1997 Nissan Almera GTi review from UK and Ireland

Nothing.

Wow, the first bad review of the Almera GTI.

This was possibly the worst car I've ever owned.

Nothing major went wrong with the car in the time I owned it, in fact the only thing I ever bought for it was a new tyre because a previous owner had put a dodgy remould on.

However, the annoying traits of this car made it such a pain to own.

The gearbox was very stiff, especially from cold, making it a pain to engage a gear. Fifth gear was hard to select no matter how long the car had been running.

The clutch was far too sensitive, leading to the 'kangarooing' effect as I call it whenever changing gear.

There was an annoying 'click' every time the clutch was dipped.

In the short time I owned the car, the front tyre wear was ballistic.

Insurance is too high for a car of its appearance and ability. I've driven cars that look / handle and perform better than this car that are in group 7 as opposed to 14...

The seating position is absolutely rubbish as there is not enough control over the driver's seat position.

Absolutely unbelievable fuel consumption: the worst I got was 190 miles on 30 pounds' worth of petrol.

Unless you were driving fast, it felt like it was knackered...

Disastrous fitting of the original Nissan bodykit.

Other road users looking at you with pity; you can imagine them saying "poor b*****d, he's got an Almera"

I seemed to be forever defending my Almera among people who laugh at them and think they're crap...!!! But they didn't listen, and though they were rubbish.

All of the above are common Almera traits according to the Almera Owners' Club.

Terrible secondhand values. These are rare cars' because they actually go for under book because no one wants them. It took me ages to sell mine. And it was a two owner, FSH, 49K mint example..

Apart from that it was a reliable car and reasonably quick, but don't let people fool you, this is not the quickest 2.0 16v out there by a long, long way, and it's also not the best handling despite the strut braces...

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not an Almera-hater. When I see a GTI on the road I still have fond memories... but I'm glad you're driving it and not me!!!