Nissan PRIMERA RANGE
The Latest Primeras Play Their Ace Card When It Comes To Equipment. Andy Enright Reports
To give you an idea of how quickly things move in the medium-range car sector, consider the
Nissan Primera. Launched in 2002, it was by far the most modern car in its class, instantly making everything else look distinctly yestertech. Just 27 months later however, Nissan was forced to update the car to keep the Primera at the forefront of technology. As a result, if you need a mid-range Mondeo-sized model that will really put on a show for your passengers, the Primera is still one of the leading contenders.
Reality in this sector comes in the form of showroom wow factor. If a car fails to impress customers first with its styling and then with its interior quality, no amount of tweaking of the oily bits will count for a whole lot. Bar the addition of two paint colours, Nissan have wisely left the Primeras styling alone. Its a very integrated look that would be difficult to meddle with in any case.
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Although bulbous rather than sleek, the styling has found favour with many. Its certainly not apologetically bland. Running counter to many contemporary designs, the four and five door cars have been styled to look nigh-on identical, whilst the estate version goes for a trendy Sportwagon-style sloping roofline. Its indoors that the revisions have come thick and fast.
One of the more delightful features of the Primera was the reversing camera. This projected an image onto an LCD display on the fascia that showed in pinpoint detail the bollard you were about to reverse into. Unfortunately this was only available on the premium specification models and it was only ever a monochrome display. Now every model bar the base S trim gets the display and its in colour.
Nissans Birdview DVD satellite navigation system has also been rolled out to more models across the range. Recognised as one of the most innovative navigation packages around, rather than a simple map, Birdview offers a perspective view from above and behind the driver, giving an idea of scale and distance. The latest Primera models also add traffic information to the screen so the system can direct you around any snarl-ups. A dedicated FM tuner listens to RDS Traffic Message Channel broadcasts so you dont have to.
This system works in eight other European countries too and
Nissan pick up the tab for the traffic broadcasts. Which is nice.
"The interior is even more adventurous than the voluptuous bodyshell"
Keeping pace with recent legislation, Nissan have made it a whole lot easier and more affordable to integrate your mobile phone with your car. If youve got one of the latest Nokia, Sony Ericsson or Siemens handsets, youll be able to synch them with the cars data screen to use the phone book, look at missed and received calls, see who is calling you, juggle two calls at once and put a call on hold. Even if you dont own one of these phones, Nissans Plug and Go system is compatible with most mobiles and an answering button on the steering wheel means that youre good to go in the eyes of the law. Youll need to have the correct phone cradle fitted by your Nissan dealer but because all of the integrated wiring is already fitted as standard, the costs are manageable.
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.
One of the neatest tricks is what Nissan dubs the Fine Vision instruments. Switch on the ignition and the gauges fade into view over two seconds, with the needles, the numbers and then the LEDs illuminating in succession. Flick the key off and they fade again in reverse order. The amber illumination is a good deal easier on the eye and on the range-topping T-spec version, the display even shows the tyre pressures.
This concentration on presentation means that the changes to the ride and handling of the Primera may well be overlooked but Nissans Cranfield-based engineers have made a number of changes to reduce ride harshness and quell pitch under acceleration and braking. The ride is now better on uneven surfaces and the car feels a good deal more surefooted under extreme manoeuvres such as emergency lane changes helped in no small part by a quicker and more accurate steering system. Both saloon and estate models are offered in S, SX, SVE or T-spec levels of trim at prices starting from under £15,000. Though thats a little more than Primera customers have paid in the past, Nissan is quick to point out that the latest car is safer, more comfortable and better refined, as well as being significantly better equipped than its rivals.
Engine-wise, theres a choice of 1.8 or 2.0-litre petrol units or a 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel.
A factory warranted 1.8-litre LPG conversion is also available in all body styles in SE guise. Though the 111bhp 1.8-litre petrol unit is always going to be the most popular of the three Primera engines available in the UK, its not the most interesting.
More diverting attractions lie with the 2.0-litre petrol unit a powerplant that cranks out 139bhp and which is mated to a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT transmission with sequential manual override switching between six artificially mandated gears. A 138bhp common rail turbodiesel completes the engine line-up, offered with a six-speed manual only. Slow initial sales of this model prompted Nissan to reduce its price and up the engine output, making the entry-level 2.
2dCi S a far more tempting proposition. In resolutely abandoning the blandwagon, Nissan have put the Primera onto the shortlists of a whole new type of buyer. Whether it can match the broader appeal of rivals such as the
Renault Laguna II and
Ford Mondeo remains to be seen, but from here things are looking pretty good. And its a long time since we said that of a Nissan medium ranger
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Nissan Primera range
PRICES: £14,855-£21,505 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 7-11
CO2 EMISSIONS: 164-209g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0 petrol] Max Speed 114mph / 0-60mph 10.9s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 diesel] (Combined) 48.4mpg
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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