We Drive: Nissan’s 115 HP Pulsar is Swimming With Sharks

What is happening to non-premium compact cars nowadays? It seems like everybody is copying everyone else both in looks and driving characteristics.

Nissan stepped in with their Pulsar in an attempt to challenge the likes of the Toyota Auris, Honda Civic, Mazda3, VW Golf, Ford Focus, Opel Astra, Peugeot 308, SEAT Leon, Renault Megane, Hyundai i30, KIA cee’d and Citroen C4.

In terms of looks, very few stand out. The 308 is probably the best-looking and the Focus looks pretty good of course. But nothing really stands out – no “wow-factor” to be found here.

The Pulsar doesn’t brake the mold . Nissan’s more or less a first effort since the Almera to get back in the “game” is kind like thirst generation KIA cee’d – an overly fair hatchback, with excellent equipment levels, above-average driving dynamics, a clever interior and, at least in this case, loads of space. And just like the first-gen cee’d, its goal is to open up shop in the C-Segment’s backyard.

But how many heads will it turn?

Surprisingly, people are still checking it out more than we expected. It’s not a brand new car anymore but it’s still in its infancy in terms of age – and that’s something people notice. They get curious, they take closer looks, they want to know how it compares to their own Golf, Astra or what-have-you.

The answer is a bit complicated. Overall, no, it’s not better than the Golf, but it’s aggressive front end earns it some points. If only the rest of it wasn’t too generic, it would have been much more of a looker.

Room to sub-let in the cabin

The cockpit design is rather average, the materials used… slightly above average, while the on-board tech and safety features are definitely good. Nothing unusual, then.The same applies to the quality of the materials: it is certainly no 308, never mind a Golf, but it’s still on par with most of its competitors.

What will blow you away is the room you get inside, especially traveling in the back. There’s no shortage of practicality, which makes it a good buy for most customers. As for storage space, you get plenty, and you also get a decent-sized boot, like in the Golf or the Astra.

The Pulsar lives up to its bold name in safety. Obviously it scored the full 5 stars during Euro NCAP tests, it stands out though due to the active safety features, living under the alias ‘Nissan Safety Shield’. Your Pulsar can brake by itself, monitor your blind spots and your driving lane and detect objects moving around the car. Of course, you need to shell out for the top spec TEKNA version in order to enjoy all of these features, but it will definitely improve your driving experience.

And let’s not forget about the Around View Monitor with its 360 degree overhead view of the car. It’s very impressive for a non-premium compact car.

Then you’ve got the NissanConnect system, which comes with SD card navigation, a 5.8″ touchscreen display, radioCD/MP3, Bluetooth, USB, AUX In…the works. The system is pretty snappy but the resolution isn’t too impressive.

Our test car also had LED headlights, 17″ alloys, automatic air conditioning, leather steering wheel, cruise control and so on. It even came with the optional €400 Comfort Pack which includes leather & heated seats.

And this is how it drives

As of right now, in some markets you can only buy the Pulsar with either a 1.2 liter 115 HP petrol engine (such as this one right here), or a 1.5 liter dCi turbodiesel that comes with 110 HP. In the UK for example you also get a 1.6 liter 190 HP petrol engine.

It’s this type of “talk” that will probably keep the Pulsar out of striking distance against rivals that offer a lot more diversity in terms of powertrains.

Our test car had the 1.2 liter 115 HP petrol unit, which was surprisingly quiet and snappy. As we expected, the performance is just adequate with the manual gearbox, accelerating to the 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) mark in 10.7 seconds, and sluggish (12,7 seconds) if you go for the automatic version.Besides, the 6 speed manual is good enough so just go ahead and have that instead of the CVT.

In terms of fuel consumption, Nissan say that this car should average about 5.0 liters per every 100 km (or 47 mpg US / 56 mpg UK). I’m not sure if you can get anywhere near that if you do a lot of city driving – which is where I drove it for 90% of the time and couldn’t get it under 8.2 liters per 100 km (28 mpg US / 34 mpg UK).

The Pulsar rides very comfortably, and while you do get more body roll than in a Golf or a Focus, I really enjoyed the steering feel – despite not getting the greatest of feedbacks from the front wheels.

So, what’s the verdict?

If you want a more dynamic hatchback, or a better looking one with a better interior, there are plenty of other choices – which means that the Pulsar shouldn’t be that high on your list.

On the other hand, if practicality, interior room, and an extremely fair overall package is at the top of your list, then the Pulsar could absolutely factor into your decision once you start looking more closely at this segment.

Over here, the top spec TEKNA version (1.2 DIG-T) sets you back €20,550 – which isn’t bad considering all the tech it has. An entry level Pulsar costs just €16,150.

Remember, unless you’re on a really (really, really!) tight budget, the price difference between entry-level & top-spec non-premium compact cars is negligible. People should generally buy the car that they like most, and not settle for something because it costs €500 less and came with a little something extra.

Upstaging the Golf, Focus, Astra and so on was probably never on the table for the Pulsar. After Nissan decided to return to the segment with a traditional hatchback, though, it produced a much more than decent entry.