Nissan Pulsar GTi R Review

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Nissan Pulsar GTi R
4 stars
Average rating for this product is: 4 out of 5

From 21 ratings and 22 reviews

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mugahgah's Review of Nissan Pulsar GTi R

2nd Jan 2004

Overall Rating

2 stars
  • Value for money
    4 stars
  • Practicality
    4 stars
  • Performance
    3 stars
  • Reliability
    1.5 stars
Good Points

Fast on a cold morning. Looks awesome. Good value ( if it stays together)


Bad Points

Top mounted intercooler sucks. Car understeers terribly. Weak gearbox & clutch. Cheap interior.


General Comments

Ive owned my 1993 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R for 6 months now. It has done 100,000KM and had been brilliantly looked after by the previous one owner.

When I took the car for a test drive 6 months ago, I loved the power, the lack of body roll around corners and the price ($10,000 NZD is usual).

After owning the car for a while, here is what i've learnt.

-traction in a straight line is GREAT because of the 4wd.

-The factory clutch burns out after just a few launches, and if you fit a stronger clutch you just put the gearbox under too much stress(it snaps gears) and the clutch pedal mounting bracket breaks.

-Alignment of the wheels is constantly going out of spec.

-Rear dif knocks between gears.

-Car understeers TERRIBLY. Apparantly this is due to very poor front/rear weight balance.

-top mounted intercooler heats up quickly on hot days ( under a black bonnet) and while driving around the city. On cold mornings and in the countryside it works fine.

I absolutely regret buying this car. It is supposed to be a high performance vehicle, however its no good in a straight line because of drive train strength, and its no good around corners because of its poor weight distribution.

I could spend money to fix the handling to a certain extent, but tyre wear will be excessive.

Im now looking for another car. I figure its better if i spend more to get something which does not need to be upgraded straight away.

If you MUST get a gti-r, make sure you take it for a decent test drive to see if the previous owner has sorted anything out.

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Members' Comments onmugahgah's Review

  • tobiboyce20det on 4th Apr 2004

    Hey! I am sorry you had that kind of experience with a Pulsar, I know of the bad weight balance and the intercooler mounted on the engine, which can cause over heating, also the weak gear box, but we must bear in mind that this car was developed in the late 80s and mainly as testing cars for WRC championships, though they had done a few rallies with good testing results, they were not taken through the modern testing and development we see today, where the engine of WRC homologations have the front mounted intercoolers and engine at a 30 degree angle towards the fire wall for better weight distribution. The GTI-R I was exposed to was prepared for rallying and had a few mods to it. Also every owner of a 1990-1994 nissan pulsar GTI-R has done something to it, mostly in the suspension and repositioning the intercooler. but they are a few people who would love to buy one of these beauties but the can not be imported to the usa.

  • Shorts on 14th Apr 2004

    Thanks!
    Its good to read a review that actually comes from someone one that does not have rose tinted glasses! I've been looking for a good one of these for a while and have as yet to find a realy sorted one, perhaps I should just go straight for the sky line instead?! What gave me the bug for pulsar? got whipped off the light by one, have scooby at moment!