2004 Nissan Primera ST from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

29th Mar 2005, 17:59

"Nice car - shame about the suspension"

What things have gone wrong with the car?

Had tow bar added and since then, the rear bumper has been rattling - however this is probably a fault of the installer (Nissan Dealer).

Asides from this nothing is wrong with the car to date.

General comments?

The car is generally a nice car to drive. It has a smooth power band, and seems capable when pushing harder. Although nothing mind blowing.

Interior is well spaced out, and seems comfortable for all passengers.

Materials seem to be nice and subdued (mine being black/charcoal), however there are already some annoying squeaks coming from the dash/doors.

When the car is loaded up (for example 4 adult passengers, full luggage, and a small trailer), the gearbox seems to struggle with overtaking maneuvers. It takes a long time to actually accelerate - you can hear the engine revving , but it is as though the clutch is slipping for a bit.

The suspension is absolutely horrible. Around town all seems fine - however judder bars/speed bumps taken at any speed above 5kph will make you reach for the phone number of your back specialist. This is only made worse when traveling at speed with a load in the car.

It seems as though the rear suspension (front appears fine), bottoms out and then wants to get back to the top quicker than the space shuttle! Closest metaphor would be like a donkey try to kick a passenger off. Makes traveling in the car very annoying, and you will find yourself apologizing to your passengers - frequently.

Dials in the middle of the dash take a bit of getting used to however are fine after a while.

The centre control screen - which has the display for radio/cd/climate control seems like a throw back from an early 80's digital dash and generally let's the rest of the car down. The Japanese Import cars which come through have far nicer screens, which makes me left wanting.

The transmission seems quite intelligent, dropping down a gear when the car is going down a steep hill, so that you can make the most of engine braking. In addition to being smooth and painless to drive (asides from the comment about overtaking above)

Styling can take a bit of getting used to - however after owning it for a few months, it is nice to have a car which has it's own styling.

Overall a nice car, if only the suspension could be sorted - I could cope with the other points.


7th Jun 2005, 20:23

The suspension I agree is rubbish, Nissan need to get their act together.


15th Aug 2005, 03:54

The transmission is a CVT box (constantly variable) so when you step on the accelerator the revs rise to correspond with whatever position your pedal is at and then the transmission adjusts the ratio's to meet your revs. basically it means the revs rise and then the speed starts to catch up. There is no kickdown or steps as in a standard auto so it is much smoother.


25th Jan 2006, 14:47

The CVT has a Sports mode. CVT's used to suffer from "rubber-band effect", but Nissan seems to have overcome this. When accelerating or pulling up (or going down) a hill flick the switch to sports mode and the performance is little different from other automatics.

As far as suspension goes you have to have the right tyres. I have found that the NZ models use Bridgestone which can be rather harsh and not really suited for NZ roads, but having changed to Dunlop Le Mans the ride is much softer.

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