Nissan Almera

The Nissan Almera was 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 Nissan Almera was designed to offer best-in-class equipment and technology and was always considered a very road capable car offering sharp, precise handling, minimal bodyroll and decent tyre grip, especially in the GTi and post 2003 versions.

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. 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.