Hi. I've been reading this site for a month in silent mode b'cse my Almera not arrived yet.

Got some questions here:
According to SA, tempering with the car wiring will void the warranty. So:
1. Possible to change the Audio set (i.e with Multimedia navigation set from other source) without cutting any wire?
2. Since E Spec don even has light at the boot (outrages!!!), can we add one from the accessories shot without cutting wire ... whatever, just don void warranty?
3. Anyone got good recommendation on leather seat outside which's below RM1800?

Thanks.

Thank you.

BTW, driving an Almera below VL spec, nobody think of changing the audio set? It dosen't even has a USB / SD card slot. Anyone from this forum has any information.

Thanks. I don even know it's semi leather

Are you driving an VL spec Almera? Have you thought of changing the Audio set in the car?

WKA1116:

I sincerely advice you not to upsize the tyre. HRDE15 is built for fuel saving & thus not excel in pickup. Though on paper, 139kg-m torque come in at 4000 RPM, the pickup is still not good even compared to Myvi (I'm also driving). Upsize tyre will amplify the effect. On flat road, this's not obvious but a little slope will reveal the fact (try Lebuh Raya Bkt Jalil, on the way to TPM).

On other hand, I just found out that in Philipines, our E spec only sold for 58k (760000 ph) yet come with Intermittent variable wiper ... while we got to pay rm69800 ~ sob!

According to spec, the tyre is 185/60R15. The profile is 60 (consider high). Ppl normally change to low profile (50 or below) for better handling at the expense of comfort.

215 you're refering be the width of the tyre, adding that would add more grip on the road, better brake performance but also increase friction + weight a little ( little less fuel economy) but still better than increase rim size. IMO, if I were to spend money I'll change to lighter alloy rim (below 6kg), looks better yet increase performance. Anyway, due to the weight & handling, this car cannot excel in cornering, speeding (>120km/h) like Gen2 or Preeve but very good in city driving (no slope).

This post has been edited by octop: Mar 26 2013, 01:50 PM

U're right. I forgot VL already with alloy rim.

I'm no expert in this area but I think no harm trying. Worth or not depends on your driving style, like me I used to corner hard so this investment could mean something as long as it's within my budget. But normally, changing width also changing tyre profile which may affect your speedometer accuracy.

I'm not sure whether U feel the different in fuel consumption diff when tyres get little flat vs overinflated. If U do felt that, imagine U're changing the width. So U must prepare to accept the trade off using wider tyres.

For the rim, I'm actually looking for one. Nowadays even the Replica fr Taiwan also around 6kg, only unknown variable is reliability. I saw Enkei Rim 4.9kg sold only RM900 online ... I'm not into that. A replica Rays' Volks TE37 would do if not >6kg. Mine E spec, steel rim.

I forgot which sites of RM900 4.9kg Enkei rim b'cse it's totally not my cup of tea. Below are some retrieve from my browse history. All less then RM900

Enkei 14"
http://www.e-barang.my/view.asp?ID=4964491...im%20enkei%2014

Enkei 15" Recond RP01=6.5kg
http://www.mudah.my/4pcs+ENKEI+RP01+Design...nd-20886323.htm

ENKEI RPF1 15" NEW
http://www.mudah.my/Sport+Rim+ENKEI+RPF1+O...JJ-19071064.htm

ENKEI RPF1 15" Trade In NEW
http://www.mudah.my/4pcs+ENKEI+RPF1+Design...ew-20880840.htm

ENKEI RS REVOLUTION 15" NEW
http://www.mudah.my/15+inci+new+sport+rim+...ON-20419872.htm

*Original ENKEI RPF1 15" only weight 4.4kg

I suspect all of them are replica.

