2006 Nissan Tiida - 13th June 2006
Photography by Narend Sooknarine and Duane Boodasingh
Article by Duane Boodasingh

Neal & Massy Motors launches the all new Nissan Tiida.

With a simultaneous product launch at both their Morvant and San Fernando showrooms, Neal & Massy Motors introduced Trinidad & Tobago to the all new Nissan Tiida.

"This (Tiida) compact sedan is the first of the new line up of vehicles that are going to be introduced by Nissan within the next two years. Nissan intends to add more value to its vehicles and increase its brand equity in the Nissan Value Up period of its business plan. The Tiida is the first model to be released as an emblem of this Value Up phase - The Tiida is meant to SHIFT_ expectations!" - Sales brochure

At first glance the Tiida is different, and I can see many consumers having issues with some of the radical lines and angles of this car. I could not get over how much the hatchback reminded my of a Peugeot 307, especially the rear quarter and hatch itself. There is no discounting the level of design put into the Tiida though, which usually warrants models higher in the range, but this is probably the first hint of what Nissan mentioned as Value Up.

The hatchback model, in my opinion is a better looker than the sedan and will definitely appeal to a younger, more energetic crowd. I can be sure many car buffs are already conceptualising ways of customising this into a hot hatch, with over sized wheels, lowered stance and lots of in-car entertainment gadgets. There is alot of room for it too. Neal & Massy sales staff claim the cabin space in the Tiida is the same as that of the new Cefiro! The trunk is a huge 289 litres in capicity for the sedan and the rear leg room of the Tiida is 650mm as compared to 526mm of the current Almera. Add this to the fact that you can slide the rear seat forward in the hatch and you have alot of space for your speaker boxes! I had to stretch from the driver's seat to reach the door handle of the passenger seat. It is unusually roomy for a presumably small car.

On to the business end of the car, the new all aluminum HR16DE 1600cc, 4 cylinder, engine is standard in both sedan and hatchback models. This engine was co-developed by Nissan with Renault and sports what Nissan calls CVTC (Continuously Variable-valve Timing Control), this provides more mid range torque to the 110bhp inline 4. Now while Neal & Massy claims they are not bringing any 1.8 models with the MR18DE, I am sure a special order can be arranged. There is an option for e4WD and for a 5 and 6 speed manual gearbox. However almost all the Tiidas brought to T&T will be FWD and carry a 4 speed automatic tranny on the 1300kg compact.

One of the most interesting features of the new HR16DE is its orientation in the engine bay, front intake/rear exhaust type. Setting the exhaust manifold to the back allows for easier exhaust gas flow and less heat in the engine compartment. It also allows the intake manifold to enjoy cooler, more dense air up front and to add to this the developers have wrapped the intake manifold up over the valve cover thereby increasing its exterior surface area allowing even more cooling, akin to an intercooler, but after the throttle body.

The suspension is nothing new, with a strut suspension system used at the front, and an H-shaped torsion beam suspension adopted at the rear. Interestingly though the suspension strut system incorporates internal rebound springs and ripple-control shock absorbers, this makes the ride noticeably smoother than similar setups and offers less body roll for a car that stands pretty high off the ground in stock form. The Tiida's name was coined from the English word 'tide', referring to the ebb and flow of the ocean, I can't say the ride is like floating on water, but it is good enough.

After all this I really have to come back to the interior as this is really where the Tiida shines, from the roomy cabin to the padded arm-rests. Infact every part of the car that your body may come in contact with while sitting is padded, even the steering column cover! There is an option for brushed silver or woodgrain trim, however I personally feel that wood has no business being anywhere in a modern car. There is alot of fine stitching usually reserved for more expensive models in the interior and again this is probably another example of Nissan's Value Up initiative.

At a base price of around TT$129,000.00, TT$140,000.00 fully loaded, this compact sedan is set to replace the higher end SG-L Almera and is planned as the next 'big seller' for N&M Motors in the coming years.