Meh. That's the word some PHers like to use about cars such as the Nissan Primera.
But then, a few months ago in Carpool, PHer mrpushrod told us about something he'd bought last February to replace a suddenly-dead Freelander. He'd a £500 budget and a lot of boxes to tick: an acceptable degree of performance, reliability, low running costs, and plenty of room inside. The answer for him was a Nissan Primera GT, a car developed by famed Nissan Skyline Ringmeister Dirk Schoysman. Our man mrpushrod fortuitously dropped onto a 45,000-miler in red for £475 and as far as we know he is still living happily ever after with it.
Flip paint not to Shed's taste but stands out
So, meh all you like, but what you're looking at here is a practical and quick car that's as tough as old boots and capable of handling in a fashion that will totally belie the sales rep styling,
The Primera's inherent lack of character was addressed to some extent in this special edition GTSE Mystic. Whether you approve of the BTCC-celebratory-type workover or not, there's certainly no ignoring it. Flip paint is one of those things that you either get or you don't get. Shed falls into the second category, but he would never begrudge anyone else the right to see the beauty in something that (some might think) looks like an oil slick on a wet road.
This P11 model is a little heavier than its sub-1,300kg predecessor, but its 148hp 2.0-litre twin-cam motor will still give you a warm glow. You'lll want to thrash it a bit as the gearing is quite short (70mph in top puts nearly 3,500rpm on the tacho) and the not altogether accurate feeling from the driver's seat is that there isn't much bottom end thrust.
Dull Primera interior also 'livened up'
In all honesty they don't feel that refined when they're being thrashed, but the big payoff with these Primeras is their ability to survive. 'Bombproof' is a famous last word in any environment, let alone an automotive one, but Nissans of this era come closer to it than most. In fact it would be difficult to imagine a driving regime that would kill a Primera GT. Shed remembers trying to murder a Honda C90 stepthrough scooter. It laughed off being ridden into brick walls, and guffawed metallically at being set on fire. Even a full afternoon of caber-tossing, with the Honda as the caber, failed to subdue the little fella. In terms of its resistance to abuse, the Primera is the four-wheeled equivalent of a C90. With under 90K on the clock of this one there's every reason to expect many more years of trouble-free motoring from it. Famous last words and all that but Shed's confident...
Endurance isn't the Primera's only forte, mind. The solid handling and grip delivered by the strut/multi-link chassis (on smooth roads at least) will cause your Ron Burgundy moustache to bristle thrillingly. The braking from 280mm vented front discs should be excellent too. In the unlikely event of trouble, or just to chew the fat with like-minded folk, there's a friendly owners' club too.
Refurbed BBS wheels in gold look, well, gold
In summation then, here we have a limited edition version of a practical five-seat family hatch that will do 0-60 in eight seconds, 30-odd mpg and the best part of 130mph. It has a proud BTCC racing pedigree, an unburstable engine, low mileage, and a full MOT for the next owner.
Ah yes, it's easy to see why people hate Nissans so.
The ad is a feature in itself, so we'll let you enjoy that here and below.
Welcome to the advertisement for my Nissan Primera 2.0lt GT Special Edition Mystic. Produced in 1998 to celebrate the two BTCC (British Touring Car Championships) victories in 1998, Nissan UK released a limited edition of 400 'GTSE' Models, with 16" AZEV alloy wheels, two-tone 'flip' ChromaFlair "Mystic" green paint, following the special theme to the interior which featured full leather seating with green piping seats, steering wheel and a Momo gearknob.
I have owned her for 2 years and in this time have thoroughly enjoyed driving her, she is a powerful car and a real headturner thanks to the chromoflair paint which flips from green to purple to bronze.
I have listed a full spec of the mods etc below but to give you an overview she is currently at 88k and taxed until end of March. The current MOT is due to expire in April but she will be sold with a new 12 month ticket.
The car came with 12 months MOT with no advisories and passed last year's MOT with the only advisories for 2 front tyres. These have since been replaced with 2 x Kuhmo Solus. During my ownership we have had a new front cross member fitted, a new starter motor and a replacement radiator. She has been serviced every 6 months or 6000 miles with genuine Nissan parts.
She has been my pride and joy and as such as been regularly washed, polished & valeted. The bodywork is overall in very good condition; there are some marks, light scratches as expected for a car of her age, although I would say this is still significantly less than the average.
The is no rust on the rear tail gate and no visible rust to arches or sills there is a small (approx 5mm) rust spot on the rear end underneath rear offside light cluster. There is a small crease on the nearside of the rear end which was there when purchased and has not deteriorated in this time. There is a light scratch on the bonnet (there is a replacement bonnet available). There is a slight damage in the form of a crease to the front passenger sill, there are no significant marks, scrapes or scratches to the paint work
The full leather interior is in very good condition; drivers bolster has some slight wear but no rips tears or holes. The front passenger seat is in very good condition showing light wear. The rear seats have been rarely used by myself and therefore are in excellent condition no scrapes tears or wear. The steering wheel has a small wear on the leather approx 5 pence piece.
The following modifications are present:
JDM crystal lights
Laguna splitter
De-vinyled door pillars
K&N 57i induction
Skyline clear side repeaters
Professionally sprayed original 16" AZEV alloys in drift gold
Professionally sprayed exterior handles in drift gold
Gold Nissan badges
Supersprint stainless exhaust
JVC head unit (aux output)
Primera mats
Stainless pedals
Original MOMO gear knob - in good condition
Purple led alarm light
Stainless steel Primer front sill guards (with P 11 font)
Colour coded gaiter
We have a significant amount of spares in Mystic and will be looking to sell these on also therefore I have listed 2 prices below, 1 for the car and 1 for the car plus spares.
Spares:
spare steering wheel excellent condition
spare bonnet in excellent condition
spare tail gate no rust
a small quantity of kv7 (mystic) Paint for touch ups small jobs
2 wings excellent condition
2 spray cans of kv7 mix approx half full
I have put a true realistic figure on here of what I want for both the car and the parts, I could add £100 to this for negotiation purposes to make you feel that you're getting a good deal, but I haven't, I believe she's worth the asking price.
Price for Car including all Mods as listed above £900
Price for Car including all Mods and all Spares as listed above £1050
I have been limited to the number of photographs on this advert but am happy to supply a link to a photobucket account which has approx 60 photographs showing the interior and exterior of the car.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the car, please come and have a look you really wont be disappointed! Thank you for looking.
