Nissan Pulsar 1995 News

The all-new Pulsar sedan is available from just $19,990 drive-away. But you had better be quick because the deal is runs only to the end of April.

As the advertising campaign said way back then, the lazy guy in the pricing department hasn’t been doing a lot. Though imports of the new Nissan Pulsar will begin in February next year, we won’t see the complete range until midway through the year. Indeed, further models may still be released after that. Nissan is remaining tight lipped on details of them. As previously, Pulsar will be sold in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback bodies. Both are larger than in previous Pulsar generations, with a strong emphasis on interior space. We haven’t had a chance to drive them yet, but our seating tests of cars specially imported prior to the Sydney motor show showed them to have good legroom, headroom and width in the rear seat. Two adults could sit there in comfort for extended trips. Just as importantly from the point of view of family car buyers is the huge 510-litre boot in the sedan. The range will consist of Pulsar ST, ST-L and Ti. A high-performance model will revive the famed Pulsar SSS name and add a bit of life to what can be a fairly dull market segment when it comes to sporty driving. Equipment levels are high, with even the lowest cost model getting alloy wheels; Bluetooth, MP3 and iPod connectivity; and a six-speaker audio system. Topline Pulsar Ti gets satellite navigation, dual zone air conditioning (the others have single zone air) and a remote key.  The engine in the standard Pulsar range will be a 1.8-litre unit producing up to 102 kW of power and 174 Nm of torque. The hot SSS engine is a turbocharged 1.6-litre with a handy 140 kW and 240 Nm. Manual six-speed and continuously variable automatic transmissions are offered. Aiming to hit the sales floor with a big bang, Nissan is making a pre-sale offer on the 2013 Pulsar sedan. With a 10 per cent deposit and a comparison rate of 7.5 per cent per annum, customers who order an all-new Pulsar sedan ST manual now can pay as little as $299 per month with a guaranteed future value. A $1000 ‘Nissan voucher’ scheme is offered to those buying a car outright. Full details of these offers are available from your local Nissan dealer. Specification levels and prices for the first group of 2013 Nissan Pulsar models are: ST: $19,990 (manual), $22,249 (CVT automatic) ST-L: $23,650 (manual), $25,900 (CVT automatic) Ti: $28,990 (CVT automatic)  

The SSS Pulsar storms back on to the local hot hatch stage with its Australian debut at AIMS, ahead of going on sale early next year.

The Pulsar was replaced by the awkward-looking and oddly-named Tiida in 2006 – and Nissan used Sex InThe City’s Kim Cattrall in TV ads to take attention away from the car’s drab styling. But the public wasn’t buying it – or the car – and sales of Nissan’s sole contender in the most popular vehicle category in Australia plummeted. The new Pulsar goes on sale early next year with the same price it left with – and where it was 16 years ago – $19,990 plus on-road costs. “At this price, the only inflation is in the tyres,” says William Peffer, the boss of Nissan Australia at a preview of the car ahead of the Sydney motor show, which opens this Friday. Nissan dealers protested angrily when the company dropped the Pulsar name in favour of the global Tiida badge – and they’ve been vindicated. Nissan says 7 out 10 of car shoppers still recognise the Pulsar badge even though it hasn’t been on sale for six years. “The Pulsar means a lot to this country,” says Peffer. “We made the right decision to return to the nameplate that for so long characterised and shaped Australia’s small car landscape.” With the new Pulsar sedan arriving in showrooms next February – followed by the Pulsar hatch 100 days later – the company is gunning for the top-selling Mazda3 and the new generation Toyota Corolla, launched later this week. “We hope we will outsell Corolla,” says Peffer. Buoyed by a recent bout of nostalgia, kicked off with the 50th anniversary of the Patrol 4WD, Nissan is also reviving the Pulsar SSS name for its hot hatch. The turbocharged 1.6-litre performance model (140kW/240Nm) will go on sale in the middle of next year priced about $35,000. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, grey nomads holding out for a diesel version of the new Patrol continue to be disappointed. The new Patrol, which goes on sale in February priced between $82,000 and $114,000, will be powered exclusively by a petrol-guzzling 5.6-litre V8 – the same type used as the basis for Nissan’s V8 Supercar next year. The old Patrol, which has been on sale for close to 15 years, will continue to sell alongside the new model as a diesel-only model.  

