Second Hand Sense: Nissan AlmeraIf you drive five kilometres on any road you will be hardpressed not to encounter a Nissan Almera, a car that has rather quietly, but effectively, competed with the VW Golf, the Ford Focus and others for several years now.
Perhaps it is the terribly anonymous styling of the car, but despite the fact that it has sold in big numbers, it has never had anything like the road profile of the others. The Almera has been around for over 12 years now and has been sought out by those looking for value for money rather than performance or looks.
Soon the Almera name will be no more, as Nissan adopts a more market-driven approach to selling its products and introduces a number of variations on the same theme by building more than one car on the same platform.
In the meantime, the Almera is one of the most commonplace cars on the second-hand market and careful buyers will have plenty to choose from. The car comes in three and five-door versions and also in a saloon variation and whatever styling advantage the car has, lies with the hatchback.
The saloon is by far the duller and has virtually no personality to distinguish it. However, if you can forget about the looks you can find a car that offers good reliability, reasonable interior room and respectable economy.
The main engine is a 1.5-litre petrol unit that has served Nissan well but is now showing its age in terms of noise and performance.
Inside the car you get the impression of a busy cockpit but there is still a lot of plastic. Dials and switches are functional and clear. Front accommodation is very good but not so the rear, with passengers likely to feel rather cramped. The hatchback is the more practical of the two, but both versions have plenty of practical storage space.
The ride can be a bit thrashy as one has the impression of older suspension design, but for average family motoring, the Almera does reasonably well. It is a good car around the city and the 1.5 engine is a good all-rounder.
The Almera had its EuroNCAP crash test in 2001 and had a four star rating out of a possible five. A good result at the time, but hardly class-leading today. The car has had a good history but has had some recalls, some as late as 2003. There have been problems with some Almeras because handbrakes were faulty in 2002, some rear seat belts caused problems in the same year, and in 2003, some 108,000 cars were recalled because of engine stalling, although there were other Nissan cars, such as the Tino variant of the Almera, involved in that recall.
There are so many second-hand Almeras for sale that it really is a buyer's market.
A 2005 model with extras such as ABS, electrics, power steering, two airbags, sunroof and central locking and 47,000km on the clock is on offer for €15,195. A 2006 model, with similar equipment and 20,000km, is seeking €16,495 and the same car with just 15,000km is on offer for €16,995.
FOR: used price because plenty on the market AGAINST: dull styling, average performance