Nissan Revives Almera nameplate in South Africa
Wednesday August 21, 2013
Nissan Almera in South Africa
Image courtesy of Nissan South Africa
Nissan has re-introduced the Almera nameplate to South Africa after a short absence. The Indian-assembled Almera (called a Nissan Sunny in India) features the Nissan HR15 1.5 litre engine in a plain looking 4 door saloon body, available initially with a five speed manual gearbox or a four speed automatic transmission. The 1498 cc engine is claimed to produce 101 PS (100 bhp, 73 kW) at 5600 rpm, with torque stated as 134 N·m at 4000 rpm. With diesel and CVT versions available on the Indian market already, the Almera range in South Africa will be likely to incorporate either or both of these options in due course.
The dimensions are generous for a car in this segment, with a full 2600 mm wheelbase and an overall length of 4425 mm. Nissan claims a decent 0.318 coefficient of drag for the Almera, and carbon dioxide emissions of 149 g/km for the manual version, with the automatic managing 171 g/km. Nissan claims that a lot of attention has been applied to the area of weight saving, so despite there being no weight claims for the Almera in official literature so far, it should be not far off the Indian market version's weight of 998 kg at the kerb. Slightly higher base specification for the South African market includes ABS, 15 inch wheels and a host of electrical doo-dahs in the cockpit will doubtless add some kilograms, but all told it should still squeak in at around 1100 kg.
The dimensions are generous for a car in this segment, with a full 2600 mm wheelbase and an overall length of 4425 mm. Nissan claims a decent 0.318 coefficient of drag for the Almera, and carbon dioxide emissions of 149 g/km for the manual version, with the automatic managing 171 g/km. Nissan claims that a lot of attention has been applied to the area of weight saving, so despite there being no weight claims for the Almera in official literature so far, it should be not far off the Indian market version's weight of 998 kg at the kerb. Slightly higher base specification for the South African market includes ABS, 15 inch wheels and a host of electrical doo-dahs in the cockpit will doubtless add some kilograms, but all told it should still squeak in at around 1100 kg.