A few years when Nissan decided to drop the Pulsar name, everybody told them they were making a mistake. But they did it anyway. What followed next was the Nissan Tiida which made its debut at the 2005 Sydney show. And, ho hum, wasn't/isn't it boring...the one thing Tiida had going for it was plenty of room inside which made it popular as a rental. “Tiida offers a giant leap forward for Nissan customers with its modern design, premium finishes and spacious interior,” we were told at the time. “The Tiida exterior features a dynamic look with the emphasis on attention to detail. The body form and long roofline suggest both Tiida's performance capabilities and the roominess inside.” (they must have been talking about some other car). Fast forward and Nissan Australia CEO, Bill Peffer, said the new Pulsar will add a powerful dimension to Nissan's rapidly improving passenger car portfolio. He said Pulsar sedan has the looks, packaging and expected value to make it the leading choice in the booming small car segment. Unveiled to the world in Beijing, we'll get the sedan first in Australia followed later by a hatch variant. Nissan have even alluded to a replacement for the oft-lamented Pulsar SSS sports model which was always so popular with young buyers. Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine, the emphasis however is expected to be on ride and handling, rather than outright performance. All will be revealed soon. Details, including technical specifications for Australia, will be available at a later date.  

Nissan Australia managing director Bill Peffer Jr last week confirmed performance variants are high on the agenda as the importer looks to resurrect the Pulsar name - and the company's share of the small car class - but refused to give details. “The sedan will arrive early 2013 and the hatch versions will follow about 90 days after,” Peffer says. “We will offer vehicles across the price range that will be hot hatches.” Just as Pulsar is instantly identified with Nissan and small cars, so is the SSS moniker seen as the performance variant. Both badges will be pivotal in regaining sales lost when Nissan was forced to adopt the Tiida name. The Tiida was introduced in Australia in 2006 and was an instant dud. Nissan's share of the small car segment dived from around 10 per cent in the Pulsars final years to about1.5 per cent last year. Nissan has sold fewer than 2000 Tiidas to the end of July this year, which is less than the monthly sales of the Mazda3, Toyota Corolla, Holden Cruze and Hyundai i30. Nissan is claiming a “product renaissance” over the next 18 months and the revived Pulsar plate will do most of the heavy lifting as the company looks to step up from being the sixth most popular brand in the country. “Pulsar - our 500-pound gorilla as I call it - 82 per cent of our plan for growth next year comes on the back of these two cars: sedan and hatch,” Peffer says. The Pulsar will be joined by a new Patrol four-wheel drive and the mid-sized Altima sedan, which will replace the Maxima. A new Pathfinder will follow in 2014. Nissan has already launched the Almera light sedan - based on its popular Micra hatch - and is aiming for 250 sales a month. “We won't get a lot of sales out of Almera, it's not one of our core models and around 80 per cent of the light car segment are hatches,” Peffer notes. “The Accent and Barina (sedans) are doing 3000-4000 a year and we think we can do around that number. “It's part of our strategy to compete in any segment where there is growth and the light car market is one area we need to be.”  

