Previous r3mR owner 2008 to Aug 2013
I rate them as a drive but I am not an off roader or caravaner on the plus side they have rack & pinion steering so its more precise than you would expect. The coil spring suspension all round I think is great. I bought it to go fishing in as a third vehicle it quickly became the chariot of choice for holidays in the UK and the wife left me using our MIni most of the time.
Do not expect big mpg mine did 19-21 between winter and summer with 25 mpg on a run.
I found the Insurance a shock as Saga would not cover me and I had just renewed with them on my Merc 300 TE 4-matic when the suspension gave out. The NFU were the best for me last years premium was £343 fully comp for myself & spouse with 4 years NCB.
Things to look out for are the rear suspension bushes in the short arms that hold the axle in place and the long arms that form the rear suspension. All 8 bushes are the same size etc. I used Polybushes in the short arms but had to use genuine Nissan ones in the long arms. You can probably buy some rubber type from the likes of Blueprint.
If the short arm bushes are worn its very hard to see the wear or to find it at MoT time. You know its there because if you drive at 70 mph and power on then off the vehicle rear end feels as though its going to let go and you get a mini tail wag.
In rain and winter I used the 4WD mode it was much more stable and had little effect on mpg. My wife was the main driver and she loved it, she was sad to see it go but it needed the front wings replacing and a set of tyres and I decided to spend that money on changing to our Santa Fe.
Only mechanical / engine related failure was the alternator rectifier burnt out. It had been repaired by previous owner and wrong pack was fitted. Had a set of glo plugs and thats pretty much it. I changed the oil & filter every 6k and the ATF each year using Fuchs Titan 4000. Everything on it still worked when I sold it, folding mirrors, aircon, electric windows rear wipers etc.
They do not have much underbody protection on them when they are imported from Japan so its worth checking if anyone has given it some waxoyl or similar.
If I could have found a 2002 plate with 50k on the clock I would have had another it will be a hard act to follow!
