shame your not happy with the 1.6, the road conditions don't help either.
what will you do, sell privately or px
Uncomfortable Pulsar
I think I will have to put up with it for a while, and the wife's whinging about the hard ride (lol), until I decide what to do.
Nissan now have nothing as an alternative for me. Don't tow anymore, so don't need another X-Trail, had two consecutive Qashqais, so fancied a change, hence buying the Pulsar.
The Juke is a 'Hairdressers car' (lol). and the Micra is too small.
So it looks like my 11 year 'love affair' with Nissan will come to an end, when I part with the Pulsar.
Shame really, as up until now, I have been completely happy with my Nissan vehicles, but 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' I guess.
Nissan now have nothing as an alternative for me. Don't tow anymore, so don't need another X-Trail, had two consecutive Qashqais, so fancied a change, hence buying the Pulsar.
The Juke is a 'Hairdressers car' (lol). and the Micra is too small.
So it looks like my 11 year 'love affair' with Nissan will come to an end, when I part with the Pulsar.
Shame really, as up until now, I have been completely happy with my Nissan vehicles, but 'that's the way the cookie crumbles' I guess.
I gave up on Nissan when they stopped the Primera. I'd had 3, all very different in their own ways, but all great handling etc. I didn't, and don't, like the Qashqai so I was delighted when the Pulsar appeared. What I don't understand though is why the rear seat bases don't fold up to provide a flat load platform. Not a real problem for me as I don't carry loads much these days, but it just seems like another corner cut for little benefit.
i have 1.6 dig-t with 17" wheels.
I read all the review before test driving mine (an ex demo with 3k miles), so was prepared
I took it out and tried out most conditions, including bumpy urban roads.
I was impressed with performance and the fact it looks exactly the same as lower powered versions
It is a 'q' car
The ride seemed ok to me at that time (although they were unfamiliar roads as 30 miles away)
Despite most of the reviews advising not buy it, i went ahead.
Having lived with it for eight months, here are my impressions
The suspension is harder than I would like around town (glad I haven't got 18")
On longer journeys it is very comfortable
I like the look of it in grey
it has lifetime average of 43mpg and best of 56.3mpg
It has probably the most space for passengers in this class
Chassis/suspension cant cope with the 190hp power, which is frustrating when you are
having fun on a country road.
The engine power is great, but can catch you out if you are out of its power band
It has a stupid 'tickover' of 1500 rpm while the car is coasting to a stop
The exhaust note at this rpm is quite loud and annoying
The gearbox is great when cold, but gets notchy when hot and also has an annoying whine at exactly 40mph
It has a jeckle and hyde character - sometimes I think it is great other times I hate it.
I wont be keeping it much longer.....
The reason the Qashqai rides so well is because it has active dampers which electronically intervenes on bumpy roads
I read all the review before test driving mine (an ex demo with 3k miles), so was prepared
I took it out and tried out most conditions, including bumpy urban roads.
I was impressed with performance and the fact it looks exactly the same as lower powered versions
It is a 'q' car
The ride seemed ok to me at that time (although they were unfamiliar roads as 30 miles away)
Despite most of the reviews advising not buy it, i went ahead.
Having lived with it for eight months, here are my impressions
The suspension is harder than I would like around town (glad I haven't got 18")
On longer journeys it is very comfortable
I like the look of it in grey
it has lifetime average of 43mpg and best of 56.3mpg
It has probably the most space for passengers in this class
Chassis/suspension cant cope with the 190hp power, which is frustrating when you are
having fun on a country road.
The engine power is great, but can catch you out if you are out of its power band
It has a stupid 'tickover' of 1500 rpm while the car is coasting to a stop
The exhaust note at this rpm is quite loud and annoying
The gearbox is great when cold, but gets notchy when hot and also has an annoying whine at exactly 40mph
It has a jeckle and hyde character - sometimes I think it is great other times I hate it.
I wont be keeping it much longer.....
The reason the Qashqai rides so well is because it has active dampers which electronically intervenes on bumpy roads
Nissan Pulsar 1.6 DIG-T N-TEC
An interesting review Mike.
I have noticed the strange 1500 rpm idling when coasting to a stop, which negates any braking effect from the engine. A very odd idea indeed.
When Nissan launched the Qashqai, it was a brave attempt to introduce a new concept (the Crossover) to the market, and its success much have exceeded their wildest expectations. Having owned two, I can understand why it has been, and remains so successful.
Now they have I introduced the Pulsar in an attempt to grab a slice of the mid size family hatch market, which is dominated by the likes of Ford, Peugeot, Seat, and VW etc. Personally, I don't think the Pulsar will even make a dent in it.
The mid size family hatch man, wants a combination of comfort, performance, and reliability. My X-Trails, and Qashqais met all of these, and more.
Too early to comment on the reliability of the Pulsar, as I've only had it month, and it still has less than 1000 miles on the clock. However, for me, reliability has never been an issue with the Nissan vehicles I have owned. Performance from the 1.6 Pulsar engine is fine, and the car is comfortable to sit in, until it starts moving, when you very quickly notice just what a hard ride it is.
