Nissan Almera Tino 1800 SE

The Nissan Almera Tino 1800 SE is an good allround car, unless you want to break the sound barrier,

reliability: v good, this car has excellent build quality, and is very comfortable, the gear change is very precise, and will cruise all day at 70+MPH and will return MPG figures of 43 if driven with a modicome of intelligence.

I have owned a tino for over four years and have done most of the ongoing maintenance myself.

Since buying this car I have been pleasantly surprised by the way this car handles, it is very reliable, very comfortable even after driving for a few hundred miles, and the body work is well put together.

An excellent family car, with very good engine and gearbox, the brakes are 9 out of 10.

I bought my Nissan Almera Tino in 2002 when it was just under a year old.

It is a lovely smooth car to drive with a good responsive engine. a fairly smooth and positive gearbox and exceptional brakes. Even for a short driver like myself (5' 6") it has good visibility all round and is easy to drive.

I dislike the body roll and the excessive "dive" under even moderate braking. Also, I find the front seats unsupportive both laterally and in the lumbar region. I can't relax as a passenger in the front seat because the headrest is set too far back for my head. Maybe my height plays a part but it's not a comfortable car to sit in the front of. Rear seats are much better.

It has proved very reliable over 40,000 miles of driving; I've had to replace one shock absorber, one wheel bearing and some suspension bushes during routine servicing but it has never broken down.

It is economical, returning mid 30s fuel consumption consistently whether driven day to day (including town driving) or on longer, high speed runs.

The rear seats can be removed and replaced in various configurations. There is ample storage space for odds and ends, the usual "airline" trays on the back of the seats and some hidden storage. The big drawback on storage is the boot shape: the rear wheel arches intrude very noticeably into the boot, taking away its rectangular "base" and thus making it less useful when packing boxy items (cases for holidays, for example). Despite this we've never failed to get everything we needed for long summer holidays in the car.

Overall a good car which we would seriously consider replacing with another Tino when the time comes.