This post has been edited by octop: Mar 26 2013, 09:14 PM

I have read quite some feedbacks from Australian car review websites on Almera. Almera in Aus is same like ours, 1.5cc 4 speed auto, accesories also quite similar in pkg. I'm just curious that almost all of (>98%) them think Almera's exterior is ugly. They're quite 'polite' in comments compared to our readers (i.e paultan.org, autotraders) but I surprisingly learned that they just dislike (hate) the design even from exterior. I personally think Almera is better looking than Vios, Latio sedan, Saga ... etc. no matter how hard I tried to think otherwise whenever exterior is concerned & a lot from local share the same view. Its interior is practical but not good looking (and adding a donut panel on VL is a terrible mistakes). Besides that their other comments are quite similar to us i.e disappointed at 4 speed auto etc. In fact they don think it's ugly, they think it's fugly (fxxking ugly !) even from some Nissan supporters.

Well I'm just astonished how big a difference in perception from ppl of two different region could go. Basically, when 99 out of 100 Australian consider a girl's pretty, it's likely the girl also looks not bad locally (vice versa), but it's not the case for Almera. You can see any Nissan review from Aus websites where readers unanimously agree Almera (N17) looks fugly. Strange.

This post has been edited by octop: Mar 31 2013, 05:16 PM

We must have right expectations. This's very important for one buying new car. There's always a tradeoff.

Since I'm buying new car (Almera), I'd be glad to share a bit of my experience. Initially, I was aiming for Forte ... all the way. Initial studies, comparison all favor Forte. Ok ... now come to the stage where you need to apply loan, test drive, selling current car ... etc. besides paying attention to specs and review, a lot of practical considerations come in:
1. Resales value (if you're not tight of money, this'll be less of consideration)
2. Maintenance cost
3. Parts/service availability (after warranty period)
4. Fuel consumption

You may think U've checked these out but it's not until you put your money on dealers table that you'll seriously review them again. My case, Forte win hand down on everything compared to Almera on specs & price beside those mentioned abv.

Ok. This's my serious findings without prejudices (I won smear my favorite car):
Forte 1.6 sx is under-powered but it's such a bargain that my Nissan SA who sold me Almera is driving one ! (Coincidentally)
Forte 1.6 sx FC is bad due to abv reason.
I still don give up. My new car budget is 70-80k. Rather, I give up buying new car & look for 1 - 2 yrs old 2.0 Forte. To my surprise, very little 2nd hand Forte 2.0 compared to Forte 1.6. You can easily find ppl selling 1- 2 yr old Forte 1.6SX on the web. The proportion is SO BIG that 10 ppl selling 1.6sx to 1 ppl selling 2.0sx. This has proved my abv findings (why so many ppl selling Forte 1.6sx).

Off the note, I also consider Kia RIO 2013, cost 73k. Spec wise very attempting but expect to be under-powered (1.4cc Gamma engine vs 1100+ kerb weight, put in a few adults that'd be obvious.)

To be fair to KIA, only M'sia is selling Forte 1.6 with a 17 inch wheel thanks to mentality retarded NAZA! Forte Gamma engine is a same breed as Lancer's engine (pls refer wikipedia on GEMA engine) and the lowest configuration of lancer using this engine is 1.8cc. Lancer's weight is similar to forte around 1340kg. Brainless NAZA!

So at the end, in the time frame of 2013 of Q1, Nissan Almera fit better with my expectation with trade off in engine performance. To new potential Almera buyers, U got to be realistic on engine performance. Almera slow pickup ability dosen't mean it's poor but relatively slower than i.e VIOS, MyVi etc. in order to achieve fuel economy. It's purposely done so! You can remap the ECU and get powerful performance in exchg for higher FC (refer to heavier Nissan Livina X-Gear using HRDE16 engine).

This post has been edited by octop: Apr 1 2013, 12:52 PM

Hey guys, just received my car today (have been driving friend's Almera sometimes). My service booklet request service every 5k after the 1st 1k svc ... are yours the same? I thought Almera svc duration is 10k.

Pls reply. Thanks.

This post has been edited by octop: Apr 1 2013, 10:10 PM

Thanks a lot. Nowadays consumer (like yourself) is better trained than SA (sigh).

