Back in 2002 I bought my first car, a 1992 Audi 100 2.3E. It was a handsome beast, comfortable, built like a bank vault, and with five cylinders, automatic climate control, a quiet interior and ABS brakes I could skip those terrible shitboxes than young people usually have to suffer in the beginning of their motoring life. But I learnt soon that the Audi left a lot to be desired about that “fun to drive” factor we car enthusiasts like so much, so after buying it almost immediately I started to look for a substitute. This would be a 1997 Nissan Primera GT, one of those unassuming looking cars that could teach a thing or two about driving pleasure.
Perhaps the name “Primera” doesn’t sound too familiar to American CC readers, but think “Infiniti G20” and you’ll recognise it. In theory the first and second generations of the Primera/G20 were conventional and dull looking medium size sedans/hatchbacks for the family man. In practice, a combination of revvy engines and sophisticated chassis made them very uplifting to drive. Why a car looking so inoffensive and destined to a generally indifferent audience was engineered to feel so good to drive is a mystery, but the truth is Nissan got it right from the start.
In its 1990 launch, the first generation Primera/G20 (or “P10”) was acclaimed by the European and North American press for being the best handling and more fun to drive family car. Well, let’s make that the only fun to drive medium size family car, with the exception of the Peugeot 405. The second generation Primera (“P11”) followed the recipe in 1996 carrying the same rev-happy 2.0 litre engine; as in the P10, that 2.0 litre was available in 130 and 150 bhp versions (the last in the top of the range GT model; back in 1997 that figure was a lot more impressive than today). A 1.6 petrol and a 2.0 diesel engines were also available. Shame that the 180 bhp Autech “Neo VVL” stayed in Japan. Incidentally, both Primera generations were built in Nissan’s Sunderland factory in England, avoiding sales restrictions for Japanese cars in the European Union. Just in case some of you raise an eyebrow about British car workers manufacturing skills (thanks British Leyland!), the Nissans were very well screwed together and reliable.
What made these cars so fun to drive? Well, the twin cam sixteen valve engine was an important factor, but the crucial one was a rather well solved suspension design. In the front, where almost every competitor boasted the usual McPhersons, the P10 and P11 had a front multilink device, derived from the 300 ZX Z32. In the rear, interestingly, the P11 had an apparently simple twist beam that seemed a retrograde step from the P10 independent suspension. But that beam was centrally located with what Nissan called a “Scott-Russell linkage”, similar to a Panhard rod, but more effective, better packaged and cheaper to make. What could seem a cheapskate feature proved to be a very good idea on the road; it must be one of the cleverest cost cutting engineering measures a Japanese car maker has introduced since the ´90s “yen shock”. In 1996 CAR Magazine declared the Primera SRi (2.0 litre, 130 bhp) as “one of the top 20 best handling cars”. Editor Mark Graham brillantly summed up: “The Primera is the best- handling minicab money can buy”, alluding to the Primera (and its predecessor the Bluebird) popularity as minicab in England. Another worthy quote was: “It takes just one lap to see the Primera is no track virgin”. Clearly, all those miles covered in the Nordschleife testing prototypes weren´t wasted.
A pity that styling was so derivative. The P10 was bland but at least it was 1990 and almost every family car was dull (in Europe, at least). The P11, launched in Europe at the end of 1996, was a make over of the first generation, and perhaps less elegant. In those years car makers were starting to be just a bit more risky: the new Peugeot 406 and Volkswagen Passat and the post restyling Ford Mondeo/ Contour were more modern and daring. The GT version was a bit fussy, too; with the deep front spoiler, rear wing and deep side skirts, the standard 15” alloys looked small. The interior didn’t win any prizes for class, especially its naff seat upholstery, but ergonomics were alright, and those sports seats were giving you a hint about the nature of the GT. Rather nice room in the back and useful boot, too.
But the Primera GT wasn’t a car you want to sit in the rear seat. You wanted to drive it. The SR20DE engine showed great enthusiasm climbing to the 7000 rpm redline. The gearbox was perfectly matched, thanks to short throws and fast action. And I have seldom driven cars so happy to be tossed around: flat cornering and good grip from the Pirellis P6000 weren’t missed, despite tyres were only 195/60. The best term I can use to describe it was “chuckable”: you pointed the bend, the car went around it, understeer well suppressed, safely, no questions asked.
Remembering my old Primera while writing this article reminded me that just a few years ago you didn’t need a lots of power to enjoy driving (performance was decent; a 8.5 seconds in the 0-100 km/h dash is not so bad, as is a 135 mph top speed) and looking my old refuelling notes, it could be rather economical. About 8 liters/100 kilometres, or 30 US mpg at 75 mph cruising, was easy to get.
And about reliability, well, my car was cheap because it needed a new clutch and a pair of front brake rotors. An electric window regulator broke, and a coolant hose developed a leak, the coolant falling on the alternator. Apparently the alternator wasn’t very happy with the coolant shower, and a few days later started to groan and finally failing.