I don't think that the Pulsar will be around too long, before Nissan drop it. As the number of unhappy owners increase, and make their thoughts known on social media, coupled with negative reviews, all of which must filter back to Nissan, they are likely to realise their mistake. Just need to part with mine before they drop it, and the residual value falls dramatically.
I wish I had been patient enough to wait for the Ford Focus that I test drove. To get all the extras I had enjoyed on my Qashqai Tekna 1.6 Dci, I required the Titanium X model, and for this, there was a 16 to 18 week wait.
If I could turn the clock back, knowing what I do now, I would not buy the Pulsar.
Put a loud exhaust system, and a GTi badge on the 1.6 Tekna, and the 'boy racers' will like it, but that was not the market that Nissan were seeking for it.
I have noticed the strange 1500 rpm idling when coasting to a stop, which negates any braking effect from the engine. A very odd idea indeed.
When Nissan launched the Qashqai, it was a brave attempt to introduce a new concept (the Crossover) to the market, and its success much have exceeded their wildest expectations. Having owned two, I can understand why it has been, and remains so successful.
Now they have I introduced the Pulsar in an attempt to grab a slice of the mid size family hatch market, which is dominated by the likes of Ford, Peugeot, Seat, and VW etc. Personally, I don't think the Pulsar will even make a dent in it.
The mid size family hatch man, wants a combination of comfort, performance, and reliability. My X-Trails, and Qashqais met all of these, and more.
Too early to comment on the reliability of the Pulsar, as I've only had it month, and it still has less than 1000 miles on the clock. However, for me, reliability has never been an issue with the Nissan vehicles I have owned. Performance from the 1.6 Pulsar engine is fine, and the car is comfortable to sit in, until it starts moving, when you very quickly notice just what a hard ride it is.
I don't think that the Pulsar will be around too long, before Nissan drop it. As the number of unhappy owners increase, and make their thoughts known on social media, coupled with negative reviews, all of which must filter back to Nissan, they are likely to realise their mistake. Just need to part with mine before they drop it, and the residual value falls dramatically.
I wish I had been patient enough to wait for the Ford Focus that I test drove. To get all the extras I had enjoyed on my Qashqai Tekna 1.6 Dci, I required the Titanium X model, and for this, there was a 16 to 18 week wait.
If I could turn the clock back, knowing what I do now, I would not buy the Pulsar.
Put a loud exhaust system, and a GTi badge on the 1.6 Tekna, and the 'boy racers' will like it, but that was not the market that Nissan were seeking for it.
Obviously a case of not being able to please all of the people all of the time. Plenty of people seem to like the 1.6, but that's not suggesting that your views on the car aren't perfectly valid too. You like the Ford Focus, whereas I hated mine and wouldn't touch another with a barge pole. I didn't find that particularly comfortable, and fuel economy was terrible. I don't drive cars hard and, interestingly, when I took it back in for service the first time, the person who had sold it to me asked about fuel consumption because they had one as a company car and struggled to get more than 30 mpg out of it - which matched my experience. Official figures claimed over 50!
Don't get me wrong, if it wasn't for the uncomfortably hard ride, and annoying turbo whine/whistle when cruising at 70mph, I would be happy with the Pulsar.
Have never owned a Focus, but did like the test drive I had, but perhaps I would think differently I had had owned and driven one for a while.
I had five consecutive new Mondeos, all 2.0L, I and I enjoyed driving them, what I didn't like was the enormous depreciation in their value after 3 years, something like 60%, whereas as my Qashqais were near to 40%.
When I was looking to buy the Pulsar, I did go and look at the Audi A3, albeit I never got as far a test driving one, but was put off by the fact that you had to build the spec you wanted from the basic car, from a 'tick list' of options. By the time I had added all the things that the Pulsar had, and even more so the Qashqai, it was getting into 'silly money' territory. IMO, not value for money.
When you read the "expert" reviews on the Pulsar, which 'after the horse has bolted' I have now been doing, it does get quite poor reviews, when compared to other cars of the same type, such as the VW Golf etc.
I think the concept of the Pulsar was ok, as it fitted nicely into the Nissan range, where there was a distinct gap waiting for a mid sized family hatch.
Buyers in this section of the market, want a comfortable ride, good fuel economy, and reasonable performance, they are not looking for hard sports suspension, if they were, they would be looking at ST/GTi models. This is what Nissan should have labelled the 1.6 Tekna, with its 18" wheels, low profile tyres, and hard suspension, because that is what it is.
I imagine that the 1.2 with its 16" or 17" wheels, and higher profile tyres, has the suspension to go with it. However, for me, after the 1.6 DCI Qashqai, the lack of performance was really noticeable.
Put the 1.2 supension, and higher profile tyres on the 1.6, and I think it would be a much better car, for the mid size family hatch market.
Have never owned a Focus, but did like the test drive I had, but perhaps I would think differently I had had owned and driven one for a while.
I had five consecutive new Mondeos, all 2.0L, I and I enjoyed driving them, what I didn't like was the enormous depreciation in their value after 3 years, something like 60%, whereas as my Qashqais were near to 40%.
