Is the mark 1 Almera the greatest car ever?

calistro · 03-03-2019 9:51am

Brought my 01 Almera to be scrapped yesterday. Gearbox was slowly dying and actually died on arrival to the breakers yard!...knew she wouldn't let me down!
Cheapest 3 years of driving, bought for â‚¬850, was meant as a stop-gap until I got a few quid together, but it never failed me despite purposefully not servicing it, only needed a tire and brakes for NCT over the 3 yrs plus I got â‚¬125 back on her!...happy out, great car!

Wildly Boaring · 03-03-2019 10:21am

Mr.Cool2015 wrote: »

I remember when the Tiida first launched in Ireland,it was a really boring car.

I don't remember.
Probably the most boring car.

colm_mcm · 03-03-2019 10:24am

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

I don't remember.
Probably the most boring car.

SX4 saloon possibly even worse

Wildly Boaring · 03-03-2019 11:05am

Honourable mentions to

Fluence
Almera saloon

American generic saloons... impala altima

V8 Interceptor · 03-03-2019 11:29am

calistro wrote: »

Brought my 01 Almera to be scrapped yesterday.

Are insurance companies insuring old cars again?

Grab All Association · 03-03-2019 11:52am

calistro wrote: »

Brought my 01 Almera to be scrapped yesterday. Gearbox was slowly dying and actually died on arrival to the breakers yard!...knew she wouldn't let me down!
Cheapest 3 years of driving, bought for â‚¬850, was meant as a stop-gap until I got a few quid together, but it never failed me despite purposefully not servicing it, only needed a tire and brakes for NCT over the 3 yrs plus I got â‚¬125 back on her!...happy out, great car!

Did Nissan ever recall it for the airbag issue? Brother in law only got the letter recently for his 2002 Almera

AMKC · 03-03-2019 11:21pm

StereoSound wrote: »

If it was 1989' I'd march into a main dealer in my grey suit, brown shoes and briefcase to buy a brand new Toyota Carina or Nissan Bluebird. I'd pay extra to get the cassette deck so I can play my Vangelis tapes. Nice.

I got a spin in a bluebird back in the 90s. Terrible boring car and not very nice or smooth over bumps or around corners either as well as feck all equipment in it.

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

I don't remember.
Probably the most boring car.

It might have been boring but it was very spacious, very well equipped, reliable and well built.

colm_mcm wrote: »

SX4 saloon possibly even worse

Not at all. Noting wrong the with the SX4 saloon. Id say the Tiida or any Almera was more boring.

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Honourable mentions to

Fluence
Almera saloon

American generic saloons... impala altima

The Fluence was quiet a good car even if it was built it a backwards third world country in the middle east. I thought it was an inoffensive good looking car.

JohnBoy26 · 04-03-2019 12:02am

AMKC wrote: »

I got a spin in a bluebird back in the 90s. Terrible boring car and not very nice or smooth over bumps or around corners either as well as feck all equipment in it.

I remember them being well specced for their time tbh. A relative had a 1988 bluebird with a factory sunroof and electric windows all around afair. It was actually a very nice car back then.

Tuco88 · 04-03-2019 12:12am

The 80s opel ascona and rekords were a decent car.

The typical farmers car?

Opel ascona/vaux cavalier.
Vw bora,vento.
Opel astra/vectra.
Toyota corrola/carina.
Odd volvo Peugeot?
Ford Serria/Cortina?

I'd almost give the farmers brand to opel overall.
Sorry toyota, is the taxi mans car. Merc and Audi reps/suits car.

And the humble bmw the orginal prick$ car ðŸ˜...

AMKC · 04-03-2019 12:49am

Tuco88 wrote: »

The 80s opel ascona and rekords were a decent car.

The typical farmers car?

Opel ascona/vaux cavalier.
Vw bora,vento.
Opel astra/vectra.
Toyota corrola/carina.
Odd volvo Peugeot?
Ford Serria/Cortina?

I'd almost give the farmers brand to opel overall.
Sorry toyota, is the taxi mans car. Merc and Audi reps/suits car.

And the humble bmw the orginal prick$ car ðŸ˜...

