Back in around 2008, I found myself needing a second car. Money was tight, as I’d spent several years as a motoring journalist, which means exchanging high wages for the chance to play with gorgeous cars and motorcycles at work. So when a former colleague of mine offered me a modified convertible for a few hundred quid, I jumped right in.
The mighty Nissan 100NX
Until that point, I’d spent years in cars donated by various family members, including a Fiesta (crashed), Volvo 340 (self-destructed after years of abuse), and a Nissan Micra which ended up included in a bizarre swap deal resulting in a Fiat Panda ending up in my possession.
So it might have been the excitement of finally being able to choose a car which blinded me to certain warning signs. The first being that the 100NX was previously owned by a member of the Max Power team, and had cropped up occasionally in the magazine. Which meant it had great aftermarket wheels, seats and exhaust, plus a new paintjob and bodykit. But it was all done over the rust and corrosion for which the NX was known.
But still, it had a T-bar roof, a very loud exhaust, and sounded about 20 miles an hour quicker than it actually was. And when it was actually running and bits didn’t fall off, I loved it.
And that was despite the fact the 100NX has regularly cropped up on lists of the ugliest cars, the worst cars etc.
The main reason is the engine. From 91-93 you had a carb version producing just 95bhp when new, and 93-95 gave you the 105bhp fuel injected version. Essentially you had the performance of a 1.6 Nissan Sunny. (If you fancy a decent engine, the rare Japanese market 2.0 is the one to go for). But the standard UK version gave you 121mph.
Plus it had an unhappy tendency to collect rainwater and turn to rust in seconds. Particularly good was the tendency for the rear suspension struts to arrive uninvited through the floor of the boot if left unchecked.
After about 18 months, I switched jobs and spent my weekdays commuting to London by train, and I also became a father, which meant my disposable income was further reduced. So when an MOT failure required welding and a new catalytic converter, I spent about 12 months with it on my driveway, convinced I’d eventually manage a full rebuild. At which point someone wandered past, asked if it was for sale, and reappeared a few days later with it running, and apparently MOT’d.
Despite the fact everything had rusted, it creaked when cornering, the performance was slow, there was no place to store the roof panels when they weren’t actually in the roof, and all the other issues of running what was a 15-year-old car – I kind of miss it!
If you do end up tempted by a Nissan 100NX, they’re dirt cheap to buy still, and there’s a lot of information, help and guidance from the 100NXC forums.
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