2000 Nissan Almera SPORTDECK 1.8 petrol
Summary:
Unjustly overlooked due to motoring press prejudice
Faults:
In two and a half years nothing apart from headlight bulb failure. Headlights must be on in daytime too in Finland so this is no big surprise. Cheap and easy to replace 4 Euro each.
General Comments:
Read the motoring press eg CAR WHATCAR TOP GEAR and all you'll find is sarcastic remarks about Nissan being boringly reliable.. Is THAT a crime?Not when you have to own and run a car from your own pocket it isn't!
The Almera is my wife's car and we are both extremely pleased with it, it has never given any trouble whatsoever. The 1.8 engine is powerful and makes an excellent long distance car. Average fuel economy is very good on long runs too,7.0litres/100kms or less.
The heating and Air con system are first rate and the headlights (important in long Arctic winters) are astounding. Controls and gearbox nice to use.
Quality of assembly of the cabin is excellent, no rattles or squeaks after 2.5 years. Can FORD manage that? The cars produced in the UK seem to be of very high quality (I own a 2002 Primera and am very pleased with that too, see my review) it uses no oil at all and no leaks anywhere despite having to be in -25 c.
Sunvisor is pathetic though, it is stamp sized and is frankly useless at doing its job. Tyre noise is high too, but this is due to Bridgestones, a switch to Continental should alter that.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th November, 2002
18th Nov 2002, 10:21
I completely agree with the comment about the factory-fitted Bridgestone tyres. They wear extremely fast (although they may be quiet). At 70000km I need 2 front tyres while my previous car, a Peugeot 405 (a dreadful car, incidentally) was still on its original front tyres at 120000km despite having towed a caravan for about 9000km.