The Nissan Tiida was introduced into the Kenyan market back around 2007 and was positioned back then by the local dealer DT Dobie right above their mass-market car the Nissan Sunny. The Nissan Sunny was Nissan’s mainstay having first come on the scene in 1966 and run up to 2006 to be replaced by the Nissan Sylphy. In 2008 I worked for a big agency locally and my then foreign media boss had a Nissan Tiida as his daily drive which I looked on with envy since then I was driving a manual B14 Nissan Sunny.
Currently, the Nissan Tiida has replaced the Nissan Sunny as a compact saloon, that fits between the Nissan March and the Nissan Sylphy. It’s also known as the Nissan Latio/Almera and comes with a 1.5 litre or 1.8 four-litre cylinder engine, the larger of which can be coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission.
The Nissan Tiida comes as a salon or a hatchback both being 4 doors with seating for 5 and a decent boot. An all-around practical car that does work well in the city and on decent tarmac or all-weather roads across the country. It comes with driver and front passenger airbags, A/C, radio and CD player with surround speakers. The Tiida is quite an efficient car doing up to 16km per litre which comes in handy, especially in Nairobi traffic situations.
You can get the Nissan Tilda second-hand for around 800K. If you want the showroom version you will get the version called Almera which doesn’t look nice and which should be around 3 million shillings.
Pro’s
- Fuel efficiency but still delivers good power when needed. This is due to its CVT box that anticipates the speed and engages the right gear.
- The engine is low maintenance.
- For a small car, it is quite spacious for the driver, and front and rear passengers and still has a decent enough boot space.
Cons
- The ground clearance is not the best so rough roads, and off-roads need a more slow and calculated approach
- It gets disrespected by the bigger cars.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a good run-around entry-level Saloon car then the Nissan Tiida will tick a lot of those boxes. Its Fuel efficient, spacious, well-shaped and not too pricey with the price in the range of around 800k. The new model though is looking a lot like a Toyota Belta which is not a very good look.
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