Nissan Almera is First Produced

With the Escort-sized Almera, Nissan set its stall out to attract younger buyers. This was a Sunny for enthusiastic drivers a Nissan with attitude. That was just as well because the styling was unusual and equipment levels not overly generous. Reliability and brilliant handling compensate; this is a family hatch you could enjoy owning.

For entry-level models at least, equipment isn't the 1995-2000 Almera's strongest suit. The spartan Equation doesnt even have split-folding rear seats, for example theyre normally a family hatchback must-have. On the plus side, the Si and the GX do come with central locking, power sunroof, driver's airbag and electric front windows and the Si even has a CD player. SLX buyers get alloy wheels and air conditioning but the car still doesn't feel particularly special. The five-doors the one you'll struggle to lose in the supermarket car park with its curvy rear 'opera' quarter-light windows. All three body styles feature the same class-leading long wheelbase and the hatchback pair have a distinctive heavy prow over the back window. This, Nissan designers claim, helps stop the sun from burning rear passengers' heads. Really? To emphasise the daring design work, there was a wacky paint range calculated to enthuse the Europeans at which the car was aimed. Inside, however, familiar battleship grey Japanese plastic reigns though, as usual, everything is ergonomically sound and smartly presented. Thoughtful details include rear seatbelts to lock a child seat securely in place.

There are also courtesy lights on the doors, illuminated ashtrays (wow!) and even a buzzer to tell you you've left the rear foglight on. The all-new 2000 models are much more imaginatively designed. The nostril grille design is shared with the Micra and Primera and theres an unusual surf tail roof kinked up at the rear to give extra headroom. In the cabin, dashboard items are highly stylised with silver buttons while the bright two-tone colours (plus aluminimum...

The Nissan Almera is a small family car built by Nissan from 1995 to 2006. The Almera name was essentially the European export-market name for the Nissan Pulsar / Nissan Sentra / Nissan Bluebird Sylphy.

The first Nissan Almera rolled off the production line late in 1995, as replacement for the Nissan Sunny, a nameplate which had been in use for nearly 30 years. It was mostly identical to the N15 Nissan Pulsar sold in Japan, except with different trim and petrol engine range.
Power came from 1.4 GA14DE and 1.6 GA16DE petrol and 2.0 CD20 diesel engines initially in 1995, but a year into production a 2.0 SR20DE engined GTi was added to the range. The Nissan Almera was ungainly in appearance but beneath its bland exterior lay an excellent chassis which gave perhaps the best ride and handling of any small medium car on sale in Europe. 1.4 and 1.6 models were sold in 3, 4 and 5-door versions, whereas the GTi was 3-door only, differing from the Almera's main competitor, the VW Golf, whose GTi was sold in both 3 and 5-door configurations.
Almost all Almeras sold in the UK were hatchbacks with three or five doors - this was quite different from some other regions such as Ireland, where the saloon version is substantially more commonplace. Specification was good, with all models getting power steering, driver airbag and stereo as standard. As with all Nissans, build quality and reliability were first rate. Phase 2 GTi's with low mileage were rather more sought after, and one can expect to pay up to £2500 for a good example.

Flagship models for each engine capacity are as follows:
1.4 Si GA14DE
1.6 SRi GA16DE
2.0 GTi SR20DE (1996 onwards, sold in bodykit and non-bodykit form)
The above all included 'high-spec' bumpers with foglights (Optional on the Si model), alloy wheels from 1996 onwards (Different size and design between Si/SRi 14" and GTi 15"), and rear roof lip spoilers (GTi models sported an integrated brakelight, also spoilers were optional on the Si).
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