I was rather happy with it, but after two years of ownership something terrible happened. I was struck by the Saab bug. I always liked the 9000, and by chance I met some guys from the local branch of a Saab club that convinced me to look for a 9000 Aero in the classifieds ads ignoring my zippy and practical Primera. Six months later, I found my Aero: a 1997, 120,000 miles, one owner, lovely car I owned for seven years. Much faster that the Primera, but with an arthritic chassis very inferior to the Nissan’s, my old Aero was a great car but taught me that it’s a lot more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
In the early 90’s there was an eGT Primera ( the 150 bhp one) on the company fleet which I got the keys of a couple of times. Around town it would shake the fillings from your teeth, but when you wound it up it was magic.Mechanically it was perfect. Not sure about the build quality though. A few years later I tried to buy a five-year old cooking version ( couldn’t afford to insure an eGT) and it was rusting in places I didn’t like, and some of the electrics had given up.
The second generation ( P11) was a let-down. Only drove a regular example but it didn’t look as good, and a cleaner exhaust was probably the only improvement.
Yes, the P10 was a bit prettier than the P11. A friend of mine has one with only 90,000 kilometers, it feels like a new car and drives great. Probably it was a bit faster than the P11, too.
With the styling being what it is, a higher performance version of this would be a quintessential sleeper.
Toyota had one in the nineties, the Carina E GTi. The most powerful edition (175 hp) had the 3rd gen 3S-GE engine (2.0 liter), plus Toyota’s SuperStrut suspension.
It was also Toyota’s last sleeper family car.
…”Well, let’s make that the only fun to drive medium size family car, with the exception of the Peugeot 405″…
Plus the Peugeot’s family member, the Citroën BX. Especially the one with 160 hp, introduced in the late eighties, and pictured below.
Good car though, the first gen Nissan Primera. And a commercial success. Its main Japanese competitors, also successful, were the 1992 Toyota Carina E and 1992 Mazda 626.
That era was filled with all new FWD D-segment family cars: 1993 Ford Mondeo, 1994 Renault Laguna and the 1995 Peugeot 406. Just a few of them. And in 1996 the dominance of the VAG-Group in that segment started with the VW Passat B5.
Don’t forget the Volvo 850…which was definitely more noted for its safety and comfort than its driving dynamics, T5 and R notwithstanding.
A like the BX a lot, but here in Spain it was perceived (and priced) more as a Escort/ Kadett/ Renault 11 rival, even if it was bigger. The Primera, 405, Sierra, Vectra et al were a bit more upmarket.
The BX sold very well here, but they have dissapeared…if I see one, it´s almost always a diesel beater in a rural zone.
I mentioned the Toyota and Mazda rivals above. How did these do in Spain ? They were all over the place here, in the nineties.
Tha Carina E sold moderately well. I remember when my father and me went to a Toyota dealer in 1995 as he was interested in the 1.6 version. Very roomy inside and, as it was relatively light, the truth is even the small engined Carina went well. The GTI didn´t came to Spain.
The 626, in the other hand, was very rare in Spanish streets. At launch in 1992 I think only the V6 version was sold. Believe or not, and with a few exceptions (as the Primera), in the ´80s and early ´90s Japanese cars sales restrictions made them almost “exclusive”…
The 1.6 gasoline was by far the most popular engine in the Carina E. High-quality all-rounders.
The styling of these suggested a dreadfully dull car, but they did have a reputation as being much more enjoyable to drive than you’d think. A friend owned a ’93 G20 for about five years, and quite loved it. Reluctantly traded in on a Mazda 3 hatch after it developed problems to where it would no longer pass state inspection, but even though it was newer and faster, the G20 was remembered more fondly.
It’s a shame Nissan’s styling was so boring in the 90s. Looking like a Sentra (or 1998 Altima) was not a way to attract near-luxury buyers. I think Jack B. on “the other site” wrote about this problem when trying to sell the G20.
Even the “flagship” Q45 looked boring. The first tried to be minimalistic but was too much so in buyers’ eyes, and the second was a forgettable mishmash of Mercedes and Lexus styling cues.
Nissan pretty much sank into oblivion. Until they introduced the 2007 Qashqai compact crossover, also built in Sunderland.
Maybe the exterior was boring, but that interior wasn’t. Visually, I’d far prefer the interior pictured here than some boring slick, monotone leather.
I seem to remember the G20 got good reviews here in the US.
I´ve read a Car and Driver six cars comparison test featuring the G20. It finishes fifth, despite “steering, shifter and suspension of racing car caliber”. Lack of power and “Iowa styling” are its weaknesses. The comparison is won by its brother the Maxima V6; I suspect the Maxima stole a lot of G20 potential sales.
What were the other cars tested?
The Acura Vigor, Maxima, Galant VR4, Legacy Turbo and Audi 80.
You can read it here
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5593716
Looking at the Nissan’s dash. Who was the first with that shape ? Mercedes W201 (190-series) ?
FINALLY….a car is profiled here that I actually owned.
