1997 Nissan Primera GX review from UK and Ireland

Brake light bulb has blown, front suspension needed the CV boots replaced for the MOT (bit suspect of the garage actually) otherwise nothing really.

There is a small stain on the rubber floor mat in the drivers side footwell that's now occuring. Might be from the brake reservoir or the powersteering, not sure. It could be from an empty bottle of windscreen washer fluid that used to be full, but the stain seems more like oil, and has a quite sweet sort of smell, so not sure what that is really.. But there are no apparant probslem with the steering or brakes, so didn't bother to investigate it.

I bought it because other Nissans I have owned have been reliable and quite tough in the face of driver abuse, and this one seems to be no exception. I don't abuse it as in crunching gears or that kind of thing, I just drive over speed humps quite fast, and go round corners with gusto and let it redline if necessary to blow of a black cab (or merc sprinter van should the chance present itself).

I am prepared to let the car suffer if I have good reason at the time. I only do maintenance that I consider necessary, like oil /filters and reactive type maintenance, like if I hear a funny noise from some part of it. So far the only noise I hear is from a rattlly heat shield on the exhaust, which I just can't be bothered to fix, even though it does annoy me on a daily basis during certain parts of the rev range of the engine.

I got this car because it was cheap and the aforementioned reliablity credentials, I paid 550 quid for it and would have been happy to get 20000 miles out of it, but have since accumulated quite a lot more. In the back of my mind I actually wanted to despise it and treat it like the cheap bit of japanese junk that it really is and abuse it till its death, but blow me down, its somehow managed to weasle its way into my heart and earn my affection. This old dunger really does handle rather well (even though it has a mixuture of different tyres).

I had a beemer 3 series (which handled rather well) before this and expected the usual understeering shenanigans with this one that afflict so many bland front wheel drive econoboxes on the road, but no.. it wouldn't stand for it. True it is an ugly piece of work, but underneath that minicab exterior lurks a car that challenges me to push it into corners and change direction fast on curvy sections of road. It really does have very suprising road holding. You can push it very hard on a roundabout and it remains determinedly composed in very communicative way. It loves to change direction at speed in a way that many other cars would have made a dash for the hedge. Do not underestimate the handling of this car! Even in the wet it keeps its composure. The ride is perfectly satisfactory and is in no way compromised by the fine handling. It's quite happy to trundle along and play the family friend, but if you have to suddenly swerve out of the path of something, or turn into a street you nearly drove past, it pulls on its superman undies and cape, and shows you another aspect of its nature.

Do underestimate the performance though. The engine is nothing to write home about in the performance stakes, but to be fair it is only a 1.6. It does however make up for it by having very decent economy about and seemingly 0 maintenance requirements, cam chain etc alleviating the need for cam belt changes and the other stuff like oil and what not? Well my system is to get around to doing it when you feel like it or can afford it, which is not very often, and it hasn't missed a beat yet.

The steering is another aspect of the driver oriented nature of this car. No play, quite direct and with a nice oiled measured feel to the input, once on the move. You can usually judge with reasonably accuracy what the car is doing and how much futher you can push it in any given direction before it starts to disagree with you.

The gearbox isn't fantastic, but it works well. It doesn't feel all that solid through the changes, slightly rubbery, but there is usually no doubt about which gear you are in, or hesitation to change up or down to another gear, so I can live with it.

The interior is not very exiting, but very functional and nothign, but the hinge on a storage compartment has even looked like rattling or coming loose, it's very well made. The upholstery looks like it was very bland and grey before some fashion guru was told to spuce it up by flicking paint all over it. I guess it breaks up the greyness, but it's not very memorable. It is however quite comfortable, especially for longer journeys and if you have a large frame like myself.

One thing I don't really like is the location and adjustability of the steering wheel. Even though it has a tilt adjustment, I can never seem to find a position where I can get the right distance beween it and my hands if the seat is positioned where I want it. If the seat is where my legs are comfortable on the pedals, it feels like the steering wheel is too far away (and I have quie long arms too) but it's not that bad, just a bit of a moan). The hinge on the armrest storage box between the front two seats is very weak, and arrive to me in a broken state, but still manages to clip itself down, just needs locating manually rather than by the original hinge which is no longer.

The boot is really rather roomy, and makes for a decent amount of space especially if the parcel shelf is taken out and seat laid down.

Overall I really like this car. It has zero image factor, but no one will think you can afford anything worth stealing from it, and will hopefully leave it alone..

It has never skipped a beat, and I very rarely do any maintenance on it and don't molly coddle it, but it keeps coming back fo more with a smile on its ugly face.

The driver controls are great, and have a nice feel, apart from the clutch, which feels not as smooth and oiled as I might like it. The brakes work fine, but don't seem overly strong at very high speeds, but adequate.

It seems to have just the right amount of features to make ownership reasonably hassle free, in terms of basic motoring, but nothing fancy: electric windows, air con, time delay curtesy lighting, remote central locking and immobiliser, passable stereo, good fuel consumption, adjustable headlight dipping, nice handling and uber reliablity..

I want to hate it, but can't.

All this in a car that cost less than a tune up and plugs for my last car? How can I hate it?. I want to, but I can't. especially when I can leave so many "better" cars in the twisties scrambling for excuses why they can't keep up.

If it requires any repairs over 60 quid or so, I'm putting it on an ebay no reserve auction, selling it, and buying another one. Maybe a GT this time because I think the economy isn't too bad in them, and you can get that nice 5 speaker sterero as an option in some of them.

Overall: 8.85/10 for overall performance of intended function.

Downsides? People asking you how much it is to Camden or wherever when you pull over to the side of the road.

Uninspiring styling and looks,

It's a bit gutless.

If you want a bland gutless "sleeper" that handles well, is roomy and comfortable and cannot be broken, I'd say go for it.