One month of ownership

[Fishbone]

Well one month has passed on my "new" (to me! *L*) Nubira and I gotta say I AM pleasantly surprised with this little car! It's a 2000 SX model, 5-speed, with about 30k miles on the clock. Not a lot of miles, but it is 4+ years old and even so, amazingly, the car is STILL squeak and rattle free! Plus I gotta say I like all the little touches they've put into this car - niceties I haven't seen in this class in other models I've owned. By that I mean relatively inexpensive small cars designed for basic transportation. Don't mean to insult anyone's sensibilities with that statement - just my own way of describing this car's mission in life for me. Some of those little "extras" that I didn't expect to find, but am glad they're there:

- height adjustable seat belt anchors
- eight way adjustable drivers seat
- multi speed adjustable intermittant wipers
- cargo niches in the truck with hold down straps for wiper fluid, oil, etc.
- power adjustable AND heated outside mirrors
- tilt steering
- fold down rear seat
- chrome exhaust tip

I'm sure there are others that I'm leaving out, but again just as a general observation, this car has a lot of stuff that other cars I've owned in this market segment just didn't have. And this is stuff that I believe came standard on the car, NOT options (like the power accessories and A/C that mine also has).

The car, while no corner carver, does ride real nice at least - a good thing with the state of our roads. And while not a powerhouse in the engine department, as long as you're willing to row the gears, it can move along pretty good.

Just a couple small nits to pick - while not bad, gas mileage has been a bit less than I expected for such a small car with only a 2.0L engine and a 5-speed. And the electric door locks drive me nuts since you can only lock the doors from the outside with the key - can't just hit the lock button from inside and hop out. The car also has a odd feeling tip in to the gas pedal, and revs hang a bit too much between gears but I'm getting used to that now I guess.

That's it - nice car that again has more than met expectations

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

And the electric door locks drive me nuts since you can only lock the doors from the outside with the key - can't just hit the lock button from inside and hop out.

That is specifically so you can not lock your keys inside your car.
I am VERY glad my car has that feature. My last car had the keys locked inside so aften, I had a long wire with a hook on the end to open my car kept inside my locker at work and one at my house. I used to have a magnetic key holder under the bumber, but it broke & the key fell out somewhere on the road.

The car also has a odd feeling tip in to the gas pedal, and revs hang a bit too much between gears but I'm getting used to that now I guess.

That is caused by a heavy flywheel. Taking it to a machine shop to have it lightened & balanced will make a big dofferance to how that feels.
The heavy fly wheel causing the slow spin-down is something I didn't like when I test drove a Kia Spectra 5 speed.


Cliff

[Fishbone]

*L*...I can kinda see your point on the locks - haven't had that problem myself in previous cars though

Thanks for the info on the flywheel, that'd explain it. No biggie, just feels different - will look into it when/if the clutch needs replacing at some point down the road.