Add the Ford Mondeo to that. It was most certainly a typical farmers car.

calistro · 04-03-2019 7:46am

Grab All Association wrote:

Did Nissan ever recall it for the airbag issue? Brother in law only got the letter recently for his 2002 Almera

Never got a recall letter for it, no.

calistro · 04-03-2019 7:49am

V8 Interceptor wrote:

Are insurance companies insuring old cars again?

Had it insured through AA for last 3 years, had to stick with them though as found it hard to get quotes from other sites. Although bought a 03 Forester to replace it and no issue with quotes and actually around â‚¬200 cheaper, strange?

jobless · 04-03-2019 9:54am

Grab All Association wrote: »

Did Nissan ever recall it for the airbag issue? Brother in law only got the letter recently for his 2002 Almera

i got a letter last week, getting the airbag fixed on weds... 2004 hatchback

chicorytip · 04-03-2019 2:10pm

V8 Interceptor wrote:

Are insurance companies insuring old cars again?

If you mean cars aged over sixteen years, try Allianz.

MojoMaker · 04-03-2019 2:51pm

^^ On the contrary, Allianz are the crowd that started the current trend of making it difficult to insure cars over 15yrs on a new policy.

horseofstone · 24-03-2020 6:30pm

I put the Almera in for the Nct yesterday and it passed. It's some car, 20 years old and still going string, 265 miles on the clock. Legend of a car, the mark 1 almera is so underrated.

Henry Ford III · 24-03-2020 6:33pm

horseofstone wrote: »

I put the Almera in for the Nct yesterday and it passed. It's some car, 20 years old and still going string, 265 miles on the clock. Legend of a car, the mark 1 almera is so underrated.

I'm not sure are they any good, but I still see a few mainly holding up traffic.

Tough old nails.

colm_mcm · 24-03-2020 6:58pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

It’s no Corolla.

This.

CianRyan · 24-03-2020 7:16pm

I'm obviously bias but yes, they are the beat cars ever.
Especially in 3 door hatchback version.

26-03-2020 11:30am

Within a few years of buying mine new, there was a meme that Almera drivers were the worst. As time went on, I started feeling there was something to the meme. Had mine for 15 years. Yesterday I sat behind a mk1 Almera. I had plenty of time to admire how fresh it was up close, as the driver was never in any danger of exceeding 20kph :rolleyes:

punisher5112 · 26-03-2020 11:32am

I thought the sunny was better.....

Hated almeras..... They were/are thirsty yokes.....

26-03-2020 2:20pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

I thought the sunny was better.....

Hated almeras..... They were/are thirsty yokes.....

Mine wasn't bad on juice, but then it mostly did main road commutes. The gear ratios were too short on the 1.4 - in top gear at 100kph, the engine was revving at 3200rpm.

accensi0n · 28-03-2020 10:08pm

Have a 99 Nissan Almera, 5 door saloon, silver.

Has never not started and has never broken down.

Have had corrosion/rust issues on the under-body alright which required some work, as well as issues with wiper linkage.

I'd love to drive it into the ground but I don't think I'd be able to. It's starting to get pretty uncomfortable, have some hip and ankle issues and the stiff pedals do not help at all. I find it very very noticeable after driving someone else's more comfortable car.

28-03-2020 10:15pm

accensi0n wrote: »

Have a 99 Nissan Almera, 5 door saloon, silver.

Has never not started and has never broken down.

Have had corrosion/rust issues on the under-body alright which required some work, as well as issues with wiper linkage.

I'd love to drive it into the ground but I don't think I'd be able to. It's starting to get pretty uncomfortable, have some hip and ankle issues and the stiff pedals do not help at all. I find it very very noticeable after driving someone else's more comfortable car.

So what you are saying is the car is going well and it is u is the problem.....sorry, only joking. They are definitely one of the best cars built. I bought a 00 in 2004 and only had to get rid of it last year because the NCT failed it on rust on the chassis and it wasn't economically viable to fix it and insurance company robbing me blind . Would love to still have it though

29-03-2020 1:43am

A poor mans corolla. Soft compared to the sunny it replaced. Most left on the road are there due to NCT bit being stringent enough... I'd pity anyone who crashes in one.

