GTT Caldinas vs GTB Legacy vs Primera Neo...

[Helious]

a soarer isn't a wagon, dude obviously wants a wagon!

[sergei]

To be honest I have driven so many primeras and they were the most boring things to drive. The gearbox was very flimsy. The interior very cheap. Handling, I don't know why some people say it handles great - it is a wobbly boat with no feedback. Oh and the power curve, you are waiting for it and it never comes.

Combined with weak cam train, tensioner problems, very intolerant to missed service (halve of them sludged so badly that you get gunk in shape of rocker cover when you take it off).

[gt4dude]

All I can say is, If the GT-T is anything like the GT4, Test drive many of them before you buy. I took the first ST205 I saw because it was the only one on the market at the time, I've been kicking myself $25,000 later...


The turbo was the first to shit itself, followed by wheel bearings, suspension mounts, superstrut arms, radiator blowing its top off, thermostat getting stuck open, clutch master cylender now needs replacing, now getting squeeky noises when driving and the weight shifts to the front left of the car... that ontop of the normal things coming up now like clutch and cambelt.

[S T E A L T H]

Primeras are automotive whiteware. The car for someone who doesnt care about cars. Can't really agree that they handle well either, every one I've driven was soft and had all sorts of body roll. The newer (P12) shape is the worst of the lot.

Subarus (the B4 shape) are a better driver's car than the caldina but buying them is a lottery, probably best to stick to NZ new ones standard as possible

[fuel]

To be honest I have driven so many primeras and they were the most boring things to drive. The gearbox was very flimsy. The interior very cheap. Handling, I don't know why some people say it handles great - it is a wobbly boat with no feedback. Oh and the power curve, you are waiting for it and it never comes.

Combined with weak cam train, tensioner problems, very intolerant to missed service (halve of them sludged so badly that you get gunk in shape of rocker cover when you take it off).

Honestly you must have driven all the neglected and abused, or all the poverty pack Primeras - the SR20VE or even the SR20DE is hardly lethargic and the SR20VE rivals the Beams 3S-GE with power and torque, and is a very robust bulletproof engine. The SR series cam train and tensioner is not weak, it is very strong (you must be thinking of the QG which comparison is weak), but the SR is indeed prone to blocking up oil gallery feeds to the cam which can lead to running them dry and wearing them out. You don't have to look very far in a Japanese car to find cheap interiors - I think Toyota are quite guilty of making cheap looking interiors just as much as Nissan are, at least Nissan seem to be able to do it without all the squeaks and rattles you get from a Toyota interior.

[sergei]

All I can say is, If the GT-T is anything like the GT4, Test drive many of them before you buy. I took the first ST205 I saw because it was the only one on the market at the time, I've been kicking myself $25,000 later...


The turbo was the first to shit itself, followed by wheel bearings, suspension mounts, superstrut arms, radiator blowing its top off, thermostat getting stuck open, clutch master cylender now needs replacing, now getting squeeky noises when driving and the weight shifts to the front left of the car... that ontop of the normal things coming up now like clutch and cambelt.

You have bought a lemon .

[fuel]

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying the Primera is the best thing since sliced bread - I can certainly understand when you guys are saying they aren't the most exciting cars to drive, but to say something like the Caldina is miles ahead is just an understatement. If you want something with a really nice interior, something which handles very well, something which looks great then you might have to look beyond Japanese cars altogether. If reliability is your number one priority (and let's face it, it seems to be for most people) then get a Toyota for sure, and pay the premium for it even though it may not even turn out to be as reliable as you would have expected. If you're willing to look beyond the 100% reliability aspect, then there's a world of other choices available, and in my opinion are alot more rewarding and better value for money.

My 2 cents.

[sergei]

Reliability is the most important factor when you buy a car for purpose of day to day driving and/or going on long trips. You simply don't want to be stranded in middle of nowhere just because BMW/Mercedes/other eurotrash have "cool" cars.

[Mr Revhead]

BMW? Merc? They are fiiiiiine.

Buy a Citroen, or a Renault!!

[fuel]

Reliability is the most important factor when you buy a car for purpose of day to day driving and/or going on long trips. You simply don't want to be stranded in middle of nowhere just because BMW/Mercedes/other eurotrash have "cool" cars.

I wasn't even talking about European cars specifically. But yes there are a few Euro cars which do go under the radar which have a good track record and provide a rewarding drive.

[fuel]

BMW? Merc? They are fiiiiiine.

Buy a Citroen, or a Renault!!

Haha yeah, even in Europe where you would think they are flooded with European cars and have workshops which work on them as if they are bread-and-butter cars, the likes of Peugeot, Renault and Citroen still rank at the bottom of reliability and customer satisfaction surveys, and Mitsubishi and Subaru is considerably higher placed often in the top 1/3rd - I didn't think that would ever happen.

[iOnic]

So the general consensus is that he should get the 3SGTE/EJ20R powered cars because of their reliability? I'm with Fuel on this one tbh

[Mr Revhead]

Only ever driven one of those Primeras, and the lasting impression I have is OMFG WORST GEARBOX EVER!!!! thats the CVT6 thing
So bad I'm getting angry again just writing this post about it

It was a loan car and I thought it was poked, got a Nissan mechanic mate to drive it, and he said it was working fine and they are all like that

[fuel]

Yep the CVT-M6 is not a great box, both from the reliability aspect and the fact it sounds like you are driving a slipping automatic transmission car - but their less frictional losses makes up for that and given it doesn't really change gears as such it can out-accelerate a manual version.

[Mr Revhead]

Can it? My main gripe was when you put ya foot down, it would faf about trying to find a gear with bugger all happening, then take off like you'd stepped sideways off the clutch.
I've always hated autos, but that thing made me mad enough to kill inside 2 days. Incidentally the Pulsar work cars we have at the moment have a similar effect on me....

[fuel]

I don't know how it would always struggle to find gears - there are no fixed gears it just has two pulleys with a big belt and the ratios are variable - the transmission ECU tries to emulate gears as much as possible but it tends to keep the engine in its optimal torque range when briskly accelerating.

[iOnic]

Never had those problems in the CVT M6's I've driven (SR20VE). You plant foot and the revs rise to a certain point (optimum torque) and basically stay there as you accelerate. The only gripe is the cost of replacement/repair if anything goes wrong

[Mr Revhead]

Yeah what I mean is put your foot down, and instead of instant response like a manual, it would rev, whilst the trans would sort it's self out and then take off once it decided where it should be in the way of ratio. It was worse than any auto I have ever driven.

[Mr Revhead]

Never had those problems in the CVT M6's I've driven (SR20VE). You plant foot and the revs rise to a certain point (optimum torque) and basically stay there as you accelerate. The only gripe is the cost of replacement/repair if anything goes wrong

yeah, and that process takes a coupla seconds.

[fuel]

strange, I can't say I recall that when I drove a U14 Bluebird SR20VE with CVT-M6 trans.