When I was looking to buy the Pulsar, I did go and look at the Audi A3, albeit I never got as far a test driving one, but was put off by the fact that you had to build the spec you wanted from the basic car, from a 'tick list' of options. By the time I had added all the things that the Pulsar had, and even more so the Qashqai, it was getting into 'silly money' territory. IMO, not value for money.
When you read the "expert" reviews on the Pulsar, which 'after the horse has bolted' I have now been doing, it does get quite poor reviews, when compared to other cars of the same type, such as the VW Golf etc.
I think the concept of the Pulsar was ok, as it fitted nicely into the Nissan range, where there was a distinct gap waiting for a mid sized family hatch.
Buyers in this section of the market, want a comfortable ride, good fuel economy, and reasonable performance, they are not looking for hard sports suspension, if they were, they would be looking at ST/GTi models. This is what Nissan should have labelled the 1.6 Tekna, with its 18" wheels, low profile tyres, and hard suspension, because that is what it is.
I imagine that the 1.2 with its 16" or 17" wheels, and higher profile tyres, has the suspension to go with it. However, for me, after the 1.6 DCI Qashqai, the lack of performance was really noticeable.
Put the 1.2 supension, and higher profile tyres on the 1.6, and I think it would be a much better car, for the mid size family hatch market.
Hi
Is the 1.6 Pulsar a different design or is it the same car with suspension adjusted to make it stiffer? Could it be adjusted to a softer ride.
On the comment that reviews for the car are not good, that's not how I've seen it. Most give 4/5 and scratch around to find reasons not to buy like it has a plastic dashboard. The overall criticism seems to it is not a Golf! Well after last autumns price drop it is clearly not competing with the high end any more. Unfortunately all reviews were done near the launch at the higher price.
There's an awful lot of snobbery amongst car journalists and as most cars are reliable and very similar criticism is very trivial. The long term reviews (not one day) that I have seen were favourable. It did get a What Car award so can't be that bad.
Dave
Is the 1.6 Pulsar a different design or is it the same car with suspension adjusted to make it stiffer? Could it be adjusted to a softer ride.
On the comment that reviews for the car are not good, that's not how I've seen it. Most give 4/5 and scratch around to find reasons not to buy like it has a plastic dashboard. The overall criticism seems to it is not a Golf! Well after last autumns price drop it is clearly not competing with the high end any more. Unfortunately all reviews were done near the launch at the higher price.
There's an awful lot of snobbery amongst car journalists and as most cars are reliable and very similar criticism is very trivial. The long term reviews (not one day) that I have seen were favourable. It did get a What Car award so can't be that bad.
Dave
Owner of 2016 Azure 1.2 N-Connecta
From information that I have acquired, albeit not published by Nissan, the 1.6 Pulsar has uprated (stiffer) suspension, and supposedly, enhanced steering to improve the handling.
Add the 18" wheels and low profile tyres of the Tekna, to the stiff suspension, and you have the recipe for a hard ride.
Despite what Nissan state in their brochure, and on their website, where it is clearly stated that 17" wheels are an option for the 1.6 Tekna, this is not true. You cannot opt for 17" wheels if you buy the Tekna, you can only have with 18" wheels.
I have been in touch with Nissan UK, and they have admitted that the published information is incorrect. This has been escalated, and I am awaiting a written response.
Even the dealer was not aware of this.
As for softening the suspension, this would involve a complete spring and shock absorber change, so definitely a non- starter.
All Nissan needed to do, was to make it clear in their advertising, that the 1.6 is a very different driving experience to the 1.2, and I'm not talking about the engine, where the difference is well publicised in the brochure.
Ford, Peugeot, and VW etc, do not market their sporty models disguised as a standard vehicle. There is nothing in Nissans published info, to tell the customer that the 1.6 is a different animal in terms of suspension and ride, to its 1.2 sibling.
Add the 18" wheels and low profile tyres of the Tekna, to the stiff suspension, and you have the recipe for a hard ride.
Despite what Nissan state in their brochure, and on their website, where it is clearly stated that 17" wheels are an option for the 1.6 Tekna, this is not true. You cannot opt for 17" wheels if you buy the Tekna, you can only have with 18" wheels.
I have been in touch with Nissan UK, and they have admitted that the published information is incorrect. This has been escalated, and I am awaiting a written response.
Even the dealer was not aware of this.
As for softening the suspension, this would involve a complete spring and shock absorber change, so definitely a non- starter.
All Nissan needed to do, was to make it clear in their advertising, that the 1.6 is a very different driving experience to the 1.2, and I'm not talking about the engine, where the difference is well publicised in the brochure.
Ford, Peugeot, and VW etc, do not market their sporty models disguised as a standard vehicle. There is nothing in Nissans published info, to tell the customer that the 1.6 is a different animal in terms of suspension and ride, to its 1.2 sibling.
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Particulate Driver
- Posts: 170
- Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2017 7:11 pm
I doubt whether most potential buyers even know the Pulsar exists, it seems to have suffered from poor marketing.
