Somehow I missed this thread earlier. Looks like you may be the only owner of the Nissan Almera Turbo on this forum. We took delivery of the Almera Turbo Kuro black edition about 3 weeks ago just before Chinese New year.

May I ask if you have installed the Ultra Racing Stage 1 bars to your vehicle? Are there any other experiences you may want to share after owning the car for more than 2 years now? I got to know that TCEAS actually provides this Ultra Racing bar installation at all their service centres. Would like to know on the differences (if any) on handling of the vehicle if the UR bars are installed.

The Almera turbo is actually driven by my dad and I have not spent much time with the vehicle. Some key points of the Almera Turbo as follows:-

1. Noise insulation inside the cabin is rather good for a vehicle in this class. It's a quiet drive.
2. Acceleration power from the 1.0 litre turbo engine, no complaints. It cannot match the power of a 2.0 litre NA but the acceleration feels more powerful than most 1.5 litre NA engines. Some commented that the power is comparable to a 1.8 litre and I would tend to agree. Most 1.8 litre vehicles on the market are larger C-segment sedan and SUV such as Corolla sedan and Corolla Cross. Although they might appear more powerful on paper, in real life the acceleration feel is more or less the same as the Almera turbo due to the heavier weight. I've test driven both Corolla sedan and Corolla Cross prior to getting the Almera turbo. The acceleration power of the Corolla feels lethargic in comparison to the Ford Focus 2.0. As a matter of fact I felt the power surge of the Almera turbo to be comparable or better than the Corolla in the low to mid end speed.
3. Suspension feels soft and comfortable when going over speed bumps and undulations. Certainly tuned more toward comfort than sporty handling.
4. Steering is light and easy to drive. Steering feedback and sharpness are not as good as the Ford Focus but decent.
5. Tried bringing the car to 140 km/h on the highways and it doesn't feel too stable at higher speeds perhaps due to the undulations on the stretch along Kesas highway. It's a bit floaty at higher speeds. My benchmark is high as the Ford Focus I used to own for 10 years not only has excellent handling but also very good stability at high speeds.
6. A slight aeroplane "woo woo" sound between speeds 20 km/h to 100 km/h, not sure if from tyres or CVT. Will have it checked at the service centre during the 1,000km service.

Although the Almera turbo is considered to be quiet, the quitest and most comfortable vehicle I've driven (owned) is the Nissan Sylphy 2.0. Can't hear much engine, road and outside vehicle noise with the Sylphy. But in terms of handling the Sylphy is worse than the Almera turbo. When taking a corner, you have to do it at very low speeds or else you and all the other occupants sitting at the rear seat will be flung to one side.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Feb 21 2024, 12:35 PM

If around 110km/h and below, no issue. Just tried up to 140km/h along Kesas highway between Klang and PJ and it doesn't feel too stable and a little floaty, so I brought the speed back down to 100km/h. The stretch of highway along Kesas near Shah Alam is not even and undulating but still that is no excuse for the floaty feeling of the vehicle. Due to the light weight of the vehicle, it's not very stable at high speeds up to say 130 or 140km/h but if around 110km/h it should be fine.

For city driving it's quite perfect due to the light steering(easy to manoeuvre) and low petrol consumption. For highways, no issue at legal speed limits but floaty feeling at higher speeds.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Feb 27 2024, 01:11 PM

Higher tyre pressure might be a possible cause of the floating effect when driving at higher speeds. I didn't check the tyre pressure and didn't have the opportunity to drive the vehicle above 100km/h for the past few months as it's mostly driven around town.

There's one annoying aspect of the Nissan Almera I didn't bring up earlier. It's the humming sound from the Continental UC6 tyres when the vehicle is driven between speeds 20 km/h top 100 km/h. This humming sound from the tyres appears to affect all Nissan Almera as the Continental tyre outlet I visited notified that many Almera owners brought their cars to their outlet to complain on the humming sound like I did.

I need to select a silent tyre when the UC6 tyres are worn and due for replacement, perhaps in another 4 to 5 years. It's a pity that the standard UC6 tyres show the humming sound on the Nissan Almera.

I used to own the Nissan Sylphy 2.0. It's not only floaty but body roll is very high with this one and the speeds have to be very low when doing a 90 degrees cornering otherwise there's the feeling the vehicle is going to turn turtle. No joke. The Almera's handling is much improved to the old Sylphy and it's just the floating effect which is still present.

The soundproofing of the Almera is not as good as the Sylphy though.

Yes. Brought the car to service centre twice to have it checked and also at Continental tyre shop to have it checked and a report provided by Continental from the tests done to the tyres. The tests carried out at the Continental tyre outlet is arranged by Nissan's service centre.

To cut a long story short, the UC6 tyres do not show any defect and the sound from the tyres is said to be normal. I have sensitive ears so it's easy to pick up the sound. All Almera cars with UC6 should show this sound as the test drive car at the service centre also showed the exact same humming sound from the tyres after I tested it. Try listening to any humming sound without the music switched on. The sound will come up louder if the road surface is poor. It's very prominent and loud woo woo sound if the tyres are moving on old road surface which are worn out

I hope the sound will be gone with a change to a different brand of tyre but it will take some time for the tyres to get worn.

