An economy car that's a lot of fun!

I have owned my 1991 Nissan NX 1600 for more than a year now. During that time I've grown to like it a lot, and learned to live with some of its quirks. Here's the supremely unbiased review of what's good and what's bad about this car.

This car is cheap to own and operate. It is great on gas, routinely getting fuel economy of 10 liters per 100 kilometers, or better. Maintenance is your basic oil-and-filter treatments every now and again. Apart from that, if you don't abuse it, it will last.

The interior is not flashy, but extremely functional. My car has a fancy digital dash with a tachometer and a speedo that can work both in kilometers per hour and in mph. The dash also houses a clock, temperature and fuel gauges, odometer, trip meter and a variety of idiot lights. Everything works very well, but the speedo may be hard to see in very bright sunlight.

Seats in front are a love-it-or-hate-it affair. I happen to love them. They are deep bucket seats that almost force you into a semi-reclined position. I have taken the car on several long non-stop trips and never had any discomfort issues.

The back seats are a different story, however. While technically they do exist, inflicting them on anyone for more than 15 minutes should be considered a crime. Certainly no adult can take it for more than half an hour.

Trunk space is rather limited, but you can fold back the rear seat, almost doubling your load capacity. It is adequate for all the shopping you may ever be inclined to do. I, for one, have used the car to carry everything from long Christmas trees to bicycles to hardwood flooring, and never had any problem.

On the other hand, the hatch you have to open to get to the trunk is one giant design problem. It doesn't have a decent grab handle, so opening it is quite hard, especially in the winter. As if that wasn't enough, the lid under the hatch is quite flimsy, and all the hardware that is meant to lift it is made of cheap plastic. As a result, it all breaks very easily. The previous owner of the car had to fix some of it, and I've been having constant troubles as well.

As for the engine, one should never forget that underneath that sexy body hides a Nissan Centra, an economy car at heart. While the engine provides decent power for every day driving, nothing dramatic happens when you decide to "floor it". The car gently glides forward, but no exhilarating acceleration is forthcoming; rather, you have just enough to merge on the highway.