Silvia is pretty — but pricey

Press, 25 October 1985, Page 14

Silvia is pretty — but pricey

“The new Silvia promises to turn heads as well as hearts.”

Having spent a few days with the Nissan Silvia coupe, an occasional fourseater powered by a 2-litre, 4-cylinder, 16-valve, double overhead camshaft engine which, with fuel injection, develops 112 kW at 6400 rpm, I know that this is one of those cars that does turn heads. I’m not so sure about the heart bit. No gaping onlookers keeled over in the street as the Silvia slid by. One surmises that the public relations individual who churned out masses of words to usher in the new completely built up imports of Nissan New Zealand Ltd, earlier this year let his heart rule his head.

The Silvia could be glibly described as the road car version of Nissan’s 240 RS rally car which now, perhaps unfortunately, is getting left behind by Peugeot, Audi, Ford and Lancia in the technological race that is the most significant feature today in the international rally scene. I must say here and now that the Silvia is the best of Nissan New Zealand’s completely built up imports that has come into my hands so far this year. It is a pretty car to look at and it is pleasant to drive. The power-assisted steering is one of the best systems I’ve ever Sampled and the gearbox has an action that is beyond reproach. The ride is choppy at city speeds and there is some rumble from the 60 series low profile tyres, but out on the open road the Silvia shows its true colours. It goes and goes, running through the corners as if on rails. It is also very responsive, if the engine happens to be turning over at more than 4000 rpm, but it voices its irritation when asked to work really hard and deliver most of the power it has to offer.

In fact, to be brutally frank, if I was in the market for a car of this nature and had shopped around, I would have to ask myself whether this particular Silvia went about its business any better than the ordin-ary-looking Toyota Corolla 1600 GT and whether the Silvia’s 2-litre engine, with all its goodies, was as smooth and responsive as the Corolla’s 1.6-litre engine with all its goodies. The answers to both question would be “no.” So I’d buy the Corolla at just on $25,000 and remain much better off, for the Silvia carried a $42,950 ticket when it was launched in June.

Although it is rather unfair to select two specific examples, I suppose by doing so it becomes easier to understand why Toyota is No. 1 car-maker in Japan and Nissan is No. 2. But don’t get me wrong. For some people there are innumerable reasons why the Silvia would look better in their garages than the Corolla GT. The Silvia is beautifully finished, most tasteful fabric being a feature of the upholstery. Everything about the cabin of this car looks good, feels good and is good. What is more, it has power-operated windows, air conditioning, and an excellent 4-speaker stereo system as part of its standard specifications. If you want that in your Corolla GT, you will whistle in .the dark or beg another $5OOO and, most likely, a lot more from your friendly bank manager. In fact, buying a Corolla GT against a Silvia is not exactly what it seems. I have described it as an occasional four-seater rather than a 2 plus 2, because fully-grown adults can enter and leave it with some decorum and when they are in the rear compartment they can take their efise with some guarantee bt comfort, at least on

shorter trips. The average 2 plus 2, such as the Nissan 300ZX, is designed to carry babes that should be in arms or legless dwarfs in its rear compartment.

Although the Silvia has its passenger-carrying limitation and the luggage boot could not be described as capacious, it could be an ideal car for comfortablyoff married couples with a couple of toddlers, or higher-salaried singles.

It is the sort of car that will keep happy those sort of folk who like to cut a dash among their peers. But that is not to say that its sporty looks don’t hold promise of more than average performance. Mechanically, this is a very well specified car. I have already mentioned the steering and gearbox. The steering — power assisted variable ratio rack-and-pi-nion — never conveys the impression that it is assisting the driver. It is always necessary to contribute more input than just turning the overly large steering wheel. Because there is more to it than that, one always knows in which direction the front wheels are pointed and how they are reacting to the car’s speed, the road conditions and the turning moment. Frankly, I would be hard pressed to name any car with a better power-assisted system. Although the gear lever position is higher and more offset than is normal in cars of this type, it takes no time to become accustomed to it. There is a five-speed box, fifth being an overdrive ratio. The lever action is silky smooth and all the ratios, including reverse, slot in without physical or mental effort. Brakes are discs all round; they are powerboosted and of the dual circuit type. At times I found them disconcerting, for there was an eerrie feeling that they were not going to work as quickly as I desired. However, in the end they did and they arrested the Silvia smoothly. The suspension — MacPherson struts, coil springs and anti-roll bar in front and semi-trailing arms, coil springs and stabiliser bar at the rear — tends to be rather harsh. It does smooth out at speed, but hit a pothole and you know all about it. This is a car that does not roll in corners, and on the straights one is not constantly correcting with the steering wheel. If you are prepared to live with a somewhat harsh ride in the city, the suspension and steering pays bonuses that are really worth while on the open road. However, the engine is noisy and harsh at speeds around and above the legal limit. That, to me, is the most disappointing feature of this Silvia. With tilt adjustable steering column and almost infinitely adjustable seating, it is not difficult to find the ideal driving position. However, the seeming hallmark of all Nissan products, blinding reflections in the windscreen, coupled with the close proximity of the rear quarter pillars, do call for excessive vigilance from the driver. This is a car that I handed back with mixed feelings. To me, it is good, but not good enough when you consider the price. Smooth out that very interesting engine, do a bit of suspension tuning and Nissan must have a winner in this Silvia, if only because its conventional front engine, rear drive will keep it in demand. Significantly, Toyota has just launched a front-drive Celica, a rather more expensive car than the Silvia, needless to say. Also, significantly, the new Celica has borrowed a wealth of (Silvia styling.