USED Nissan Almera Hatchback (00 - 06)

My car

I have a 51 plate Almera S and have been quite happy until now but do not buy if you are looking for a family car without trying a car seat in it first. We are currently having to replace the car in a hurry because we cannot find a single second stage child car seat that fits safely. Britax say two of their seats fit but several stores have told us they are unsafe in our car. We've also been told Nissan have withdrawn theirs amidst safety concerns. Oh and don't take a salesman's word that the top brands fit - we were told that by Arnold Clark too.

My car

I have owned a brand new 3 door Nissan Almera for 3 weeks and disagree totally with the negative comments made about it.

It is responsive and economical as well as exceedingly well equipped. My only criticism would be that controlling the various function such as the satellite navigation,climate control and radio is rather complicated due to the fact that everything is on one screen and various buttons do more than one job.

My car

This car is not as fun to drive as a Ford Focus, nor as refined as a Volkswagen Golf. But with a budget of less than £4000, here are my choices:

* a six-year old Golf, having covered 80,000 miles. * a five-year old Focus, having covered 65,000 miles. * a three-year old Nissan Almera having covered 17,000 miles with a full service history.

Perhaps the comment 'would make a good second hand buy' applies, especially when the reliability index of the Almera is higher than either the Golf or the Focus.

My car

This has to be the most underated car on sale! I've covered 20,000 miles so far - I drive it hard most of the time, and nothing's gone wrong so far.

It drives very well - I've driven other so-called better cars, but when i get back in my Almera it feels so much better. I, and a lot of other people think it looks great. The engine and gearbox are great and so is the specification - sat-nav, climate control, parking sensors, alloys and so on. Best of all, it cost me the same as a Ford Fiesta!

It makes me angry when I see all the poor reviews some car magazines give it, because it's such a fine car. It's great to drive, great value, 100% relieable and well built.

The only flaw I can think of is the rear legroom, and the ride could be better. If you're thinking of buying one then do so. I doubt very much that you'd regret it!