A quick scan of the UAE streets will spot you a fair few TIIDAs with rental and fleet companies employing many of the little Nissans for their fleets. Now this isn’t necessarily a testament to their quality or usability, more a testament to the kind of bulk purchase deals that Nissan are prepared to offer. However, general research with friends and colleagues has turned up an interesting fact that if they were faced with a choice of models during their compact rental term, that most of them asked for the TIIDA. This is because, even without driving the TIIDA or its competition, they feel a certain assurance that the Nissan will be a quality, reliable car. And this reputation for the Japanese brand is deserved – Nissan does build a solid car… but can you love a TIIDA?

Well, take a look at our pictures. For me, the hatchback is a little prettier than the sedan, although the sedan does exude a feeling of more interior space, when regarded from the outside, with the length of the additional trunk giving the car a bigger outline. So, if you want to super-size your compact right away, then the sedan could well be for you. Both cars share a chunky, solidly reassuring look that confirms to the viewer that certain level of Japanese quality, with the panels and exterior components such as the headlights and door handles all showing a solid and reliable look and feel. And that’s always a good start. The 6-spoke alloy wheels were a tad on the plain side, if you ask me, and when it comes to wheels, if you get it right they can really set a car off – these 16-inchers didn’t.

The hatchback car has a bit more of a cheeky, heart-warming style to it, but neither car made me smile the moment I saw it. The TIIDA is clearly no VW Beetle, making me feel instead that I was about to drive a car that was well thought out and well engineered, and in this day and age where equipment, safety and reliability are very much key, I guess that Nissan wanted us to feel this way… and so far it’s working.

The driver’s door is nicely weighted upon opening, with the door handle feeling nicely chunky and firm. Nestling into the driver’s seat was also a fairly fine experience. Both of the cars on test here are the top-of-the-range 1.8 LE models and sported the finest interiors you can spec from Nissan; one in beige (the sedan), the other in black (the hatchback). I preferred the black interior, mixed-up as it was, with dashes of brushed allumium-stlyle details throughout the dashboard, centre consul and door handles etc. For me the black felt sportier and a little more dynamic, while the beige, with wood-look touches of the sedan’s interior felt a little too ‘mature’ for my liking – I’m also fairly sure that the black will wear better than the light-beige colour which would show dirt and stains easily… so if you’ve got kids!

The seat itself was comfortable enough, feeling well-padded and soft, however, at over 6-feet tall I could’ve done with a couple more ‘clicks’ back on the seat runner. The steering wheel adjusted for tilt at least, but if I’d had the extra backwards room I wanted I would’ve needed a slide adjustment from the steering wheel, too. And the further I go back the more I would encroach on the rear passenger legroom, which was decent enough even with my seat pushed right back, considering the car’s exterior dimensions. So, generally a good feeling from the TIIDA’s interior ambience, and that’s a very big tick in the right box for many buyers in this highly competitive market segment.

The all important air-con returned a good blast at full power; the CD/radio entertainment system had a good pace to it with even pedestrians enjoying my choice of tunes, from quite some distance away! There is also an auxiliary input socket for all you iPod fans out there. The rest of the controls are simply laid out, easy to find and use, and quite crucially for many people, there wasn’t too many of them. One complaint I would have with the steering wheel controls and the buttons located right at the bottom of the dashboard is that they are not illuminated at night, so if you don’t remember where they are and what they do, you have to start searching for and reading them, and that’s not great at night, on the motorway, at 120kph.

Firing-up the TIIDA engine is an old school affair with just a simple twist of the key in the ignition, and you are greeted by nothing out of the ordinary in terms of engine harmony. These top-of-the-range test cars featured the 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder ‘MR18DE’ petrol engines that produce 127bhp and 173Nm of torque at around about 5000rpm on the tacho. So, to get the most out of these power-plants you need to work them very near to the readline, and that can be a bit of a thrashy affair. Still, I was quite excited about the prospect of driving such a compact car with a relatively big engine. But, unfortunately, I didn’t get my socks blown-off.

Whilst the car picks up the pace well enough, you can’t help thinking that with a bit more power from this 1.8-litre engine, that Nissan could’ve sent quite a sporty little number out into the market. But they didn’t and instead you have to work the TIIDA hard to get it really going. And doing that will see fairly unimpressive fuel consumption figures; even at a 120kph cruise (with the A/C running) we saw an average of around 6.3 litres per 100kms on the dashboard readout, which isn’t that great if economy is high on your list. I would be very interested to see if the 1.6-litre did that much better in terms of economy; it surely can’t be that much slower!

Our cars utilised the 4-speed automatic gearbox, as generally favoured in the UAE, however, there is a 6-speed manual to choose from, and that self-selection of ratios could improve the overall pace slightly. The TIIDA cruised nicely enough, with a plush ride, but at the higher speeds there was a quite noticeable level of wind noise; time to turn up that stereo then. When pushed hard through the bends the TIIDA showed the usual front-wheel-drive characteristics of under-steer; basically pushing its nose through the bend as the front tyres became overwhelmed. This can be cured somewhat by lifting-off the gas pedal to shift some more of the body weight to the front of the car, thus bringing the back-end around a little, but you don’t really want to be doing this through every bend, as it makes for a rather ragged driving experience. This is the price you pay for the TIIDA’s basic and soft suspension set-up, but ultimately, Nissan know that most drivers in this segment will always take a plush, comfy ride over razor-sharp, stiff handling. The steering was just as vague and ‘sloppy’ as the suspension, too, I’m afraid, but, again this is a car for the people, and not that many people want over-direct steering; preferring instead to use slower, more gentle inputs to make their turns.

The brakes, on the other hand, cannot really be faulted, with a nicely progressive feel through the pedal travel, ending in a firm pedal and plenty of braking force when applied strongly. Coupled with the latest computer-controlled ABS anti-lock brakes, EBC Electronic Brakeforce Control and BA Brake Assist, you can feel every confidence in the TIIDA should you have to stop suddenly. There are also seatbelt pretensioners and dual front airbags, should the worst actually happen.

Having thoroughly driven both the hatchback and sedan I can conclude that the hatchback looked and felt a little more dynamic for me, but other than that the cars were, of course, identical; the exact body shape being a choice based on personal tastes and everyday needs. The Nissan TIIDA is no Volkswagen Beetle, lacking the charisma of the German classic; however, it does deliver with reasonable efficiency many of the real-world requirements of the budget motorist and as such is well worth a test drive of your own.

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