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Just as the name suggests, the Nissan Pulsar is a neutron star that generates high-power electromagnetic waves and can be seen pulsing those waves with a repetitive frequency. Or is the Nissan Pulsar C13 the Nissan Golf?

In fact, the closest comparison would be that the Nissan Pulsar is the successor to the Nissan Tiida, a rather anonymous but also reliable hatchback. It was not great, not terrible. It was decent. So naturally, the Nissan Pulsar is another obscure car from Nissan, which no one marketed and no one bought.

Is it worth buying a car that you have never heard of?

Yes and no, if you mean the Nissan Pulsar. If you mean Daihatsu Cuore, the answer is “YES” 3 times. But if you mean the Nissan Pulsar, I don’t know what to say. Indeed, it was one of the first cars to use the new CMF-C platform, after the Qashqai but before Megane IV or Scenic, Kadjar or Talisman, but the lack of image and marketing did not help Pulsar to enter the the European market which was dominated by the hatchback and cross-over segment. Why buy a Nissan Pulsar, a manufacturer that is not known for hatchbacks, when you can go for a more classic version like the Astra, VW Golf, Ford Focus or the blue brother, the Renault Megane?

Of course, the Nissan Pulsar had to have some advantages to be bought over the others. Advantages that, unfortunately, it doesn’t really have. However, in order not to be a hater to the end, I will also talk about what is good about the Nissan Pulsar.

First of all, you have acres  of space. You have so much space that it is comparable to that of the Passat, a car from the class above. Then this car comes with so many safety systems that you feel like Hannibal Lecter and in the event of an impact you have a very high chance of surviving, provided that you are not hit by a Nissan Patrol. And the last advantage for some but disadvantage for others is the very light power steering. The idea is that a very light steering translates into reduced sportiness and poor behavior in high…sorry…higher speed bendstaken at speed, but it is excellent for the urban jungle. If it’s an pro or a no, I’ll leave it to you to decide, but VW has been making cars with ultra-light steering for many years, specifically for the driver who rarely leaves the city but who enjoys an easy steering through parking lots and through tight spaces where you may have to do a lot of back and forth maneuvering. 

Nissan Pulsar C13 Engines

Petrol

• 1.2 Turbo HR12DDT of 115 horsepower – The apple of discord between Renault and Nissan, for which Nissan blamed the French. It is strange that on the Clio IV this engine does not cause such big problems, but on the Nissan Pulsar C13 (and not only) it chuggs oil as if you are saying that it is an event sponsored by Mich Golden’s. It’s cheap, but hey, it gets you going. Sorta.


• 1.6 Turbo MR16DDT of 188 horsepower – Amazingly, the 1.6 Dig-T engine does not chugg down on oil. It does siphon petrol instead, especially when it is mated to the automatic transmission, but on the other hand, you have 188 horsepower at your disposal. The engine, on the other hand, is popular on the Qashqai and the Juke, but on the Nissan Pulsar it is rarer than Boris’s interest in any topic that is not about his fab hair.

Diesel

1.5 dCi K9K of 105 horsepower – The village bicycle 1.5 dCi that we all know from the Dacia to Nissan to Mercedes, makes its appearance on the Nissan Pulsar. By far the most balanced engine for Europe, but then comes the question of “Why not straight up buy a Megane  with the same 1.5 dCi diesel, which is cheaper and easier to find and buy?”.

Nissan Pulsar C13 Reliability Issues

• Constant issues with the air conditioning, and besides that, you should know that the Pulsar uses R1234yf type refrigrerant / freon, much like modern cars, and this type of freon costs about 5 times more than the classic R134A type freon so buckle up.


• Those very many safety systems also come with related electrical gremlins, so you will always see an check engine light lingering about, kind of like the VW Golf in essence.


• Rear visibility is so poor that Sofia Boutella could be sitting on the roof spilling a bucket of mud, and you wouldn’t have a clue.


• It’s a Nissan, meaning a Japanese car, and that translates into a very, very cheap interior. Yes, it’s cheaper than a Megane, but it’s not as comfortable either. Or maybe we Europeans are too much with the nose up in our buttocks that we can smell our own colon?


• Now comes the complementary moment about the CVT box, which is not the most reliable possible, but it is another very rare option on a car that is already rare.

Nissan Pulsar C13 Verdict

I think that the Nissan Pulsar is a spiritual brother to the Vauxhall Astra J. Two cars that do not have their own identity. If you want a hatchback like the Pulsar, then buy a Megane, and if you insist on a Nissan, then get a Nissan Qashqai, which costs about the same and has the same chassis. So, the Nissan Pulsar remains the kind of car you buy on a whim, because you got a good offer or a good price. And if you find it, it’s worth buying because it’s one of the most reliable modern cars you’ve never heard of.

What engines do I recommend? For petrol, obviously the exotic 1.6 Turbo and it’s 188 horsepower, but most likely you will go for the rather common 105 horsepower 1.5 diesel, which goes hand in hand with it’s mainstream hatchback concept which the Pulsar represents.