Nissan PRIMERA 1.8 16V RANGE
Middle Market 1.8-Litre Saloons and Hatches Arent The First Place Youd Look To Find Examples Of Ground Breaking Design. The
Nissan Primera 1.8 Range May Come As A Surprise To Those Expecting Something A Little More Vanilla.
Andy Enright Reports
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Although I wasnt around when Harold Macmillan enraged the British populace with the observation that theyd never had it so good, drive a
Nissan Primera 1.8 and you can see where the old blimp was coming from. The market in which the 1.8-litre Primera hatch and saloon models find themselves was once a byword for mediocrity whereas now its stuffed to the gills with excellence.
In order to differentiate itself, the Primera relies on some very avant-garde design.
Ford have the customer expecting more,
Honda proclaim their culture of technology and engineering and
Vauxhall attract buyers curious to see if the Vectra really is as uncompetitive as its predecessor (it isnt), but it is perhaps to
Renault, those crafty Createurs DAutomobiles that we should turn to explain the Primeras quite astonishing transformation. Having bought a controlling influence in Nissan, its hardly surprising that Renault, the manufacturers of some of the most forward thinking cars of recent years, should insist that the Primera is metamorphosed from ugly duckling into swan. Okay, so thats stretching things a little. From ugly duckling to duckling is nearer the mark.
"The Nissan Primera 1.8 is a bold step in a market where novelty is normally punished by minuscule sales."
Styled in Nissans Munich design studio, much of the pen work behind the Primera was done by Stephane Schwarz, the same guy seen on TV failing to realise that canoeing should be pursued on a boating lake rather than in free fall. Hes done a good job. Anything that can suddenly make the Renault Laguna look a little yester tech has to be resolutely forward looking and the Primera certainly doesnt disappoint in this regard, being one of the few cars in the class that dont slavishly ape the
Volkswagen Passat. The 1.
8-litre versions we look at here are available in three different body styles a four-door salon, a five-door hatch and a five-door estate. Counter to current vogue, the hatch and the saloon are designed to look as alike as possible, although with a deeply cleft rear window the hatch is, if anything, even more adventurously styled than the saloon. The saloon and hatch open proceedings at £14,600 in S trim. Youll need to add another £1,100 for an estate version, but by and large prices are much the same as youd pay for an equivalent Mondeo or a Laguna.
Even the entry level S model features a 6" colour LCD display, electronic climate control, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and Brake Assist, electric windows all round, 16-inch wheels and a trip computer. Safety is well catered for with twin front, side and curtain airbags as standard. The SX features all this plus 17" alloy wheels, a rear view reversing camera, a 6 CD autochanger, rain sensing wipers and DVD satellite navigation with traffic information along with plenty of clever electronic gadgets. £17,250 is the sticker price for the SVE trim level which features leather trim, heated electric seats, an upgraded stereo and an electric sunroof. The T-spec model, which is almost obscenely well equipped, is unavailable with the 1.8-litre engine.
Should you wish to have more toys than Brooklyn Beckham, youll need to upgrade to a 2.0-litre petrol engine or the 2.2-litre dCi diesel and be prepared to fork out a minimum of £20,150. A factory warranted 1.
8-litre LPG conversion is also available in all body styles in SX guise. Opt for anything above S trim and you get the rear view parking camera. It allows for inch-perfect manoeuvres, and makes relying on a bleeping sensor seem like the difference between watching the World Cup final on television and intercepting a Morse coded commentary. Granted, the possibility of watching Wayne Rooney thump one past the Croatians is possibly more diverting than a looming bollard, but the camera can be invaluable when reversing towards the sort of low walls that a traditional rear view mirror can miss with expensive consequences.
In the latest models a revision of the dashboard means that theres now more storage and the facility for an on-dash CD autochanger whereas before it resided in the boot. The steering wheel is redesigned, as is the centre storage box, the larger door pulls, the head lining and the higher mounted armrests. Small tweaks are everywhere. The in-dash clock now stays visible irrespective of whether the audio selection, climate control or satellite navigation is activated, the ice warning tone doesnt chime on and off if the temperature is fluctuating around zero and the climate control is more sensitive.
The 1.8-litre engine itself is probably the only part of the Primera make up thats unexceptional. Its certainly up to the class standard, and the 177g of carbon dioxide it emits every kilometre makes it respectably clean, but performance is fairly average, the 114bhp power output down on the Mondeo (124bhp) and the Laguna (123bhp). Whereas the old Primera had a reputation as something of a racy steer, the current model is a more refined handler, the suspension set up geared more for comfort.
The steering is as good as ever, the ride is far more composed, but the Mondeo is marginally sportier. The Nissan counters by having more reassuring brakes and better all-round visibility. Take your pick. Underneath the bodywork is a stretched and reinforced version of the Almera platform, and although the Primera has a decent road presence, the evidence of the tape measure shows it to be a good few inches shy of Passat and Mondeo dimensions.
Its longer, taller and wider than its predecessor, however, and uses many modern packaging tricks to increase interior space. Widening the track and stretching the wheelbase help too: the boot on the four-door car is a useful shape and able top swallow 465 litres. The estate is pretty but no pantechnicon, boasting less luggage room than the hatch when the rear seats are in situ. The latest Nissan Primera 1.8 is a bold step in a market where novelty is normally punished by minuscule sales.
For that alone Nissan deserve congratulations. For making a car thats refreshing yet works well on so many levels they deserve your custom.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Nissan Primera 1.8 range
PRICES: £14,600-£18,350 - on the road
CO2 EMISSIONS: 177g/km
INSURANCE GROUP: 7
PERFORMANCE: [saloon] Max Speed 117mph / 0-60mph 11.7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [saloon] (Combined) 38.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4567/1760/1482mm [4dr]
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