By Ewan Kennedy
NISSAN Pulsar is a long time favourite in the Australian market and for many years has kept other Japanese marques on their toes with its bargain basement pricing.
Not the most modern or stylish car on the market by any stretch of the imagination, the Pulsar has generally sold to those more interested in function than fashion.
It comes as no surprise that more than 370,000 Australians have bought Pulsars in the 25 years it has been on our market.
Now, sadly, the Pulsar is in its sunset years and is soon to be replaced by an all-new model called the Tiida.
Nissan Australia won’t give us pricing details on the new Tiida, but it’s sure to be pushed further upmarket than the Pulsar.
If you’re on a tight budget this may be the time to pick up a bargain on the last of the Pulsars.
Pulsar is a practical car and interior room is fine for two adults and three pre-teen children.
Four adults can be transported in reasonable comfort if those in the front can put their seats forward a few notches.
The front seats are large and well-shaped, though some may find them a little short in the cushion and therefore not able to provide as much support as they like.
This is very much a personal thing, of course, but try to take a Pulsar for a decent test drive to get a feel for what you like.
Boot volume is pretty good, with the Pulsar hatchback, which is almost a station wagon in its shape, being particularly versatile thanks to its fold-down seats.
The sedan’s boot is simple to load and is reasonably well shaped, but has a through-seat port in place of folding seats so isn’t quite so versatile.
Refinement is good and the Pulsar has sound levels that are comparable to those of six-cylinder cars only a couple of generations back.
The smallest Nissan currently sold in Australia, Pulsar has a quiet ride with a minimum of squeaks and rattles and those are usually only on bad road surfaces.
Nissan Pulsar uses front-wheel drive plus rack-and-pinion steering in a layout that’s pretty well the norm in this class of car these days.
Road grip is strong and the steering is reasonably precise, understeer not starting to show until you are going pretty hard.
Handling is competent without being particularly interesting but safety is high on the list of priorities and this is an excellent car for the average driver.
In this latest model, the Pulsar’s 1.8-litre engine uses an electronic throttle instead of a cable operated one.
This is most noticed in sudden throttle movements but you will also find the throttle control just that little bit better in other circumstances.
Cruise control is now standard on Pulsars with automatic transmission.
Cruise doesn’t always work at its best in smaller four-cylinder engines, but the Nissan unit is effective.
Our four-speed automatic Pulsar used about 11 to 12 litres per 100 kilometres in suburban running.
That dropped to comfortably under 10 litres on country runs. A manual Pulsar will typically use five to 10 per cent less petrol than an automatic.
Now may well be a great time to get in for a bargain in one of the last of the Nissan Pulsars.
No promises, though, because importers do everything they can during the runout period to keep their stock numbers from getting out of control.
Keep a close eye on the market over the next few months and try to make a move at the best time.
MODEL RANGE
Pulsar ST 1.8-litre four-door sedan – $18,990
Pulsar ST-L 1.8-litre four-door sedan – $19,990
Pulsar ST 1.8-litre five-door hatch – $19,990
Pulsar Q 1.8-litre four-door sedan – $22,990
Pulsar Q 1.8-litre five-door hatch – $23,990