BrianD3 · 29-03-2020 5:39pm

A decent car that was highly rated for ride and handling by the car mags back in the mid 90s. I only drove one a couple of times and its a long time ago but I remember it being better than the Escort, Golf Mk3, Corolla and Astra of the time and also better than the Mk2 Almera. Rust resistance and safety of the Mk1 were probably average by mid 90s standards.

The Mk2 Primera that was introduced around the same time was better again vs its own class rivals, a very good car.

chicorytip · 29-03-2020 10:24pm

Augeo wrote: »

A poor mans corolla. Soft compared to the sunny it replaced. Most left on the road are there due to NCT bit being stringent enough... I'd pity anyone who crashes in one.

The N16 is tank like as regards safety but it's a completely different type of car compared to it's predecessor, much bigger, heavier and more thirsty.

Eric Cartman · 29-03-2020 10:39pm

Atoms for Peace wrote: »

The mk1 Primera was better, pity they had to make each subsequent mark worse than the one before.

if were sticking to Nissans, the maxima was where it was at, almost every single one of them was bought and shipped to Africa when they went sub 1k in 2009-10. A great luxury step up from an economy brand with easy running costs.

CianRyan · 29-03-2020 10:39pm

The N16 is, in my professional opinion, ****.

colm_mcm · 29-03-2020 11:14pm

chicorytip wrote: »

The N16 is tank like as regards safety but it's a completely different type of car compared to it's predecessor, much bigger, heavier and more thirsty.

The only thing an N16 has in common with a tank is the metallic clang when you close the door.

murphyebass · 30-03-2020 8:20am

Augeo wrote: »

.. I'd pity anyone who crashes in one.

1000 times this!

The doors sounded like they were made of tin foil when closing them.

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 4:56pm

I sent mine through a fence after flying up an embankment when I locked up going down a slippery hill.
The car was wrecked, started up fine but snapped both drive shafts and all of the crumple zones were crumpled.
That was 60kph to 0kph in the blink of an eye and myself and another boardsie were absolutely fine. Walked out of the car and were both in work the next morning with nothing more than a feeling of disbelief.

That same car had be crashes and repaired before I bought it, not bad in my opinion.

colm_mcm · 30-03-2020 5:52pm

1.5 stars in the NCAP

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 6:04pm

No ABS, only two air bags, no traction control, etc so it starts out really low, you can never compare it to a more modern car.

colm_mcm · 30-03-2020 6:37pm

CianRyan wrote: »

No ABS, only two air bags, no traction control, etc so it starts out really low, you can never compare it to a more modern car.

It’s the structure of the car though as well.

https://youtu.be/v0ANl52UZHo

See the door and roof. Passenger cell really deformed for that to happen. Dash/firewall would have moved closer to the driver.

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 7:33pm

And how does that compare to similarly prices hatch backs from the mid to late 90's?

We all know they're tin cans but I stand by what I say, I you cant compare the NCAP ratings now that they're so much more stringent.
You also got a remember, the vast majority of crashes aren't going to be headfirst, at high speed into a concrete block.

30-03-2020 7:55pm

True..... Up embankments and through fences :pac:

Leonard Hofstadter · 30-03-2020 8:24pm

CianRyan wrote: »

And how does that compare to similarly prices hatch backs from the mid to late 90's?

We all know they're tin cans but I stand by what I say, I you cant compare the NCAP ratings now that they're so much more stringent.
You also got a remember, the vast majority of crashes aren't going to be headfirst, at high speed into a concrete block.

The Corolla got three stars (and the version that came out the time of the Mk1 Almera was really just a facelifted version of the model that came out in 1991 as opposed to a brand new car), the Megane got four stars.

Even by the standards of the day, it was at best poor compared to its rivals.

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 9:19pm

Augeo wrote: »

True..... Up embankments and through fences :pac:

It was an experience, thought me a lot about how not to crash. :pac:

Leonard Hofstadter wrote: »

The Corolla got three stars (and the version that came out the time of the Mk1 Almera was really just a facelifted version of the model that came out in 1991 as opposed to a brand new car), the Megane got four stars.

