![]() ![]() The P10 now receives more attention from the public than when it was new. Plus, everything works - even the electric aerial.” I’ve even kept the first owner’s cassette tapes in the holders and his binoculars in the storage under the centre armrest. James remarks: “It has covered 41,000 miles and is completely original, with the factory-fit wheel trims, dealer number plates, dealer stickers and tax disc holder. ![]() His example hails from North Wales the same family owned it from new until 2020. I used to work at the factory making Primera front seats between 19, and I’ve had a few P11s, but I had hunted for years for a really good P10, so I couldn’t refuse.” He recalls: “I got talking to the owner and ended up being offered it in October 2021. The marque expert Eddie Rattley observes: “Nissan GB liked to pretend that Nissan UK didn’t exist.”īut there remain P10 enthusiasts such as James, who encountered his 2.0 GS at the 2021 Festival of the Unexceptional, a celebration of the once-ubiquitous models that are now extremely rare. In response, the head office in Japan formed Nissan GB, resulting in the P10 being launched and sold in this country via two rival supply chains. The motoring historian Keith Adams contends the P10 suffered from “the resurgence of Rover and aggressive marketing by Peugeot”.Ī further problem affecting the Primera was the dispute between the manufacturer and its distributor, Nissan UK. ![]() Ford even used the Primera as a benchmark when developing the front-wheel drive Mondeo, yet sales were disappointing. In 1992 Autocar stated: “For the Peugeot 405, the party is over,” as the P10 was “Best in Class”. As such, the Primera looked set to become the car of choice for the nation’s Gareth Cheeseman-style sales executives. It was becoming common for employees to choose from a pre-approved list rather than suffer management’s automotive whims. The Telegraph motoring correspondent also found the P10 better looking than its T72 predecessor, which was apparently “not at all the sort of car to appeal to a thrusting rep”. This paper believed the Primera was “undoubtedly going to be a strong contender in its class”. It had never previously enjoyed great success in the UK’s dominant fleet sector as too many buyers were still wary of Japanese marques, but the P10 was its second UK-built model (after the Bluebird, which started production at Sunderland in 1986) with 80 per cent local content. Nissan intended the Primera to rival the market-leading Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 and the Ford Sierra. James’s mid-range 2.0 GS Automatic cost £13,540. British sales commenced in September as the replacement for the T72-series Bluebird, with four- or five-door bodywork and zesty 1.6- and 2.0-litre 16-valve engines. Today, surviving examples such as Chris James’s 1991 P10-series are a reminder of how remote the 1990s now seem as well as one of Nissan’s most promising models.Ī prototype of the Primera starred at the 1989 Tokyo motor show, with the official launch in February 1990. ![]() Despite receiving plaudits from the motoring press, it never posed a significant threat to the hegemony of Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot or Rover. The Primera belongs in the category of vehicles that seemed unfairly neglected during their lifetime, never mind subsequently. ![]()
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