Review
Because after driving the new Primera, you gett the distinct impression revolution has been in the air and conformity has been thrown in the bin at Nissan. I envisaged designers and engineers turning up to work with Zapata moustaches, berets and bullet belts slung around their shoulders as they entered their brave new world. Che Guevara and Trotsky rubbing shoulders with George down in the console design office, and Alan over in the plastics division.
The old Primera was staid, reliable, comfortable, and drove decently well - a motoring lounge slipper. The new Primera, however, is anything but, and represents a bold change in attitude from a middle-of-the-road, take-no-risks mindset to a more radical and see-who-it-attracts attitude.
Nissan will be aiming its new creation at the user-chooser market, and is looking to increase its share by 2003, the first year of full sales, to at least 5 per cent of the D-segment, up from less than 4 per cent last year for the outgoing model.
This equates to a jump from 15,225 sales to 24,000, which should be within reach, because at the most basic level, there will always be a market for something different that is done well.
What people will get is 1.8, 2.0-litre CVT-M6 automatic petrol versions and a 2.2 Di diesel, with saloon and estate at launch on March 1. A hatchback and six speed 2.0-litre model will follow at the beginning of July.
Nissan is also confident of attracting an increasing number of non-fleet buyers, which means that it has revised the fleet/retail split from 80/20 per cent to 70/30 per cent. It expects half of the fleet interest to come from user-choosers.
David Murfitt, Nissan fleet sales director, is optimistic about the new Primera. He said: 'We are competing in other areas of the market with this car, where the current model cannot. It will give new impetus. I've got big hopes for this car. It has really surprised the market. We have brought out a car that is a big leap forward.'
Nissan has spent time with fleet managers, asking them what they need and heeding what it heard. The little arrow next to the fuel gauge is indicative of this - fleet managers told the firm that an arrow telling the driver which side the fuel cap is on would be very handy for cars driven by a number of different people.
Prices, although not finalised, should be about £14,700 for the 1.8 S through to £17,600 for the 2.0 SVE, which comes with satellite navigation, rear view camera, rain-sensing wipers, mobile phone integration, the Premium audio system and 17-inch alloy wheels.
The Primera sedan deceives the eye and looks smaller than it is. The boot-to-bonnet line creases gently a couple of times and the lack of definitive 'here starts the bonnet and here begins the boot' points seems to fool the eye into believing it is more compact. In fact, it is only three centimetres shorter than a Peugeot 406.
It also looks much better in the flesh than in pictures. The creases around the body are sharp and dynamic. I can't say I have ever been a big fan of the corporate nostrils on the nose of Nissans, though.
The wagon is perhaps even better looking, with its tidy rear that reminded me of a Renault Laguna Sport Tourer rear end.
But it is inside where the new approach is most keenly delivered. The N-Form central console takes the experience further away from the conventional. Key features, including speedometer, rev counter and fuel gauge, are now in the centre of the dashboard, along with a screen underneath.
It is here that the whole Primera project has the potential of going pear-shaped. In the most conventional of markets this kind of thing done poorly could end up being made fun of for years, but the Primera keeps it all together. It makes the driver, as he or she fiddles with the buttons for the first time, exclaim, 'Oh, I seeeee....'
It works because of its innate logic and good common sense, which makes it a usable tool, rather than technological gimmick (remember the speaking Austin Maestro?).
The images on the screen mimic the buttons below, which are mostly numbered, so whether you are changing radio stations, inputting navigation directions or adjusting the air conditioning, it is always obvious and clear.
The TV screen on S models and above also performs one of the car's neatest tricks, incorporating images from the rear reversing camera that will keep the kids (and possibly the grown-ups) amused for ages. Engaging reverse sees the screen flicker into black and white life and drivers can watch what is going on behind as they back into a space.
In many ways it is better than those parking sensors that chirp away maniacally when you get too close to a discarded cola can, but I didn't have the chance to try it in the dark, where it might find its limitations.
On the road, the Primera is a comfortable car built for cruising long distances, although I found the seats were too high and felt as though they had been blown up with a foot pump. Nissan admits the seats are high but says the car is supposed to have a high seating position for better visibility, something of a watchword with the interior.
As I have mentioned, the dials for speed, revs, fuel and temperature sit above the central console rather than in front of the driver, as in the X-Trail, and take some getting used to. Apparently, the design of the car allows the instruments to be positioned further forward, which, according to Nissan, makes them easier to read and consequently much safer.
I couldn't possibly say otherwise, but it must make production costs cheaper when switching from left- to right-hand drive cars on the factory line in Sunderland.
Another great gadget in the Primera is Intelligent Cruise Control which adds a not-inconsiderable £1,650 with the CVT automatic transmission, and is the only car in its class to offer it. ICC uses a laser to lock on to vehicles in front. If the traffic slows, the laser recognises this and the odd feeling of being grabbed by some invisible magnetic hand comes over the car, as it sits a safe distance back.
ICC takes some getting used to, and requires a fair amount of trust in the technology, but it worked seamlessly on wide clear motorways in Spain, although I get the feeling the laser would be working its socks off on Britain's crowded motorways.
The estate feels much heavier than the sedan and seems to roll slowly on its springs in long curves. The sedan feels sharper and unfussed, although both are perhaps not as involving as the outgoing model, but both ride smoothly. The outgoing Primera's USP was a sporty drive, but these cars don't need that. They have so much else to recommend them.
As for engines, both petrol and diesel felt good, with the diesel at cruising speeds in fifth or sixth as quiet as anything in the class. The variable nozzle turbocharger, which gives a flatter torque curve, irons out some of the chugginess of Nissan's 2.2-litre common rail engine. With some neat innovations and stylish execution, the Primera should prove that being different in the D sector can work.
