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Going Japanese

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 10:27 pm
by Stealth
Almost 12 month MOT
Almost 6 months TAX
40.000 mls
50 mls to a gallon
£275
£375 with the 2 new Conti's
Image

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 10:43 pm
by griffo20022
Awesome 8) I like these personally, aswell as the shape after these (jellymould shape) Cool purchase dude!

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 11:06 pm
by Speedy88
They look awesome on rusty 10" wellas :)

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 04 Jul 2010 11:06 pm
by RobT_75
A years motoring on the cheap, always a winner :) Looks like an always garaged, elderly owner type of car as is in tidy condition.

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 03:31 am
by jtbo
Car of the ultimate horror (should I add battle to that, they seem to do lot of that in Japanese shows).

K10, that is synonym of unpredictable driver that has no idea about speed or where abouts his/her car is going on road, only machine that I'm truly afraid to see on road here, luckily most of those start to be rotten away here.

It is probably not bad car for what it is, bit sensitive to wind perhaps, but mechanically very solid, does not try to be what it is not, quite ok space for it's size, very cheap motoring, those are reasons why elderly people have been using it here and why I'm terrified by such car, I instinctively try to see escape route immediately when I see one, even in pic :lol:

Just remember not to test how fast it will take corners, it is not too good for that, it is actually bit dangerous in that as thing has no any balance and suspension is not designed for good grip, but more of comfort in mind at low speeds. It is quite easy to flip and there is not much of anything predictable in it's handling when trying to do some spirited driving, it is just not made for that, also as crash safety is probably worse than in 300, it is perhaps best try to avoid getting into accident.

Finns test it for you, so you don't have to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs01G4b9QO0

Driver says "It was not supposed to go like that" :roll:

I think it is great buy and saves lot of cash for some more interesting things, like 300 etc. When driven gently it is not much different in fuel consumption than motorcycle of similar size engine, only difference is that you don't get wet and you don't need to dream winning any traffic light races :mrgreen:

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 10:25 am
by macplaxton
Well the K10 isn't too grim, but it doesn't float my boat and I can think of better things to spend the money on.
jtbo wrote:Car of the ultimate horror (should I add battle to that, they seem to do lot of that in Japanese shows).

K11 that is synonym of unpredictable driver that has no idea about speed or where abouts his/her car is going on road, only machine that I'm truly afraid to see on road here, luckily most of those start to be rotten away here.
The March/Micra is an international warning sign of a "crap driver on board".
jtbo wrote:It is probably not bad car for what it is, bit sensitive to wind perhaps, but mechanically very solid, does not try to be what it is not, quite ok space for it's size, very cheap motoring, those are reasons why elderly people have been using it here and why I'm terrified by such car, I instinctively try to see escape route immediately when I see one, even in pic :lol:
My experience of the K11 stretches as far as 72 hours as a breakdown courtesy car. Given one 1997 facelift K11 1.0L 5dr CVT - 112 miles on clock. Returned 72 hours later with around 1900 miles on it. :P Very nippy all things considered (it did manage to top the ton down a hill shortly after collection :mrgreen: ), but...
jtbo wrote:Just remember not to test how fast it will take corners,
Very, very true. Almost stuck same said car into a hedge down near Basingstoke trying to hustle the car at speed down a twisty B road.
jtbo wrote:and you don't need to dream winning any traffic light races :mrgreen:
The CVT K11 was a winner in the central London traffic light races. :wink:

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 10:47 am
by SteveP
My cousin had two of these about 15 years ago, always rated them highly!

My Mum has a 2001 K11 1.0 (to be fair her requirements of a car are reliable and cheap to run, and it certainly meets that!)... it's a great little city car and never goes wrong, done 90k miles and still drives like new, faster than a 340 1.4, sips fuel and has a good gearchange :)

I've always wondered if an SR20 out of a Primera would fit in one :idea: :lol:

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 10:53 am
by jtbo
macplaxton wrote: The CVT K11 was a winner in the central London traffic light races. :wink:
Ah, but that was only because others really did not race, just cruised with part throttle and missed the lights every time :mrgreen:

But it is nippy to somewhere around 60kph perhaps, if I recall correctly there was quite clear point where it transits to sluggish performance area, must be gear ratios or something. I have driven thing just once and back then it was not too old then, driving did happen on private roads of one relative's farm area, few times I had to be passenger of such thing on main road, it was even more scary as driver was a middle age woman (missus of said relative), that was scared of driving, so when lorry came by from opposite direction and caused thing to shake, she veered towards middle of road and braked rather heavily, of course never watched mirrors, that might have something to do with my phobia of K10's too.