Even by the standards of the day, it was at best poor compared to its rivals.

Well I cant argue with that, mine did what it was designed to do though and it saved me and my friend by taking away the impact.

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colm_mcm · 30-03-2020 9:23pm

At 60mph you’d probably have wings and a harp now.

pablo128 · 30-03-2020 9:29pm

CianRyan wrote: »

It was an experience, thought me a lot about how not to crash. :pac:

Well I cant argue with that, mine did what it was designed to do though and it saved me and my friend by taking away the impact.

Ah lad you haven't crashed until you've rippled the roof skin.(Don't ask me how I know.)

That's barely a tip.:pac:

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 9:36pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

At 60mph you’d probably have wings and a harp now.

Yep but as I said, most accidents aren't head on into a concrete block at 60mph.

The way people bang in about old cars, you'd swear it was by the grace of God anyone has managed to survive driving until the 2010's.

colm_mcm · 30-03-2020 9:50pm

A lot more people used to die in wrecks back in the day.

CianRyan · 30-03-2020 9:59pm

The roads were also worse, more people drank and drove, the laws surrounding learner drivers and the conditions of cars were also a lot looser.

You can't put it down to just one detail.

colm_mcm · 30-03-2020 10:11pm

Even lack of ABS was a huge factor, I was in a head on crash in 2000 with another car, both doing around 80k, (4 star NCAP) . Everyone walked out. I know if the car had been older it would have been worse.
That said I had cars like FTOs where safety was as good as a 90s Colt. As in non existent, it wasn’t a big factor tbh.

horseofstone · 31-03-2020 10:29pm

The Almera needed some welding underbody to pass the nct. One guy wanted €1000 euro to do the welding. Talk about overcharging! Anyway the good news is another fella carried out the repairs for €250 and it sailed through the recheck. Engine wise this car could reach 500k miles I reckon and its actually a comfortable oul wagon.

Oops! · 31-03-2020 10:43pm

Have a 99 N15 Almera here, 111k on the clock with a full service history, 4 electric windows, electric sun roof. I sold it to a man 6 years ago, i noticed it around christmas time parked up in his yard going green as he had bought another car and was going to scrap it.... I bought it back off him, it would be a sin to scrap it! It will have a fresh NCT when they are back up and running. I must have owned at least 10 N15's down through the years, anybody interested in the one above!?

zilog_jones · 01-04-2020 10:51am

CianRyan wrote: »

We all know they're tin cans but I stand by what I say, I you cant compare the NCAP ratings now that they're so much more stringent.

It was awarded 1.5 stars as per the 1999 Euro NCAP standards - this is not comparable to the ratings awarded today. It would probably be more like 0.1 stars by today's ratings.

CianRyan wrote: »

Yep but as I said, most accidents aren't head on into a concrete block at 60mph.

The front impact test was a deformable barrier (not concrete) at 64 km/h (not high speed!).

BrianD3 · 01-04-2020 10:51am

On the safety aspect, something that may be of interest is, in 1996 the ADAC performed an offset test fairly similar to the EuroNCAP test. The Almera was the best peformer - better than the Mk3 Golf, Fiat Brava and Renault Megane. When EuroNCAP tests were published ~18 months later the Megane obviously did much better than Almera and I think the Brava was slightly better with the Golf Mk3 never tested by EuroNCAP.

There are some conspiracy theories that the Almera was "altered" before the ADAC test. The structure of the Almera also penetrated deep into the deformable barrier

Details at the link below. There is also an English language version of the test report somewhere on the same Topico Dos Crash tests thread
https://forum.motorguia.net/forum-geral/33531-topico-dos-crash-tests-ancap-ranking-de-seguranca-de-carros-usados-acidentes-reais-116.html

zilog_jones · 01-04-2020 10:58am

The ADAC test used a LHD Almera, whereas the Euro NCAP used a RHD example. There could possibly be differences with the bulkhead and other structural components - test results have differed substantially because of this in other examples.

Is the mark 1 Almera the greatest car ever?

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