Finally, Carsifu released an article on the Nissan Almera Turbo GT Package.



https://www.carsifu.my/car-reviews/nissan-a...ckage-dark-draw

Also, just revealed, Nissan Kicks will be coming soon for those who are interested. I'm just waiting for this, hope they price it below market price.

https://www.carsifu.my/news/edaran-tan-chon...of-local-launch

It looks OK but in reality the car is really struggling at that speed. I've not driven the car past 140km/h as it is mostly used for city driving.

This Almera has a small 1.0-litre turbocharged engine and the nature of this design is to save fuel. With hard acceleration or driving at high speed, the engine emits a loud and weird sound as the roar of the engine is different from naturally aspirated engine, and it's not a pleasant sound. It's a loud and unpleasant high pitch tin can sound from the small turbo engine if you drive the car aggressively. The sound from the engine gives you a feeling that you are abusing it if the driver does hard acceleration or hitting close to top speed. It's the opposite experience with a powerful 2.0 litre NA engine where the normal robust roar of the engine gives you a feeling of assurance that the vehicle is doing fine even if you push it hard.

FWIW I don't feel confident driving the Almera turbo at high speed even at 140km/h due to the soft floaty suspension, and would be less inclined to abuse the car by driving at higher speeds due to the small capacity turbo engine. The nature or advantage of this vehicle is good fuel economy at low city speeds driving and a smooth, comfortable and quiet drive. I actually feel much safer doing 200+ km/h in the Ford Focus than 140km/h in the Almera. The Ford is not only much more powerful but a stable car when driven at high speeds. Well, that's another story. Horses for courses. Most people usually buy Nissan for smooth, comfortable and quiet drive. If you want speed and power then there are better choices, in my experience.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 30 2024, 08:11 PM

Right, in terms of stability at high speeds, as I mentioned earlier the fastest I've traveled so far, only once is hitting 140km/h along Kesas highway between PJ and Klang. Along one stretch of the highway it's very undulating and it's where the car lost its composure. Perhaps on good levelled highways the car is stable at higher speeds. However, in direct comparison to the Ford Focus the stability of the car is down two or three notches. The Focus kept its composure very well even though the roads are undulating and not even. Somehow the suspension or chassis is able to contribute to the overall stability of the vehicle when travelling at high speeds even on undulating and uneven roads. The same cannot be said with the Almera as the feeling of the vehicle losing control is prevalent when travelling at high speeds on uneven roads. The wobble or sway of the vehicle from left to right is significantly higher.

As for the loud and annoying tin can roaring sound from the turbo engine, I was referring to pedal to the metal whenever one does hard acceleration. With slow build up of speed ie half pedal to metal, the sound from the engine is still acceptable and not too loud. When travelling close to top speed, one would need to pedal to the metal or you won't get close to the desired speed, so you will get this loud and weird sound from the turbo engine. The message I'm trying to convey from the aforementioned points is it's not advisable to drive the car aggressively by doing pedal to the metal at any given speed ie.when cruising at 60km/h you suddenly wish to quickly burst to 100km/h, or driving close to top speed as shown in the video above since this will put a lot of stress to the small capacity engine, coupled by the loud and weird high pitch tin can sound from the turbo engine. The Almera is not suitable to be driven aggressively anyway as in attacking corners and bends at higher speeds due to the loose steering which does not have much feel. It's more for slow, comfort, quiet and sedate driving, and in this area the Almera excels.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 30 2024, 09:42 PM

Good to know. It's the small little things that count. Sometimes people just focus on specs such as power, features etc. but there is no "spec" that describes on noise levels or refinement as in vibration from the engine. Yes, to me the level of quietness in the absence of noise in the cabin and vibration from the engine, it's quite good for a vehicle in its class, the Almera.

I hope the refinement and quietness of the upcoming Nissan Kicks will be one or two notches higher than this Almera.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 30 2024, 09:48 PM

Yes agreed. This Almera is very good for KL city driving. We haven't brought it to outstation highway trip yet but believe it would be equally satisfactory when traveling within the speed limit or slightly above.

As for cornering capabilities, I haven't really driven the car like I used to on my (currently sold) Ford Focus since the Almera is mainly driven by my dad. However, it's decently capable mainly due to suspension. IT's just the steering feel which lacks feedback, accuracy and sharpness for spirited drives but in normal driving there are no complaints. In other words the steering of the Almera feels a bit loose.

Yes, I did look at the Ultra Racing bars before as Nissan's service centre actually provide installation of these Ultra racing bars Stage 1 and 2. However, I didn't proceed with it as I felt that the Almera is fine as it is and for the fact that we are all satisfied by the way it handles, as a family-orientated comfort sedan. I don't drive the way I used to drive (on the Ford Focus) as it's now mostly slow and sedate driving. Nowadays the criteria is more to slow and comfort driving than fast and furious racing on the race tracks.