Hidden Heroes: Nissan Almera GTi
Fri, 07 Nov 2025
The 1995 Nissan Almera isn’t a car that many people will remember, as for the most part it was a largely forgettable car - its one gimmick being its ‘curry hook’ in the passenger footwell.
There’s a certain sense of irony, then, in the fact that many Nissan Almeras ended their days on takeaway delivery duty.
But it wasn’t just the curries that were hot, as in 1996 Nissan injected a much needed dose of verve into the Almera line-up with the Nissan Almera GTi model. With 140bhp from a rev-hungry 2.0-litre engine, it had a very different character to the other models in the Almera line-up.
Available as a three-door hatchback only, the Nissan Almera GTi was given some subtle body adornments, the most notable of which was a deep front bumper with inbuilt fog lamps.
It was never ‘in your face’ though, while the only interior changes were sports seats and white dials - not even a three-spoke steering wheel in sight.
As a hot hatch then, the Nissan Almera didn’t promise anything special. But that’s what it delivered - 0-60mph in 7.9 seconds was pretty rapid for the day, but it was the way in which the Almera handled that made eyebrows raise.
The chassis, developed by Nissan’s Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, was incredible, with seemingly limitless grip and sharp, beautifully balanced steering.
Let's not forget, this was a period when Nissan also served up the Primera P10 which campaigned successfully in British Touring Cars, winning two championships later in the 1990s, proving they knew how to make a car handle.
It was one of the best hot hatchbacks of its era. And the fact that it didn’t look like anything special was - to some - part of its appeal. It wasn't a huge sales success though and not even a series of well-observed TV ads spoofing The Professionals and The Sweeney could save it from relative obscurity.
Today, the Nissan Almera GTi has all but disappeared and it remains an outlier rather than a default choice for those in the market for a 90ss hot hatch. But to the educated few, it’s a fabulous car and one that deserves to be cherished and preserved.