I wonder why they never imported K cars from japan? 600cc turbo engine, smaller than K10, some quite fun machines in those too, maybe we don't fit in to those things? Anyway for city driving, smaller is often better.

Hey, I mixed numbers again, when I say K11 I mean K10, must fix those, damn my head is bad, but no wonder, wind blows trough it all the time :lol:
Anyway, all they changed was interior and surface sheet metal + lights, probably not much else, same 'features' apply :D

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 01:36 pm
by Chris_C
My Nan had a K10 slushbox that I borrowed a few times, I was surprised by it. I'm pretty certain the randomness is down to the owners rather than the cars, though I do agree a micra is normally the one car I avoid whilst driving if I can ;) Certainly seemed to like playing in the corners

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 06:08 pm
by Edcase 300
by jtbo :lol:
...synonym of unpredictable driver that has no idea about speed or where abouts his/her car is going on road, only machine that I'm truly afraid to see on road here, luckily most of those start to be rotten away here.

It is probably not bad car for what it is, bit sensitive to wind perhaps, but mechanically very solid, does not try to be what it is not, quite ok space for it's size, very cheap motoring, those are reasons why elderly people have been using it here and why I'm terrified by such car...
... you dude the above sounds just like something one of my dad's friends likes to bring up at the table just to tease me about the 360..lolz :lol: Ive heard the above said in books too-i dont think the 300 ever desrved such treatment though (would say that though) :roll:

(edit) mind you some crazy old b... :P did decided to crash into my mums mondeo's door (ofcourse it was a write-off due to street value bollox)...i hasten to add that it was in a bigger uglier 07 plate new micra thingy mmm :roll:

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 08:16 pm
by nvdw
A K10 is classified as 'autoshite' in my book so yes, I do like it. What I like even more is that it appears to be poverty spec seeing that it hasn't got a rear wiper.

But to jtbo's defense I must add that when I was a lad, I didn't like it either. One of the girls next door bought a maroon one once she got her licence and even then I asked myself why in the name of all that's holy someone would buy a Micra as a car to start off with. That's when I was introduced into the world of running costs, reliability, insurance, and how a starter was basically sentenced to a Micra or something else ending in "1.0". Never did owning a car seem so grim, being a 12 year old or whatever age I was back then. It probably explains why I ended up with my 340, the most unreliable and ungrateful car I have ever owned :lol:

And yes Stealth, I too have verbally abused your car indirectly so sorry for that. You bought a good one as far as I can make out from the pic and stats.

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 09:30 pm
by Edcase 300
Its not a bad car-its does what it says :) You could do MUCH worse trust me - i share a Citreon AX 1.0i (nippy & economical= Yes...BUT unsafe & flimsy & idiotic controls & unrefined to the extreme etc) -When (360 vs AX 1.0i) Ive got used to the relative niceness of the 360 (dont miss its fuel economy lolz). Wouldnt mind a Micra like yours though-looks proper sound mate :)

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 05 Jul 2010 09:40 pm
by Stealth
Only the week after I got it my son and I went down to Exeter (from south Manchester) and back in the same day, glad I invested in the two Conti's on the front.
(we went in the Micra because Sean had an interview and did not want the stress of driving + his front pipe is blowing on his Saxo VTR)
A nice steady 60mph and plenty MPG :P ran like a new car, yes the shocks are soft but thats not too bad on the crap roads.

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 06 Jul 2010 11:49 am
by jtbo
Well I think K10 is very good learner car, big windows, very easy to find out where corners are as it is more or less box on wheels, controls are very easy to use, it will hardly ever notice any abuse one throws at it and it is simple and easy to maintain, also very cheap to run.

Only issue is rust I think, it is so basic vehicle that there simply is not much of anything that even could fail, but rust free car that has got often good vaxoil treatment, it surely is care free cheap traveling from point a to point b, that is what car was made for and it does that without trouble, it does not make majority of K10 drivers any better though and it will not make it to be great trackday car :lol:

Here is one local middle aged lady that drives one, she parks it in stupid places, like into intersection, where she gets into bus then, I will probably never understand logic behind her actions, well can any man ever understand logic behind any woman? Anyway that K10 you bought is as good sample as her's, there are some of those which are almost like new ones, cars like that are good buys, no matter if they are Allegros :mrgreen:

Re: Going Japanese

Posted: 06 Jul 2010 12:28 pm
by macplaxton
jtbo wrote:cars like that are good buys, no matter if they are Allegros :mrgreen:
sm59