2006 Nissan Primera SX 1.8

Summary:

Value for money is simply unbeatable

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This is the 3rd Primera (2nd P12) I have owned (the 1st P12 was written off when I was rear shunted at high speed whilst stationary) and I would not buy any other car; they simply tick all of the boxes in terms of reliability, economy, practicality, comfort, space, etc, etc.

The car returns me on average 40-42 MPG (has never recorded less than 38 MPG) and this figure increases to 45-47 MPG on motorway runs with one full service (oil change/filter, brake check, etc) per year at the usual cost of around £120, so I have no complaints.

Would I buy another? I don't buy anything else.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th April, 2017

2006 Nissan Primera Flare 1.8

Summary:

Wish I'd never bought it

Faults:

Replaced air filter and had to perform an ECU re-learn procedure as the car started "revving" at the lights and jerking on acceleration.

Replaced rear engine mount.

Required new clutch at 34000 miles!

Required all discs and pads replacing (discs width below minimum wear limit) at 41000 miles!

General Comments:

I bought this car on the basis of previous Nissan experience, however I have been seriously disappointed.

The Flare variant gives you electric windows all round, alloys & cruise control.

The drivers side window is supposed to have auto up/down, but seems to have a mind of it's own.

The electric windows don't seem to have "object detect" which my previous car did - this has led to one of my children trapping their fingers.

The car looks big and solid from the outside, but on the inside the ride is very harsh, and the room, particularly in the back, is quite sparse, which means our 3 kids are cramped.

The doors lack rubbing strips, which leads to marks when left parked anywhere, and the metalwork appears to be so thin that you can push the boot lid in just by trying to shut it.

Acceleration from the 1.8 litre petrol engine is OK, but the only way to accelerate quickly is to run the revs up to the red line - obviously doing this takes its toll on fuel economy, which isn't exactly stunning to start with!

Fuel consumption seems to average around 34 Mpg - The highest I've ever achieved is 42.6 on a long run driving about 60Mph and the lowest was around town at 27 Mpg.

I replaced the clutch at 34000 miles, £120 DIY or £390+ at the main stealer - I thought both prices were outrageous.

All in all, I wish I'd never bought the car, but it's depreciated so much in the 9 months I've had it that I now can't afford to get rid of it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th August, 2009

2006 Nissan Primera SVE 1.6

Summary:

Reliable, but not inspiring to drive

Faults:

Nothing so far working very well although there is a funny rattling type soung under medium to hard acceleration coming from engine bay.

General Comments:

Good comfortable car with plenty of toys mine has all the usual bit sat nav, leather seats so for the money compared to similar spec cars in this range is very good. One point though is that the 1.6 petrol engine is seriously underpowered, so is the 1.8 I've driven before. Other cars in this class with this size engine don't seem to suffer as badly, overtaking can be a highly dangerous manoeuvre so with this car patience is a virtue.

This car is OK on go go juice, but with the weight of the car compared to to size/power of the engines avail if pushed you can see th MPG figures drop dramatically. To finish it's a reliable car with modern looks, plenty of kit, but if your in a hurry buy my previous car, Impreza WRX PPP, wife forced me to sell mine reminded me I'm not twenty something anymore.

Oh Well...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th September, 2006

7th May 2009, 16:11

Update on the Primera, almost 3 years old now, no problems to report. 100% reliable, has never let me down, and now done 79000 kilometers, although I think clutch release bearing is on the way out, groans on releasing clutch.

Other than that, the car still runs perfect and looks new after a good wash.

18th Aug 2011, 09:56

That rattle from the engine bay may be valves. I had this problem in another manufacturer's car. Adding thicker oil will make it go away for a while, but it comes back.