- Doors and Seats
4 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
2006 Nissan Tiida ST-L: owner review
The unloved Tiida.
- Reliable , Fuel economy , Solid , Safety - 6 Airbags , Cheap parts
- I don’t have it anymore
Is this the most underrated car in Australia?
I purchased my 2006 Nissan Tiida ST-L hatch in October 2018. I had seen it on a car sales website for about two months before deciding to make the trip from Melbourne to Rye to see it. When I arrived at the (then) owner's house, I saw a very poorly looking, faded black Tiida with grass growing around it. The owner had just given birth to her fourth child and was talking to me between naps, feed and nappy changes.
The Tiida was dead as a door nail as it hadn’t been started in over four months, so I hooked up my trusty Corolla via jumper cables and accepted the fight to bring the very dead Tiida back into life. One turn of the key later and she fired up into life with no issues at all!
With 301,200 kilometres showing on the odometer, I let the Tiida warm up before taking it for a drive. As I’m driving this little car that’s seen a lot of life, I notice its service sticker says 255,000km.
As the little Tiida warmed up, the better it got. I accelerated up to the 110km/h speed limit with plenty more to go. No crunches with the gearbox, and the clutch felt good. This car had to be mine.
I went back, paid the owner cash and the next day took the train back to Rye to pick up my new little Tiida.
Driving back to Melbourne, the more it drove the better it got. Overtaking cars in sixth gear, it was clear this was one brilliant little car. I took it straight to my mechanic for a RWC, and he was amazed that a car of that mileage was in such good condition; all it needed was new brakes.
The first weekend I owned the Tiida, I drove it up to my Mum and her husband's place, where my mothers husband machine polished the whole car, bringing the faded black paint back, showing a gorgeous blue metallic in it. We also steam cleaned the last five years of children vomit out of the back seat.
All of a sudden the Tiida looked like a car with more then half the mileage. Even the gentleman at a Nissan dealership couldn’t believe the mileage, and especially didn’t believe it was still on its original clutch!
I continued to drive that little car for twelve months, driving around 1,500 kilometres a week (and in some cases I would do well over 2,000km) doing heavy freeway and interstate driving.
I taught myself how to change the oil, filters and coolant, as well as the very complicated method of changing the spark plugs.
This car just chugged along without a fault in the world. In the time I owned it, all I ever changed was a battery, and a passenger window after someone broke into it to steal my petrol station fake Ray Bans.
Now for one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. In December last year I was offered a job in Darwin. I couldn’t take my trusty Tiida with me, and at 390,000km my mechanic still said it was in roadworthy condition, and still faultless. So I donated the Tiida to a family in need.
To this day my beautiful little Tiida is still on the road, and driving faultlessly, and maybe one day my little Teeds and I will meet again.
All I ask is Nissan, can you please bring us a new model Tiida? I’ll be the first to buy one!
Brilliant little cars!!