Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) are not things people usually think about when buying a car, but they can certainly become an annoyance after the purchase of a vehicle.
NVH is exactly what the term implies and when manufacturers don’t pay attention to reducing it, their cars usually exhibit a great deal of road noise and other little annoyances that can cause a fair deal of discomfort.
When Nissan was developing its new Tiida (pronounced ‘tee-da”) range, NVH was among the technical issues it wanted to improve on.
During the launch recently in the Eastern Cape, terms such as thickened side-glass, double door seals and sound-absorption insulation popped up often during the technical presentation.
And, of course, when we were driving the car, we could determine whether the focus to reduce NVH had paid off and, yes, it did because both the hatch and the sedan are exceedingly quiet vehicles in its class.
Nissan has never had proper representation in the passenger vehicle market, except for the Almera, which, while being a capable car, was never going to inspire mountains of faith in the brand.
Enter the Tiida (which means ‘dawn of a new day” in Japanese) to replace the Almera and to hopefully gain significant ground in the C-segment of passenger vehicles, which accounts for about 25% of vehicle sales in South Africa.
Produced in Nissan’s Rosslyn plant, outside Pretoria, the Tiida hatch and sedan come in three different specifications with either a 1,6-litre or 1,8-litre petrol engine in manual and automatic.
Safety features include ABS and a driver’s airbag across the range, with top-of-the-range vehicles benefiting from EBD with brake assist and three more airbags.
Among the standard specifications are power steering, air conditioning and electric windows.
The Tiida doesn’t have a look that sets it apart from other cars in this segment. However, what does set it apart from other small vehicles is the interior space, especially the generous head room.
The interior fit and finishings are neat and tidy and the inset speedometer and rev counter give the dash a much-needed lift.
On the road, both the hatch and sedan felt comfortable enough, though the steering felt too light and the handling was also a bit iffy.
I found the 1,6-litre hatch quite energetic with it’s 80kW of power and 153Nm of torque. In fact, so powerful, I managed to get a speeding fine in Plettenberg Bay.
I was pulled off the road by a traffic cop and I initially didn’t understand what was going on, probably because the cop growled at me in what sounded like Afrikaans. I felt like saying ‘aikona,” and driving off because I didn’t like that he assumed I understood Afrikaans because I don’t.
I got out of the car and when I asked what was going on, he spoke to me in English and none of my pathetic excuses (‘really, was I going that fast, no way! This car is too small to go that fast. Aww come on, there aren’t even any signs indicating what the speed is here”), worked, so I accepted the fine and had to make a conscious effort to restrain the little Tiida.
The transmission was smooth enough and the suspension, which features McPherson struts at the front and back, made long-distance stretches reasonably enjoyable.
Ultimately, the Tiida is a car that offers good value as it’s priced from R128 600 to R177 700 and while it has great interior space and is a decently put together car, there’s nothing about it that stands out as being terribly exceptional.