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1 Nissan Primera P10 (Mk I, 1990–6)

Since 1988, Nissan had been building Bluebirds—essentially a rebadged home-market Stanza—for the European market at its factory in Sunderland. But while that car was well-built and reliable, it lacked the all-round competency needed in the large-medium family car sector.

In the autumn of 1990 Nissan replaced the Bluebird with the all-new Primera. It had a conventional front-wheel drive chassis and five-speed manual gearbox, with some versions getting the option of a four-speed automatic. Power initially came from 1.6 carburettor and 2.0 injection petrol engines, although a 2.0 diesel was soon to follow. Bodystyles were five-door hatchback, four-door saloon and five-door estate (the last of which was imported from Japan), all of which were well-built, reliable, refined and comfortable. At last Nissan had a strong rival for the Opel Vectra (Vauxhall Cavalier) and Peugeot 405. Equipment levels were also good. The car's chassis was tuned to give a comfortable ride and good handling. Although the petrol engine was never made with more than 2.0 litres, it received a power upgrade in 1992 which gave the GT version a top speed of around 130mph.

2 Nissan Primera P11 (Mk II, 1996–2001)

The second-generation Nissan Primera was launched in the autumn of 1996. It was not an entirely new car, and its styling was unremarkable, but it was still probably the best driver's car in the large-medium sector. Even the basic 1.6 models were good to drive, with sharp handling, excellent refinement and strong performance.

The interiors were unimaginative but solid and comfortable, keeping in tradition with Nissan's high levels of build quality. Mechanical reliability also proved to be excellent.

As before, the Primera was sold with 1.6 and 2.0 petrol engines and a 2.0 diesel, with hatchback, saloon and estate bodystyles.

In the summer of 1999 Nissan gave the Primera a facelift and improved its specification levels. A 1.8 petrol engine was added to the range, and the 2.0 petrol could now be had with 6-speed sequential semi automatic transmission in the style of a racing car. Essentially, though, the Primera scored high on excellent levels of build quality and reliability.

3 Nissan Primera P12 (Mk III, 2001–)

Late in 2001 Nissan introduced the third-generation Nissan Primera, its first all-new car since the collorbation with Renault two years earlier. The new Primera looked similar to the Renault Laguna, but it maintained the old car's hallmarks of excellent handling, comfortable ride, solid build and faultless reliability. The 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines and 2.2 turbodiesel were sourced from the Renault Laguna.

This version of the Nissan Primera is a far more stylish effort than its predecessor. It seems that the venture between Nissan and Renault will be a fruitful one.