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Meet Ireland’s cheapest car

Tuesday, 02 March 2010

EVERY time my work colleagues see me in a new car their first comment is something along the lines of ‘nice motor, how much is it?’ Last week when people asked me about the Nissan Pixo I was driving I said it was the cheapest car in Ireland. Yes it’s true, the neat little Pixo is Ireland’s cheapest car at e9,995. To keep up with other car companies, who are offering extra scrappage deals, Nissan say they will now add e1,000 to the Government ‘scrappage deal’ of e1,500 so you could get a Pixo for e7,355. The Pixo may be cheap and cheerful, but it’s a decent motor. First off I liked the four doors - my family always whinge when I bring home a two-door car. It shares the same platform as the Suzuki Alto and both cars are built in India. Externally the front of the Pixo has the distinctive new Nissan look to it and if my memory serves me right I think it’s a bit quieter than the Alto was. At the rear is a new logo ‘Puredrive.’ Nissan will in future use this logo on all of its cars that have a CO2 rating of less than 140g/km. Inside there is just about enough room for four adults or two adults and three children in the back. There are plenty of nooks to hold pens, drinks, coins etc, but no proper glove box, i.e. one that closes. The centre of the dash is raised and that’s where you will find the radio controls. Naturally the boot is very small and no surprise that the spare wheel is only a ‘mini’ one. However, if you don’t have back seat passengers you can leave down the back seat and that will allow you to carry a decent load. The rear or fifth door has to be opened with the ignition key, which is a bit annoying.  Having once broken a key doing this, it seems a pity that there is not a boot release inside the cabin. I didn’t make any long journeys in the Pixo so I can’t say what it would be like on a drive from say Dublin to Kerry. I suppose this car would be ideal for a first time drivers or it could be used as a second family car for transporting young children to school, their weekend games or music lessons. At such a bargain price you are not going to get the comfort you would in more expensive motors. But then you can’t have it every way; this is a cheap no frills motor. It’s also available in automatic, but I couldn’t see much demand for automatic in a car this small. You can get over 60 miles to the gallon from the 1.0 litre Pixo and C02 emission are 103g/km, which equates to annual road tax of only e104.  I like the line from Nissan, who say that their Pixo is ‘a car for the times we are living in.’ With many people struggling to find employment, money is tight right now in a country where they only mention of a Tiger relates to the Chinese New Year. Often with a second hand car you may be worried that you are buying somebody else’s problems. A new car offers security and peace of mind. And a new, cheap car, like the Pixo offers drivers the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Nissan, a brand that has a very good reputation.