Nissan Australia sees the car as also facing off against the Ford Focus ST, Renault Megane RS and Mazda3 MPS in the sub-$40k performance market. The new-generation Pulsar hatch on which the SSS would be based was revealed at the Shanghai motor show in 2011, and is expected in Australia in January 2013. The sedan variant is set to bow in Beijing later this month and would hit Aussie showrooms mid-2013. A reborn SSS variant could follow as soon as six months later. It is likely to be based on the hatchback if history is any guide; Nissan sold a Pulsar SSS hatch in Australia from 1991 to 2001 with sports suspension and bodykit, and a 2.0-litre non-turbocharged engine good for 110kW of power.  Nissan sales chief Ian Moreillon says the Pulsar SSS is on Nissan Australia’s wishlist, but stopped short of labelling its return a done deal. “There’s a lot of heritage for the SSS in Australia.If we can find a way to do that, we will. We recognise that the appeal of the Pulsar is not just as a base model. If we can do something with it, that would be good.Certainly, if we can attract the SSS buyers of the N15 and N16 days (the 1990s) back into our brand then that would be good. “Whether or not we do that; wait and see.” To have the street cred crucial for a performance hot hatch to rival the VW Golf GTI, Renault Megane RS, Mazda3 MPS and Ford Focus XR5, a reborn Pulsar SSS would need a turbocharged engine producing somewhere between 160kW and 190kW of power. It would also need sports tuned suspension and a bodykit to match its abilities. Moreillon agrees. “All of those ways of making a car perform are good. There’s capacity, there’s turbocharging, supercharging… all those things could give a car the presence in the market to replace what the SSS 2.0-litre represented at the time.Nissan Australia is not just planning a hot Pulsar. A 200kW V6 is also in the works for Nissan’s Altima medium sedan rival to the Toyota Camry and Mazda6 revealed at the New York auto show this week. “Look, we mentioned that we’d like to have a sporting edge to our brand going forward that matches what we are doing with V8 Supercars.We’re comnsidering that for all appropriate Nissan models, and if Pulsar can leverage off that, fantastic. Moreillon drew the line at tipping an all-wheel drive system which would put the new-generation SSS head-to-head with the Subaru Impreza WRX. “No, I can’t see that. I think that opportunity is too distant.”

I wasn’t immune to this disease, however misguided I was in the early days.  Now, back in the mid-90s there were only two import cars that were affordable, ‘chuckable’, and not made in Korea.  The Nissan Pulsar SSS and the Suzuki Swift GTi.The later was particularly affordable with close to new models for around $14000.  A real bargain at the time, and a bargain I couldn’t resist.Being 19, I was super-keen to turn the interior purple, paint the engine bay in a variety of colours, and put masses of stickers all over the car.  Rice-it-up, in other words.  Oh, the perils of youth.So in went the purple vinyl door cards, purple-sprayed rocker cover, lowered springs (on stock shocks mind you), a loud muffler, race steering wheel, racing harnesses, and finally a ‘phat’ stereo with double 10”.  All installed by yours truly.Having just completed the install of all these parts over a period of six months, I took my partner at the time and some friends on a nice Sunday drive to the Jenolan Caves.  A 1.3 litre car with lowered suspension and four people onboard, and a massive sub-box in the boot is not quite the ideal vehicle for such a cruise, but none the less we headed off.During the trip, my DIY stereo system started playing up and eventually gave up the ghost all together, and the rattle in the boot that had been bugging me for months of course decided to rear its ugly head once more.  Turning a leisurely two-hour drive into a highly annoying trip to hell.Finally arriving at the top of the seriously tight winding road heading to the Caves, we got out of our convoy and headed into the caverns to check out what all the fuss was about.  By this time we were tired and the weather was turning sour.  And just our luck, halfway through the first cave the lights went out…Leaving the caves by torchlight and being told `show’s over folks’, we headed off back to Sydney.  An hour later our convoy buddy was on the mobile calling for a lunch stop.  Then without warning, buddy’s car comes to a grinding halt in the middle of the Great Western Highway.  Apparently when they meant stop for lunch, they meant right now.  Being then a more sprightly 20-year-old, I managed to stop the car in time to avoid an accident.  Unfortunately the three cars behind us were not so lucky.  We were slammed into our buddy’s car three consecutive times.After the police arrived and saw that most people were OK (one person hit the windscreen and was taken to hospital but was later discharged), my car was analysed.  The damage to the little Swift wasn’t too bad, though the bumpers were hanging down a bit low, and it was towed to a holding yard in Blackheath for the rest of the weekend.We all got back to Sydney on the train and the next night -- shaken and stirred --I received a call from Blackheath Police.  The night of the accident, the holding yard was broken into and my newly modified GTi had been stripped bare.  Some bastard had taken everything… seats, stereo, rims, steering wheel and even the battery.  From a locked, fenced holding yard.  I was shattered.  All that time…all that money…and for what?  And just to sink the boot in, the holding yard held no responsibility, meaning I lost my no-claim status.But you live and learn.  My ideas about how one should modify a car have matured over the years, and all those bling items have been avoided in my later cars.  I’ve also avoided the Caves since that day.  Damn I hate that place…