USED Nissan Primera Hatchback (02 - 06)

My car

This car in my opinion is under rated i read reviews before I bought it and some were not impressive.This car is great to drive, one of the most comfortable cars i have driven, and although a diesel, it is very very fast and responsive.The guages being in the middle of the dash did take some getting used to, but now not noticeable. The centre console has lots of info for you, and does help, especially on fuel economy.One excellent thing though I have a sat nav and a bury, and they stick to the console glass therefore no need to fix to windscreen and this makes a difference, as here they do not restrict your view.If I had to find a fault it would be the music system, the radio needs re tuning quite a lot.Even my teenage daughters like it, so it must have street cred!!

My car

I bought this when it was seven months old and have now done 32,000 miles in it. I like the cruise control, and it is reasonably quiet on the motorway. I could do with more power/torque but could not find a suitable 2.0 with cruise control.

After buying it I saw the JD Powers report which, this year, placed the Primera 99th. Also Which? magazine this year rated it as below average for reliability. Worrying, as my reason for buying a Nissan rather than say a Mondeo was for quality.

My previous Primera did 128,000 miles from new with remarkably few faults and we still have an 11-year-old Micra which is just keeps going despite being absolutely thrashed on countless Autotests.

My current Primera has so far has been reliable, although it uses a pint of oil every 4000 miles or so. I can't stand the high-tech heater controls - they are a right pain to operate compared to the simple three round controls of the previous Primera.

It had a noise which sounded just like a failed rear wheel bearing, but it was the tyres (Dunlop Sport), which had worn to create a 'feathered' saw-tooth pattern on the outer edges. Swopping them over, left to right, meant that the tyres now rotate in the opposite direction, and after 300 or so miles the saw-tooth pattern was scrubbed off, and the noise has gone.

My car

I have owned this car for two years and have a love/hate relationship with it. On the plus side, it looks good, has loads of cabin and boot space, is very comfortable and is reasonably quiet on long journeys and has decent performance.

However, the six-speed gearbox fitted is a dreadful thing, lumpy and graunchy, and sometimes dangerous when you can't get the right gear pulling away from a junction. The dealer actually told me that "some of them are like that", implying poor design and quality control. The interior creaks and rattles like a car with four times the mileage, with a new rattle or squeak appearing every month (at least you get variety). Fuel economy is awful, best I ever saw was 32mpg, with the average being 27mpg (without having a heavy right foot). The front suspension creaks and thumps like mad over rough surfaces, but having been checked out three times, this would appear to be normal.

Overall, if this car had had a little more investment in design and quality control, I'd have another tomorrow. As it is, it seems as though Renault's influence over Nissan has deteriorated what used to be a good manufacturer. Would I have another Nissan - no way! Pity, as my wife's six-year-old Micra is a gem.

My car

I bought a 56 plate 1.8sx hatchback in September. I swapped a Zafira for this car, and once I got used to the driving position I have got on well with the car.

Now 10 months and 6000 miles later, I have nothing but praise for vehicle.

Love it.