The Peugeot 307 CC Is French And Stylish
There are no doubt in that Nissan Figaro is a characteristic classic luxury with style and elegance, however it has a look of great old styled cars. Nissan Figaro has a turbocharged 987cc Micra K10 engine putting out 74bhp, but is fed through a 3-speed auto box so performance isn’t a strong point. There is a range of light colours: Baby Blue, Mint Green, Topaz (Beige) and Lapis Grey. The four colours represent the seasons of the year. Blue=summer, Green=spring, Topaz=autumn and Lapis Grey=winter. Although some have been re-painted; pink and black seem to be the most popular choice. Hand operated canvas roof and glass rear window goes down all the way to back waist level. The Nissan Figaro has really nice retro looking interior.
It has white plastic knobs and steering wheel rim, which you can find partly re-incarnated in new Micra. The Figaro has been a popular choice with celeb owners like Jayne Ross and Vanessa Feltz. It is normally equipped with CD player and air-con. The Figaro’s were never sold in UK so all are imports, so early history is impossible to check unless you can read Japanese. It is based on Micra Mk 1 underpinnings which are not ideal as that makes for stiff suspension. Only 20,000 were ever built so it’s a rare car to have. Make sure you find someone to look after it. Originally demand was so high that they were sold by lottery. Having said that, don’t pay too much for it as in 90’s the prices were about GBP7k to GBP10k.
By October 2007 you can get your hands on a good one for around GBP4,500 at auction. Any damage especially to the unique switch gear is very hard to repair and it is very difficult to obtain replacement parts for it. The main fault with the Figaro is timing belt failure which can lead to fuel pump diaphragm failure. That can cause petrol making its way to the sump and causing and engine fire. These cars are now at least 20 years old and were built to last the standard Japanese 7 years. Many of them have started to rust and that is visible around the rear wheel arches. The Figaro is a small convertible based on the Nissan Micra. They were made in 1991 so you won’t find a new one these days.
Don’t be disappointed and a quick search of the classifieds shows lots for sale around the country, usually ranging from GBP3,000-GBP10,000. Its retro styling and limited production have kept used values high even after 20 years. This makes Figaro not a good resale asset. No doubt that the Figaro is an extraordinary vehicle from the MK1 Micra line up that gives the looks of 1950s models. The MK1 engine is a 1 litre unit that has a power unit of 987cc from Micra line up with the 74bhp of power and exclusively three speeds gearbox with automatic configurations that delivers well but isn’t a strong point on this vehicle, however it eventually accelerates from 0 to 62 miles per hour.
