noisy thing was started. The square gauge dash is an acquired taste. He sold some Puntos to poverty stricken penny pinching pensioners. Some 500s to image seeking wimin.
The brand was ditched because they were just taking up valuable yard & showroom space for sod all sales.
The desirable brands were keeping them in business, the Fiats were not

If it's any help we recently had a rental Tiida for a weekend trip of 700km. 3 bigish adults and it did everything we asked of it. Didn't check the fuel use but being a rental we had to fill it to return it and It didn't appear to take a huge amount of fuel. Can't comment on reliability or maintenance costs.
Certainly not a luxury vehicle but I'd say would be fine for what the OP wants. From my observations there are lots of them about for not a lot of money.
ps my SIL, and also 1 of our friends both have late model Jazz and I think they are a horrid bit of kit. Bad seats, surging and shuddering - just yuk.
eta
The lights on the Tiida were not very good ( it was very wet and fogy but even so didn't light the roadway very well at all) so suggest you do a test drive at night.

I had a 2009 NZ new Tiida for a month as a company car and it was very mediocre. The interior panels were falling off and for a 1.8 it was gutless. I believe the Nz new ones are 4spd auto as well. I switched it for the a 2008 Corolla GX which was the pool car. The Corolla is better built, much better on the open road and the engine is peppy for the 1.8.

Buying second hand the build quality is the thing that will get you. I see a lot of Tiidas and Dualis which are starting to show paint fade on darker colours.

For your wife I’d recommend the Honda Jazz/Fit or Mazda Demio. Both are better built cars and easier to learn to drive with better visibility than the Tiida.

I was a massive Pulsar fan boy but the Nissan cars of the 2000s are very cheaply built and don’t have the same reliability of the mid 90s Nissans. Our Everyday runabout is a 2001 Corolla Fielder with the 2zz 1.8L engine. It’s done almost 200K but still drives like new with great performance when needed

comsolve-I have never had a Tiida that didn't have electric windows.
same with electric mirrors. Its possible the odd one didn't have electric folding. Depending on what you call "spec" they are pretty much the same as a Sylphy for "stuff" it comes down to what was specced on purchase.
So in BOTH cars ive seen with and without.
Multi air bags, spotlights. alloys. reverse camera, parking sensors
They both have ac central lock power steer etc.

Thanks Kazbanz. What PS system is used in the Tiida? Electric or Hydraulic?

The Rental Tiida we had a couple years ago had manual mirrors, when we handed it back ,I asked the lady at the rental yard -wheres the switch to adjust the mirrors, she replied they are manual mirrors, open the windows and move the mirror glass! , I think it was a poverty pack Tiida.

We just had a transfercar tiida and brought it up from Christchurch to Auckland, via mt Hutt (5 up and it was a little pathertic) and on gravel roads to home. I don't know if all CVT gearboxes are like that, but it took a lot of getting used to keeping the speed up close to 100k, revved like hell on the hills then you had to be quick off the gas at the top. I think that had windey back windows, no reversing camera etc, interior cheap and nasty seats not that comfy. The only thing about it was it was surprisingly economical, the car computer averaged 14k / l, so 4 speed auto would have no redeeming features! As a cheap run around maybe, not as a main long distance car. Our 2002 focus was a better car all round. .

I can tell you with 100% confidence that what you describe never came out of the Nissan factory. I would say most likely the retract mechanism got busted so they unplugged the mirrors. manual adjust mirrors work a different way.

Some of the Latio sedans don't have electric mirrors - I have sold a few.

But we aint talking about the latio are we :-)
latio has that funny lever thing inside the door.