2002 Nissan Almera S 1.5 16v from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Excellent all round pocket rocket!!!
Faults:
Nothing.
General Comments:
Comfort and driving position of this car is excellent, I commute a long distance and I am very pleased with the drivers seat comfort.
Handling is out of this world compared to my old Punto.
Pace is not lightening, but it gives a real kick at 4000rpm, cruises at well over the 100 mark no problem at all and gives other cars a good run for their money. Ignore Nissan 0-60 times, absolute nonsense, there is no way this car takes 13 seconds to get to 60!!
Interior design is very thoughtful and sporty in appearance, with aluminium rimmed dials and splashes of it here and there.
Engine is fairly vocal, but nothing to moan about on the scale of things.
Equipment levels are fantastic on this car compared to rival brands.
Buy 6mths to 1 year old, great savings and trouble free motoring.
Over the moon so far with the car and could well become a loyal Nissan customer!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 28th October, 2003
25th Apr 2006, 16:39
I had one of these cars as a company car. I have to say it was a nice car to drive until things started going wrong once it hit high mileage. Driving extremely high mileage obviously the bosses thought a nice reliable car would be needed. Oh how wrong they were.
The gearbox became extremely difficult to use and very notchy from cold often finding it hard to select first gear, however once warm it became a very nice gearbox with smooth short shift movements. However at 116k the gearbox gave way due to a bearing failing causing the gearbox to collapse destroying all internals and the gearbox casing. Was replaced and car yet again felt nice to drive. I first noticed things were wrong when the car was struggling to reverse properly (kangarooing), despite all efforts to control it. Obviously this was expensive to fix as a new gearbox, casing, clutch and labour isn’t cheap.
Suspension was a very smooth ride, obviously this car is not designed for handling purposes and the amount of body role obviously suggests this. However I have thrown this car around and if you know what you’re doing it isn't that bad. However things started going wrong when the steering wheel started wobbling at motorway speeds, and also this became apparent under braking as well. This problem was never fixed, but in my opinion it can properly be placed to perished suspension bushes and ball joints.
Interior is pretty bland, although I did become used to it after a while. The driver’s seat and position are relatively comfortable. I drive 50k miles a year so the driver’s position was comfortable for me, others might strain a bit, but with general seat controls, movable steering wheel, I’m sure anyone can find a comfortable position.
Last, but not least the engine. The engine I had was a 1.5/6 16v. I found it very nippy through the gears, but however I found it to be very un-economical, often costing £50-£60 to fill up and only achieving over 400 miles to a tank.
On the whole this was a good little car and I would recommend it to people who do little or local journeys; however on long distance journey it can become a strain to drive. The engine eventually gave way the other day at 147k due to bottom end failure.
May I add that this was a company car, therefore it wasn't loved and it wasn't cherished. It wasn't serviced regularly and was only fixed when things went wrong. I'm sure if somebody cared and serviced this car on a regular basis then the life of the car would have been prolonged.