Nissan Almera

The Nissan Almera is a compact car built by Nissan, launched in 1995. The Almera name is essentially the European export-market name for the Nissan Pulsar / Nissan Sentra.

Nissan Almera Mk I N15 (1995–2000)

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.

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 GTi had uprated suspension, front and rear strut braces and a quicker steering rack. 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.

Almost all Almeras sold in the UK were hatchbacks with three or five doors - this is quite different to 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. Most of the range had antilock brakes, air-conditioning, electric windows and CD player as at least an option. As with all Nissans, build quality and reliability were first rate.

Nissan Almera Mk II N16 (2000–2006)

Launched early in 2000, the second generation Nissan Almera looked better than its predecessor but was still bland in comparison with its rivals. However, it maintained the original Almera's strong selling points of a long equipment list, spacious interior, comfortable ride, excellent handling, rock solid build quality and cast iron reliability.

The Almera was still one of the best handling small family cars sold in Europe partly due to the fact that is shares the same bodyframe with the US Nissan Sentra.

This version of the Almera could be had as a three- or five-door hatchback or a four-door saloon, with 1.5 (QG15DE) and 1.8 (QG18DE) petrol engines as well as a 2.2 direct injection turbodiesel (YD22DDT) or common-rail turbodiesel (YD22DDTi).