Wow ~ If you payoff your loan in the mid of the hired period, will they charge you penalty?

*IMPORTANT: 1st thing, if your SA ask you to sign 'something' 1st bfr let you go see your car, kick his ass.
1. Check your Name, IC No on your grant.
2. Check your Engine No, Chassis No with those on the car grant.
3. Check for scratches on car, paint cond.
4. Check for spots, smear, wear/tear on interior fabric.
5. Check interior elec devices i.e Aircond panel, Multimedia console ... etc. & all those plastic switches.
6. Check your boot whether got spare tire & toolkit
7. Make sure vendor cop sign 3 warranty slip (Car, Sensor, Security & others), they should help you post 1 copy each.
8. Ask for any free 1, 5 10k service voucher.
9. In the car, check all lights i.e signal, emergency, low/high lights. Check all accessories like visor, sport rim, pedal, GPS ... etc.
10. Sign
11. If you found the fuel tank's empty, go say "Excuse me ..." and exercise your eye browse before your SA.
12. Don leave 1st, drive 1 round in place where you collect the car to CHECK ALIGNMENT. If alignment is out, ask SA to do it FOC for you.

... this is the basic one.

And they should give you a leather case for User Guide & Maintenance manual.

I want to share this video of Almera low speed crash test so we can expect how much damage to pocket (what to fix) in light accident & most importantly know the weak point of our car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmacNraxTS0&sns=fb

I found this very useful.

*Caution: Do not try this at home

Drive for 2 weeks. Reach 1k mileage.
FC:
Highway avg 17.8 km/l
City avg 12 km/l
Hill avg 7km/l @80km/h

Since this is new car run < 1k mileage, the FC is a bit high. This applies to all type of cars. FC should improve after 10k. But the FC when running on hilly road / slope is remarkably high.

This post has been edited by octop: Apr 10 2013, 12:20 AM

Pls see the subnote: Note 13: Except HRDE15 vehicle.

So no svc required at 15k, 25k ...

Yes it's normal. This applies to all car. Because piston & engine wall are still very tightly gripped for new engine, it requires more power to move the piston especially the engine startup from room temperature. You'll find FC better after 5 - 10k mileage depends on how you drive the car. Ramp up the rev > 3000 rpm frequently may help achieve the goal faster but your engine life span & condition will deteriorate faster.

Almera excel in FC on flat road. But the faster you accelerate to get the car going the higher the FC. Change your meter to FC consumption view shown in xxx L/100km. Look at the number when you step on the fuel paddle. It'll give U the clue.

I found that if you're light foot driver, you'll be surprise how much fuel economy can be achieve every time you reset the trip meter after pump up fuel. Similarly, if you gone impatient i.e after crossing a road bump to accelerate the car, you'll find the FC like Gen2.

My advice is you either take E or VL b'cse at spec V, the RM7000 on top of Spec E are paying more for cosmetic (appearance) accessories than practical useful stuff. Of course U don have any chance to bargain with TChong. Think of this way, the 7k is paid for the ticket to buy really useful stuff with extra 3k. This also explain E Spec is so hot selling. Moreover, you can get other practical useful stuff from accessories option i.e leather seat, sport rim ... etc. as an addon on E specs.

Me too has considered on VL when placing order, but I found might as well pay another 3-4 k to buy Honda City which provide also similar features and wider chassis & more powerful engine (my preference).

That's normal if your car is new & you drive a lot in City. The pickup is too soft so ppl tend to step harder on pedal. But since you so 'sayang' your car, it makes you step on the pedal longer to keep the RPM around 2500 on pickup, that actually consume more fuel. This's more taxing when the road is a bit sloppy. Drive naturally, FC will improve when your mileage exceed 5k.

* I've been study the FC since I got the car now mileage around 3500 km, 60%heavy traffic 40% light traffic cond cost me RM60 for 380km. Avg 8.3 l/100 km.

3k discount + 1.99% loan make those who bought the car a week ago fuxking depressing! Include me (last month).