By now, most people have seen the raunchy Nissan Tiida commercial where Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall is more than a little excited over the new Pulsar replacement. And it seems to be very popular, especially when you drive the car and everyone wants to remind you of the promise of the advertisement.
But while the catch phrase will have you believe you will feel "really, really, really good inside" when driving the Tiida, the reality is the expectations are a little high. The Tiida leaves you with the feeling you get when you have a discount movie ticket, but then the flick you choose is just average. Not bad, but not as good as you would like.
At first glance, the top of the range 1.8-litre Tiida Ti Sedan seems ordinary and not as eye-catching as others in its class, such a Mazda3, Holden Astra or Ford Focus.
It just doesn't get you as excited as you would like to be for $26,490. And after driving it for a week, the feeling is the same as it blends into peak-hour traffic, lacking that trendiness. But the metallic red paint on the test car does allow the Tiida to have its moments, as do the stylish repositioned rear-view mirrors further down the door, with tiny fixed windows where the mirrors would usually sit.
The name Tiida derives from the word "tide" which refers to the flow of the ocean.
Nissan feels this reflects its commitment to constant change highlighted with the Tiida replacing the Pulsar, which established the $19,990 price-point.
But it remains to be seen if this change is really as good as a holiday.
The Ti's interior is more impressive than its exterior, especially the comfortable seating, leather and cloth trim, making those long drives more tolerable. Nissan rightly boasts the spacious cabin, which had no problem in fitting four adults quite comfortably, with ample leg room.
The dashboard tries to give off a sporty vibe, with silver strips above the glovebox, on the gearstick and the steering wheel.
The sporting theme continues down to the individually defined gauges. However, it feels like it's trying a little too hard to impress and falls short of pulling off the sporty look.
The 1.8-litre engine provides 93kW of power at 5200rpm with 174Nm of torque at 4800rpm. In terms of performance, the Tiida lacks the power to tackle hills, with the automatic transmission struggling to take on any reasonable incline.
Equipped with ABS, the Ti Tiida has responsive braking, which handles well in stop-start traffic. But the drive is a little bumpy and not quite as smooth as desired.
The Tiida hatch is a little more impressive in appearance and has a sense of style about it, particularly more appealing to its younger female audience.
The more affordable starting prices of $19,990 for the ST and $22,240 for the the ST-L, come with a less impressive interior.
The seats are a lot harder than those in the top-of-the-range hatch Q and Ti Sedan and there's no added luxuries, such as arm rests in the front and back, front map lights or a leather steering wheel.
In the middle back seat of all hatch models, there is only a lap belt, which is a little disappointing. There is plenty of space to store wallets and mobile phones, with reasonable-sized compartments.
While the Nissan Tiida is considerably priced against its competitors and has the new-car vibe, you can't help but feel you're missing out on something — that it's just a little too ordinary, and not quite as enjoyable as Kim Cattrall might make it out to be.
