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Is there any reason why I should not buy an Almera diesel estate ?
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Do they do an estate?
I can't remember ever ever seeing one.
Otherwise, no. The latest Almera 2.2dCi has a great engine and is a lot cheaper than the competition. Handling is fine, and reliability and build are first rate.
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I'll second that. Good car at a very good price and the new engine is a quantum leap over previous Nissan Diesels.
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So long as you don't mind driving a car with no image or cred amongst "petrolheads", it makes a good buy.
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I have not driven the diesel but i recently had an Almera 1.5 petrol as a hire car for 3 weeks and was very pleasantly surprised. The Almera was comfortable, refined, economical and fun to drive. Not as good as a Focus, certainly, but so much cheaper that if image isn't an issue, you can't ignore it.
Are you absolutely sure they do an estate?
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I have not driven the diesel but i recently had an Almera 1.5 petrol as a hire car for 3 weeks and was very pleasantly surprised. The Almera was comfortable, refined, economical and fun to drive. Not as good as a Focus, certainly, but so much cheaper that if image isn't an issue, you can't ignore it. Are you absolutely sure they do an estate?
You mean a Focus has a better image than an Almera? Not that image would really be an issue in this market segment anyway.
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No, I meant that in my experience the Focus offers the best drive of a car of this type.
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No, I meant that in my experience the Focus offers the best drive of a car of this type.
If you compare the specs, you'll discover that to get full colour coding, climate control, aircon, two airbags + side airbags, 6 speaker stereo, computer and ultrasonic reverse sensors in Focus you will probably have to go for uprated Zetec or Ghia, way more expensive than Almera 1.5 SE (7400 - 8500 OTR)...
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Obviously....
Which is why i said 'if image is not an issue you can't ignore it'
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I was all set to buy an Almera 2.2dci SXE until I saw Peugeot's 307sw with its glass roof.
There isn't an Almera estate, at least not in the UK.
The 307sw has an estate body with removable MPV style rear seats :-)
HTH
Michael
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Im seriously considering buying a Nissan Almera 1.5, Flare 5 doorin metallic, from www.motorprovider.co.uk of Sheffield, been quoted £9200 OTR , had a test drive in one and I found it flawless, some websites, namely www.buymynewcar.co.uk have base 1.5 S's 3 doors on sale fpr £6699 otr,Having seen its replacement due out in 2004 which is basically a rebadged Renault Megane I prefer the Japs interpretation, also the petrol engines in the Almera are cam chain driven, no broken cam belts to worry about.!
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Precisely! What is so wrong with the almera? It appears to be one of those cars that a lot of people love to hate but secretly admire. It really isn't such a bad looking car and the build quality looks good. I would certainly give it a test drive. I bet it's so much more reliable than the competition. All this business about having no street cred is total nonsense.
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You see lots of Almeras in Scotland and also in golf club car parks. That means it is solid, reliable and good value for money. The new diesel (I think it may be a six speed) must be fairly swift as well!
Regards DougB.
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A close relative bought an Almera 1.5S from Jeffries Farm Sussex for £ 8,999 3 years ago and it has been flawless. 40,000 miles,just routine services, two new front tyres and that's it. Excellent private buy IMHO.
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Pal of mine had one for 5 years. Not a single, solitary, even minor problem with it. No image, no problems. No-one ever tried to steal it, either, which is possibly unusual given where he lives.
He's just upgraded to a new Primera and expects exactly the same result. I think he's probably right.
People buy cars for different reasons. If image is lower on your list and reliabilty is higher get one. I suspect that if all you care about is image, you wouldn't be asking the question, you'd already have bought a German car.
V
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