I owned a P10 Primera/G20 and agree with most of what was “said” by the author of this piece. (Mine was built in Japan.) Dull styling not helped by dull colors (it seems as though 90% of U.S. G20s were grey or silver….no reds, no whites, no greens, but a very few golds), and a very strong resemblance to the U.S. Sentra (Sunny?) and Altima…both cheaper by the way.
I bought my G20 at 10 years old based on what I had read in CAR and Car&Driver and was not disappointed. Mine had the infamous 5th gear “pop-out” that all SR20 engined Nissan cars had. And for some reason, ALL G20s/Primeras developed a “lazy” right front window. CAR noted this in cars it tested and the same fault developed in my Japan built car. But other than that….no problems developed.
To drive? Like the proverbial “on rails” and with an engine that pulled well on moderate hills in 5th gear (steeper slopes needed 4th or 3rd gear) it pulled like a freight train.
BTW, the Primera was available as a wagon in some markets, and a 3rd generation was produced/sold in some markets.
I’m always on the lookout for another G20 (there are 2 in my area….both P11s in white), but finding one with low mileage AND a manual transmission is proving impossible.
Mine didn´t have the 5th gear “jump”, fortunately.
The P10 wagon was really a Nissan Avenir, not so much in common with the G20/Primera. Every body panel was different. Nissan sold it in Japan and in some European markets. The P11 wagon was based in the G20/Primera and sold in Japan and Europe.
The P12 third generation was sold in Japan and Europe, and not very successful (although I think it´s rather pretty… In Europe it led to the mid-size (for Europe) Nissan Qasqai crossover, a runaway sales success.
I rather like that also. Unconventional, though, and I’m not sure if Infiniti at the time would have wanted a hatchback (which may partly explain why we didn’t get it as a 3rd-generation G20.)
Here’s the Nissan Primera P12 sedan.
And the wagon was perhaps the prettiest.
i have had my G20t for almost 10 years now, and it currently holds a SR20VE in the engine bay. Cannot ever let go of this car, even though i tried. Recently got a white ’96 G20t in which an SR20VE 20V will be going in. The G20 is a secret that has not gotten out, yet.
Almost forgot, Nissan/Infiniti didn’t help sales, IMHO, by concentrating the sales push of the 2nd generation G20 in the U.S. on women.
Funny you should say that…Two of my friends drove silver G20’s both of them were women.
There is a difference between dull design and subtle design. The first gen G20 was dull looking only to people whose aesthetic sensibilities lack an appreciation for subtlety. It was a rather handsome, restrained car, far more sophisticated than comparable offerings of the day.
Okay, then not dull, but since the 1st and 2nd generation G20 are nearly indistinguishable from each other you can not say anything about the 1 without including the other.
The 3rd generation uses what APPEARS to be the same basic body shell as the 1st and 2nd generation but (apparently? ) Nissan realized the target market outside Japan didn’t want subtle and gave it more…..expressive (?) front and rear styling.
BTW, I traded my G20 for a nearly identical Integra. The specs on both the G20 and the Integra are/were nearly identical yet one would become a legend (no pun intended) while the other is known for it’s drivetrain only.
The first and second gens have always looked quite different to me. I didn’t like the second gen when it came out, but it’s not so bad to me now. But it struck me as dumbed down…the first gen was too subtle, so they rounded off the corners for no reason other than that’s what everyone else was doing.
The third gen…you mean the G35? I’ve never thought of this as the same model line…larger, rear wheel drive…but it’s a ŕeal clean design. I’ve seen a few recently, and they looked great.
The G35 wasn’t a Primera — that was an Infiniti version of the Skyline. The third-generation Primera was an — interesting — looking thing that wasn’t sold in the U.S.
They are a good attempt by a Japaneses manufacturer but for ride and handling the Peugeot/Citroen is still the way to go, Over here Toyota had champion race driver Chris Amon tune the suspension of their competitor in this field and it out shone the Nissan in the handling department too but still no match for the PSA twins.
My only experience with these was a phone call, I called up about a nice one on sale cheap l, but when I asked about rust:
“……….Yes there is rust…..Igottagosomeotherpeole are interested”.
Okay lookers, but if they’re stiff around town than no thanks, not on todays battered streets.
Wasnt there a P11 facelift ? Pretty daft looking if i remember, and i’d take handsome but bland over daft . My memory of these cars was just a feeling that they were well engineered. The P11 sold reasonably well in South Africa, you certainly saw them around.
Correct, the 1999 P11-144.
The U.S. did NOT get the P11 “facelift”. I imagine the front end styling was considered to be too close to that used on the U.S. market Maxima.
I somehow missed that multi-car test by Car&Driver. Several of the cars pitted against the G20 were not on my radar and were even “missing” in many cities. The only Galant VR4s I’ve ever seen were in magazines articles or on the web.
Having to compete against both the Altima and Maxima in the U.S. must have made life really difficult for the G20.
Excellent Article!
Thanks!