Faults:

Still nothing major, only small UK assembly faults - rubber packets of luggage compartment have note been glued well, service had to tighten several bolts, still there are some small sounds inside, but they are tiny, and dealers will fix that next week during usual maintenance.

General Comments:

2.2L 126 HP diesel is really powerful, can challenge most of 2 liters petrol cars. Especially when turbo switches on ;)

Interior is superb - see no much difference from Audi comfort. Sound isolation is really good, you don't hear much of a noise running at 160 km/h, 6 speed gearbox is great for economy - my average diesel consumption is 6-6.5 liter / 100 km with 40% urban usage, however its very accurate too - you won't make any mistake when switching the gears.

Xenon headlights are just great, can't imagine how I used to see something with standard ones before.

And exterior looks like UFO landed - had lost of turned heads when got this car.

However the chassis suspension is very hard, gives superb handling, but looses some comfort on bumpy road.

But all above can be attributed only to diesel and 2L petrol models with 6 speed gearboxes.

When I was selecting a car, I did test drive with 1.8L basic model called Visia, it had 5 speed gearbox and the feelings where as awful as they could be:

- Sound isolation was terrible. I drove 130 km/h with 5th gear, there where around 4000 RPM, engine sound inside was terrible and wind/tyres noise was very loud.

- The steering wheel was too tight, and the drive train was definitely different from top models - I hardly could feel holding a car in my hands at 130 km/h

- Interior was cheap, comparing to Acenta's soft textile.

- Gearstick was _VERY_ soft and inaccurate. Several times I switched to 3rd gear instead of 5th.

Summarizing above - its really a car you will love, but go for Acenta or Tekna model with 6 speed gearbox, otherwise you won't be as happy as me :)

Faults:

Back Seat creaking like a ship.

The TV screen in the front is still scratched from when we got.

Interior paint problems.

General Comments:

A real stunner, the 17 inch alloys really set off the rest of the car, the gold Colour was a good choice.

Faults:

Nothing whatsoever so far.

General Comments:

This is the new shape Primera with a six speed manual gearbox.

The car was delivered on a Friday and the very same day I started to drive from Finland to the UK and France, during my one month holiday the car covered 6000kms and performed faultlessly, not bad for a car that's factory fresh and running in!

It is extremely quiet and in 2.0 litre form fast as well, at 150kms/hr all you hear is the wind noise.

It handles very surefootedly and the seats and driving position are excellent and very comfortable on a long haul.

Initially, the centrally located instruments seem bizarre, but they very soon grow on you and are quickly mastered and logical, it's so good to see a manufacturer offering something different and better.

I read an article or two in the British motoring press about the Primera and sometimes wonder if motoring journalists actually DRIVE the cars they write about? Some complained about the Primera's 6speed box, mine's perfect. Others doubted the ergonomics, they should try a VW Passat for overated ergonomics out of sight switches and very dubious reliability, mine at least.

The cabin is original and I think attractive, the only complaints I have is why no analogue clock and there's no pull down handle on the boot-lid a ridiculous omission. Overall fit and finish is very high.

I like the shape of the car very much indeed and believe me the headlights give an excellent field of vision, an important point here in Scandinavian winters.

I'm very pleased indeed with the car and the dealer network, fuel consumption is high on this engine as it's a heavy car 1470kgs, but it's fast, quiet accelerates well and is refined. I expect reliabilty to be high too even if it is Euro built rather than Japanese. Strongly recommended all round.