USED Nissan Almera Hatchback (00 - 06)

My car

This car is under rated. I have the 2.2 dci 136 bhp SXE version. It has lots of power for a relatively small family car. The cabin is full of equipment including satalite navigation as standard. The quality of the materials are by no means the best in the world but then again, what do you expect for the money? It loves long journeys on the motorways but the driving position can get a bit tiresome after a while. On the whole it's a good car for family driving and commuting.

My car

Dull? Never! This 136bhp turbo diesel with 6-speed box leaves most other traffic standing and has phenomenal mid-range poke. Best of all is relaxed cruising at 70 with the engine spinning lazily at only 2000 rpm. I've had the car for 3 years. No mechanical or other problems. In mixed driving I get around 47 mpg and on the motorway 52 if I keep the speed down to the legal limit.

Handling is good but the ride a bit harsh and choppy. Interior trim is uninspiring but I like the way the info display and satnav are located in a neat pod on top of the dash where you don't have to take your eyes off the road. I fitted a Recaro seat, which makes the car a comfortable and effortless long-distance tourer.

A big beefy diesel in a compact hatchback like the Almera makes for a sporty and economical workhorse and I don't see much else in the market to match it at the price.

My car

A nice car to drive but i have had to replace the front discs twice and the rear discs once within 4 years. Previous car was a Primera and had the same problem, will not be buying a Nissan again

My car

I had this as a rental car for one week. I had the 1.5 s.

I thought the general quality of the car was below average. Nothing was chunky and reassuring, except thin, plasticky and looked like it would crack up eventually. I thought the stereo was fairly wimpy, though didn't have a problem reading my cheapy CD-RW disks. The bootspace didn't hold all that much. I struggled to fit two ruck sacks and a guitar case in there comfortably.

The accelaration was definately the best thing about this car. You put your foot down and it does respond reassuringly and with confidence, though the ride quality was quite poor. You feel every bump, pebble and piece of grit in the road. The handling isn't much to write home about, I got tired navigating around towns and the like, but fine on the motorway! Everything transfers to the seats, though - no pothole goes unturned in this car. Its like Nissan didn't bother with shock absorbers.

The turning circle however is my biggest gripe! Its pathetically poor! MONSTROUS! It took me approximately 6 turns to reverse into my drive, whereas my work transit takes three! Something wrong there!

All in all, if I was on a real budget and I wanted something that was going to be reliable, I would go for an almera. If I want a car to enjoy, I would get anything else. Its a Nissan = Jap = reliable!