Nissan 200 SX Turbo S13 Review

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Nissan 200 SX Turbo S13
4.1 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4.1 out of 5

From 22 ratings and 29 reviews

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Andy R Kent's Review of Nissan 200 SX Turbo S13

2nd Nov 2004

Overall Rating

4.5 stars
  • Value for money
    4.5 stars
  • Length of ownership
    3 Years
  • Practicality
    3.5 stars
  • Year Manufactured
    1989
  • Performance
    4.5 stars
  • Reliability
    5 stars
Good Points

Fast, thrilling, sporty looking rear-drive coupe


Bad Points

Thirst, bland and quick to wear interior


General Comments

I've owned two manual Nissan 200 SX Turbo S13 Sports Cars and agree that power for buck, there's no comparison. I travelled approximately 40,000 miles between them.

I had a ball of a time wasting my Bridgestones on a track day. Talk about adrenaline rush, flat out power slides on the corners and through the chicane, I learnt more about that car's control in a day than a year of road use. The steering is quick but because the power steering is too light it makes reading the road surface a little difficult. Communication through the chassis is good, despite a forgiving and compromisingly comfortable ride.

When I had mastered the car, I could take on most challengers, the most enjoyable being a hack down to the south coast in the breaking dawn hours of the summer with an Elise to compete with.

I carried out a couple of mods, better brakes and wider/lower profile tyres (standard wheels) as recommended by Peter Rosenberg of Silvia Engineering. The thought of uprating the engine's power tempted me, and it is fairly cheap to do so provided the engine is in good nick.

I serviced the cars myself, getting a friendly local mechanic to do important jobs such as a cambelt change. Both cars were reliable, turbo gaskets, a faulty wiper motor and window lift the only real headaches in three years of ownership.

I think Nissan made a mistake with the next generation (S14) in giving it a boot rather than a hatchback design. I am a cyclist and the S13 took two bikes with the back seats folded. At the end of a hard day's cycling I would always look forward to the drive home in my 200sx.

I own an 89 mark one MR2 now, whilst missing the practicality of the hatch, I now have a car that out handles the SX and returns 40 mpg rather than 25. Pity about the bike. And yes, I do stand closer to the urinals Mr Clarkson!

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