Ross Finlay tries out the lavishly equipped Nissan Primera
THE problem about making steady technical improvements to a car is
that not many people notice, unless the changes are accompanied by some
alterations to the outward appearance. Nissan has been making detail
modifications to the Sunderland-built Primera, but it has only now
freshened up the body design. All models benefit, but prices have been
held. The new entry-level Equation costs #11,360 and the SE --
equivalent to the previous SGX -- has a showroom tag of #16,325.
Nissan's British factory is always impressive. It produces cars which
on close examination prove to have a high build quality, sells a
remarkable percentage of its Primeras and Micras to export markets, and
even feeds a few cars into Japan.
On a recent visit, I thought it was rather sporting of Nissan to let
journalists go with a couple of cars through their final static tests.
The fact that this was not a ''set up'' was proved when the car I was
in, going through something like 50 individual tests in a couple of
minutes, failed to satisfy the computer about its brakes. It was put
aside so that the handbrake assembly could be adjusted.
The spacious factory area has several component suppliers right
alongside. That, plus the presence close by of a branch of the Nissan
European Technology Centre, is a reminder that the Primera and Micra are
not Japanese cars assembled in a kind of painting-by-numbers operation
here. They are very largely designed and developed in Europe, by
Europeans who sometimes have difficulty in convincing their colleagues
in Japan that our markets have particular requirements.
For example, since car crime is almost unknown there, the Japanese at
first found the European insistence on anti-theft protection to be
rather eccentric. Most Primeras can be fitted with a highly
sophisticated immobiliser system which uses radio frequency electronics
rather than the more familiar infra-red. The radio type is not
vulnerable to those ''grabber'' gadgets, available from suppliers who
rarely ask awkward questions about precisely what their customers
propose to do with them, which can unobtrusively ''steal'' the code of
an infra-red locking system from several yards away.
With a choice of 1.6 or two-litre petrol engines, a two-litre diesel
and various trim and equipment levels, the 1995 Primera is a crisper
looking car. The new grille design is the most obvious update, but there
are other minor styling changes too.
All the four-door saloons and five-door hatchbacks have ABS fitted, as
well as a sunroof, driver's airbag, side impact bars and a generally
sturdy bodyshell.
I tried the new SE model, which comes with air conditioning, leather
upholstery, a CD player and six-spoke alloy wheels. A wood-rimmed
central console is just one of the touches Nissan has employed to
lighten up the previously rather dull interior.
With 125bhp on tap, the SE will sprint to 60mph in just on 10 seconds,
and proceed to a test track maximum around 125mph. Good mid-range torque
lets it pull strongly throughout, but I was surprised that Nissan has
tuned in such a rorty engine note when the car is accelerating hard.
The environs of Sunderland are by no means the best area for trying
out a car's handling, and the suggested route told us virtually nothing
about how the Primera corners at any kind of enthusiastic speed.
However, if the new version matches the previous one in this department,
which it gives the impression of doing, it will be one of the most agile
and controllable cars in its class. Another manufacturer, after all, has
openly admitted that the Nissan was the handling benchmark for its own
Primera-sized saloon.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article