Nissan Primera
A Japanese car designed for European roads, built on Wearside.
The story
The Primera replaced the Bluebird and was aimed squarely at the Cavalier and Sierra. Clever front suspension gave it steering and handling that road testers raved about. It was exported from Sunderland all over the world.
Inside
Sober and well built, with supportive seats and good visibility.
In period colours
Tap a colour to respray the drawing.
Later Primeras won the British Touring Car Championship for makes in 1998 and 1999.
Meanwhile, in 1990
Margaret Thatcher resigned after eleven years as Prime Minister.
Best-selling single of 1990: Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers
Before you buy a 1990s car
- On petrol engines, check the cooling system and any sign of head gasket trouble.
- Ask when the timing belt was last changed, where fitted.
- Parts for mass-market cars are widely available; specialist and low-volume models can be hard to find.
General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.
Rivals of its day
Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.
See the real thing
These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.
Today's money: the launch price adjusted for inflation to 2026, using the Office for National Statistics price index.