At the Blackburn Nissan Dealership, Dealer Principal Andrew Liddicoat is passionate about cars and service.

Burwood Nissan, one of the top 10 Nissan dealerships in Australia, take pride in quality and exceptional service.

I was invited by Andrew, Jeremy and Theo from their showrooms in Burwood to test drive some of their popular models.

Micra

The Micra is a great little car, sporting a 1.4 litre, 72 Killowatt engine with a four speed auto, power steering and good brakes. It is effortless to drive.

It is an ideal first car for young people or a great town car for the seniors.

It has lots of safety equipment including ABS, dual airbags and brake assistance.

It has a high roof line, comfortable seating, good all-round visibility and it’s easy to park.

The fuel injected motor had no trouble moving off the line at the lights, or matching traffic speed with ease. It is not a car that you would drive aggressively, but it has a lot of zippy get-up-n-go.

At peak performance it does emit excessive road noise into the cabin and suffers from a little under steer when cornering.

What is very useful, is the simple, easy to read, instrumentation, high seating position accessing, an easy entry/exit and the rear hatch’s low lip line for easy loading/unloading of shopping bags.

Stacked with a host of luxuries such as power windows, air conditioning, radio CD player cloth seats, a retractable driver’s armrest, lots of pockets and cup holders, the Micra is an economical (avg. city/country, 6.8 litres /100km) small car, big on features and safety.

Maxima 350 TI

A top of the range Nissan flagship with the works in safety and luxury appointments. With electric two way sunroof, electric seats, reversing camera and sensors, and leather interior it almost feels like the more expensive German marques.

Keyless entry, a push button start and the whole 185 killowatt 3.5 litre V6 engine comes to life and with the latest Xtronic gearbox it is almost seamless changing under acceleration.

Easy automatic driving with variable ratio power steering, but when using the sequential manual six speed mode and foot flat to the board it doesn’t skip a beat even when coming down in gears approaching a corner.

The Maxima 350 TI is no slouch. It delivers all the power to the road and is very quick with an angry induction growl. It has an excellent road holding manner and very efficient four wheel disc brakes.

Also impressive is the easy to use factory satellite navigation system and clear instrumentation making the driver feel in control at all times.

The Bose 5.1 surround sound system with MP3 capability, six CD changer and 11 speakers is  simply heaven.

Fuel economy is around 10.2 litres/100 km city/country cycle which is great for the size of car.

If you are in the market for a luxury vehicle with style and lots of poke, then test drive this machine.

370Z

Let the clutch out punch it into first and mash the accelerator down!

The howl of the engine engulfs me and the led gear change light is winking at me to reach for second, as the 370Z utilises every gram of its 245killowatts on tap.

The 370Z is a super two-seater sports car and is one that can give any of the garden variety German and Italian sports cars a real run for their money.

It is quick, raunchy, and a little harsh on the ride, but it hits the sweet spot.

This is an enthusiasts’ car, from its six speed manual gearbox to its superb handling, steering and braking.

The 370Z is tightlyt packed with the latest satellite navigation equipment, wiz-bang electronics, safety gear, leather interior and stunning looks it is a real head turner.

Another good thing about it is that it is also available in seven speed auto with sequential manual override.

Unfortunately I could not test that version, as it was not available at the time.

By the time I gave the electronic key back to the dealer I had a Cheshire Cat smile across my face. This was definitely pure pleasure.

Now, where can I get my grubby mitts on its bigger, punchier brother, the new 353Kw GTR?