The Nissan Primera is one of the clearest examples of the fact that manufacturers are making much bigger cars nowadays than they did, say, ten years ago. The original Primera was a medium-sized machine; the new generation is enormous by comparison, as if the car was designed to fight against Omegas and Scorpios rather than Vectras and Mondeos.In terms of interior space, this is obviously an advantage. All passengers have plenty of room, and the estate tested here swallows a substantial amount of luggage.On the other hand, the Primera now also handles like the big, heavy beast it is. The first Primera was outstanding as a driver's car, particularly in terms of its steering, which was - perhaps needlessly - by a very long way the sharpest and most responsive in its class.Every last vestige of this sporty behaviour has been lost. Whereas early Primeras were spritely, the new model is lumbering. It hauls itself over bumps and takes a long time to settle down afterwards, and although it corners quite well considering its bulk it is no longer particularly enjoyable to drive.The 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine of the test car has been seen before in other Nissans. Fortunately, it makes far less of a racket than the company's first effort of this kind in the Almera, and it provides decent performance. Nissan has taken advantage of its mid-range pulling power by fitting a very high sixth gear, which gives well over 35mph per 1000rpm.That's exceptionally long-legged even by current turbo diesel standards, and it's slightly more than the engine can cope with on anything other than a level road. There are diesel rivals which can accelerate up hills in top, but the Primera usually needs a downshift to fifth, which to a large extent cancels out the whole point of having such a flexible engine in the first place.It's not as if this tall gearing helps the fuel economy much. On paper the Primera does not seem to be thirsty at all, but in the real world I found I was having to make more frequent visits to the pumps than I had expected.For a list price of just under £20,000 (not including extras fitted to the test car such as £250 worth of metallic paint) the Primera is absolutely festooned with goodies like 17" alloy wheels, ABS, EBD, brake assist, a full complement of airbags, climate control air-conditioning and so on.This price also covers the Birdview satellite navigation system which we've had reason to criticise in other Nissan applications. It's one of the most impressive-looking satnavs on the market, but the information it uses is by no means fully reliable.Hilariously, it fails to identify the address of the CARkeys editorial office, despite the fact that this street has been in existence for more than a century. It does, however, claim the existence of two petrol stations in the neighbourhood which have been out of business since the current Primera was in the early prototype stage, but does not recognise one that is still going strong after nearly thirty years.Of course, it's easy to be picky . . . but that's the whole point. It should be much harder to criticise such a complex and expensive system. Birdview needs a major rethink when Nissan's rivals are leaving it standing.Far more useful is the rear-view camera which operates every time you select reverse gear. The image is shown on the 7" dashboard screen which at other times serves as the display for Birdview, the radio or the air-conditioning.As a navigation aid it is no substitute for looking out of the back window (I tried this once, in a relatively open space, and nearly ended up in Denmark) but it does allow you to park right next to solid objects without touching them. Considering the car's bulk, this is a very useful addition to the spec list.The Primera is at its best on long cruises, when it is smooth, comfortable, reasonably quiet and most likely to give decent fuel economy. But it is no longer any fun.Second opinion: I have a feeling that too many different people have been involved in the design of this car, not always heading in the same direction. The no-ornament styling is a commendable effort, the long-distance cruising performance is fine, and even if you don't altogether see the point of the N-Form "command centre" shelf of controls in place of the usual distribution of switchgear, it's certainly a new approach. But the diesel estate doesn't have much handling flow, and the engine is hard pushed to cope with the very high top ratio in a six-speed box which isn't a great deal of fun (that word again) to play around with. About Birdview - the system itself works well, and that diagonal look-down on the route ahead is quite intriguing. But Nissan ought to buy in more up-to-date mapping. Overall, I much preferred the 2.2-litre turbo diesel X-Trail. Ross Finlay. Engine 2184cc, 4 cylinders Power 124bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 46.3mpg / 161g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.9 seconds Top speed 121mph Price £19,500 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
