Nissan Tiida. Catch up and overtake.

Nissan Tiida. Catch Up and Overtake

When Nissan retired one of its most sought-after models, a noticeable void appeared in the golf class in the company's European lineup. To avoid losing customers, instead of the Almera, we were offered the Classic with the same name, but this South Korean Samsung, built on an outdated platform, hardly delighted anyone. A similar story applies to the Note – a perfectly decent car, but despite its uniqueness, it leans toward a family format. The Almera, however, attracted with its simple and moderately bold design, and its phenomenal reliability and undemanding nature made it a favorite of both respectable fathers and energetic youth. To think that after such a loud farewell the company would allow competitors to seize its market share would be naive. Marketers, of course, had thought through all scenarios in advance and, after a slight delay, rolled out another golf-class model to Europeans, including us, which by that time had already been tested in Asia, Africa, and its homeland – Latin America. Why not immediately? The question is rhetorical, and from an ordinary person's perspective, it's hard to explain. But dig deeper – and everything becomes clear. Nissan had already shown similar "sluggishness" about a year earlier when the Teana sedan arrived, replacing the Maxima QX. By a "strange coincidence," it appeared a couple of months after the launch of the new Camry generation, when queues for Toyota's business hit had become quite indecent. And the model, as they say, took off. Now the situation repeats itself exactly – you have to wait up to six months for the Corolla and Auris, and then appears… A fresh car with comparable characteristics and price from an equally well-known brand. In short, if nothing out of the ordinary happens, by the end of autumn the newcomer will be a fairly common sight on our roads.

So, its name is Tiida. To our ears, the name is as unusual as it is hard to pronounce. Nevertheless, we've been acquainted with it by proxy for several years. The thing is, it's the Mexican twin of the Megane II, well known to Russian drivers – a solid "licensed" copy born from close cooperation between the two companies. This, by the way, is unmistakably guessed from the characteristic silhouette of the hatchback, especially the rear door opening with its recognizable kink. However, the resemblance ends there. From the rear, the Nissan somewhat resembles the Peugeot 307 and an Almera that has grown in height and width. The front, though, is a real compilation: here you have the second Megane, and the one-box Note, which inherited the playful "smile" from the Murano… In the end, it turned out, admittedly, quite cute, but without much originality, and in places even old-fashioned. And this, oddly enough, is easy to explain. The model was first shown at the end of 2004, when the Almera was still in service, the Astra was just gaining momentum, the Corolla had slightly refreshed, and the 307 looked much younger than its years. The Tiida was not a gray mouse either. But that was in 2004, and since then a full three years have passed – a huge period for the automotive world. Today, Toyota is not the same, Peugeot is living its last months, and Nissan's "golf" is just starting. Whether Europeans will accept it is a big question. True, the Japanese have a serious trump card – in markets where the model is already presented, it is bought about 300,000 times a year, and that, at the very least, is impressive. Moreover, the newcomer, as it turned out, is aimed not so much at Germans, Brits, or French, but at us (they accepted the Note well, but are unlikely to greet a similar-in-essence car as warmly). But for Russians – here, one might say, is a virgin field. Our market will grow steadily for another year, maybe two, so demand for this car is guaranteed, and considerable. Let's return to our hero.

I mentioned the Note not by chance. Although these cars are unified only by a quarter, conceptually they are very close. Like the Note, the Tiida can boast a spacious interior, because both cars were designed around a passenger capsule – that is, first people, and only then doors, panels, and glass. This is how the Japanese managed to achieve interior space comparable not only to classmates but also to larger cars like the VW Passat or Opel Vectra. And this despite the Tiida not having the longest body in its class or the largest wheelbase. At its core is the same international B platform, on which the Micra, Modus, Clio III, and Note already stand. The Japanese, of course, stretched it, bringing the distance between the axles to their usual 2600 mm, but overall the car is quite compact. In length, for example, it fits exactly between the main rivals – the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

The trunk in this case, of course, is not large: 272 liters (the Note has 280 liters). True, if necessary, you can slide the rear row, which moves by 240 mm. This mobility, by the way, along with the adjustable backrest, makes a trip in the second row truly comfortable: there is an abundance of free space here, so passengers can forget about cramped conditions. The wide and comfortable seats are also given to front occupants. Add to this a high seating position, a good range of adjustments, and air that doesn't give the feeling of being sealed in a tin can… In short, a pleasant surprise awaits a potential buyer inside. The only thing that, in my opinion, fell short is the quality of finishing materials. There are no complaints about assembly, but the plastic itself could be more expensive, or at least not so clearly betray its cheapness. However, this is a matter of taste, so let's move on to driving qualities. As in the Almera, under the hood of the Tiida in our country can be one of two gasoline engines. The base one, with a volume of 1.6 liters and a power of 110 hp, is already familiar to the domestic driver from the Note. It can also work in tandem with a 4-speed "automatic" or a 5-speed "manual." The latter option makes the car quite lively and even allows a little hooliganism on the road. But in this case, it's worth remembering that the European Tiida is based on the American version, which means the suspension settings, albeit adapted to "Old World" tastes, lean toward comfort: even on not the best surface, strong vibrations and breakdowns are rare here. But you can't say the same about body rolls, and with increasing speed, the suspension starts to handle bumps worse, which is also felt. In short, in the buyer's place, I would rather choose the calm version with the "automatic" – it drives smoother and its Nordic character better matches the chassis settings.

The other option, which will also appear on our market, is a car with a new 1.8-liter engine producing a quite respectable 126 "horses." Since it is only paired with a 6-speed "manual," this car can be quite dynamic and will definitely find its buyer.

Now about prices. Compared to the Almera, the Tiida has noticeably become more expensive, but if you look at competitors' price tags, those $19,000 asked for the base version no longer scare, and $25,000 for the top one also doesn't look depressing. In general, an average car for average money – that's what Nissan took before and will take in the future.

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Source – www.automania.ru