The Nissan they're missin'

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Nissan New Zealand will get its first shipment of new Primera models next month. How many? "Hundreds," says managing director John Manley. "Boy, have we missed this car. It's a squeeze when you haven't got your bestselling variant."

Manley can't wait. Mostly because the new Primera is a class act and Nissan expects it to pick up where it left off - as the medium-size segment leader.

Also, the New Zealand sedans and station wagons will be different from the Japanese domestic models he has been using for evaluation.

The wheels and tyres will go. So will the seat fabric. Same with the Japanese radio and its pre-set frequencies. And the satellite-navigation system with its map of Japan on CD.

"We took the disc out of the sat-nav," says the company's marketing chief, Peter Merrie. "It wasn't a hell of a lot of use to us - it kept saying we were in the Sea of Japan."

Nissan New Zealand nearly missed out on the Primera. Australia wasn't taking it and head office in Japan didn't want to go to the expense of redesigning things such as the Japanese-spec electronic dashboard for a small market like New Zealand.

Nissan here was between a rock and a hard place. It desperately needed to replace the previous Primera, but its only alternatives were a lean-burn Japanese Bluebird model or the British-spec Primera.

The Bluebird wouldn't run on our fuel and the British Primera would be too expensive to land. Back to the rock and a hard place.

It wasn't until other right-hand-drive markets in Asia pushed for the Primera that Nissan changed its mind and squeezed New Zealand into the new production schedule.

The Primera is a vast improvement over the car it replaces. It is better-looking, roomier, more efficient and more powerful.

It is an altogether quieter package, its refined interior, handling and ride worthy of a more prestigious badge.

The production model mirrors that of an earlier prototype. Nissan didn't need to change much. It slanted the nose to give the car a different look to that of a conventional "three-box" - bonnet, cabin and boot - model.

In the process it increased the size of the car. It is longer - the sedan by 105mm and the wagon by 160mm. It is 65mm wider and between 30mm (wagon) and 80mm (sedan) taller. The wheelbase is also longer, by 80mm, which contributes to the fine ride.

The cabin benefits from the greater dimensions. It is 210mm longer in the sedan and 195mm in the wagon, providing more legroom front and back. Headroom is up, too, by 20mm.

The Primera is powered by a 2-litre four-cylinder engine producing 110kW at 6000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 4000rpm. The old model produced 96kW and 169Nm. The variable valve engine has been designed to produce more useable torque across the rev range, to allow Nissan to take advantage of the Hyper CVT (continuously variable transmission) in the Primera.

The CVT provides seamless gear changes without the shift shock and momentary loss of torque in a conventional automatic. Characteristically, it hangs on to the revs under throttle, which will be a new experience for many buyers. But it is very efficient.

Nissan gave the Primera a new multi-link suspension system, too, reworking the front, for more accurate steering and better roadholding, and the back, to allow a small amount of rear-wheel steering. The result is a car that, despite a lack of steering feel, handles and rides well and goes where it is pointed.

The Primera wagon has one of the most practical boots in the business. Under the rear flat floor is a moulded lift-out shelf for wet clothes. Under that is the full-size spare wheel. The Primera sedan costs $39,995, the wagon $40,995.