The UK's only MOT'd Nissan Primera eZX is for sale
A low-mileage classic Nissan, with the SR20 engine, for £5k? They still exist...
The frenzy that surrounds certain Japanese cars as modern classic collectables shows no signs of abating. Toyota aside, none of the manufacturers have courted enthusiast approval quite like they used to, so there isn’t much available new to distract fans from the old school. The opening up of the USA as a market for certain models not offered new (and which are now 25 years old) pushes up demand without an increase in supply. Rust is a huge issue for Japanese cars, of course. Add all that up and you have a small amount of vehicles being fought over by an ever-growing bunch of interested parties. Or certainly it seems that way.
Which is a shame, because so many of the Japanese icons offer up very special, unrepeatable driving experiences. There’s nothing quite like a very silly Subaru or a late Evo to drive, ditto an RX-7 or a GT-R. Japan found their own solutions to issues, and created memorable performance cars in the process. Little wonder everyone still wants them.
Probably a Nissan Primera wouldn’t be top of the list of anyone’s must-own heroes of Japan. It was renowned for being the dullest of the family cars, at least until the Toyota Avensis came along. But it did arrive in the early '90s, just at that time when Japan was announcing itself to the world with an array of innovative, interesting, desirable cars - which Nissan was very much part of. Think 300ZX, R32 GT-R, the Pike Cars based on the Micra (Pao, Figraro, Be-1) - all are from the late '80s and early '90s.
The first Primera was definitely one of those, a huge leap forward from the Bluebird. The engines were fuel-injected, the suspension multi-link, its design much more modern. The original P10 would always be praised for the way it drove, especially as a 150hp eGT. Touring car success helped its cause, too, even if it could never quite shake off the dowdy image.
This eZX is the 150hp, SR20-engined Primera offered for a couple of years before the introduction of the eGT. So there’s everything that was appreciated about that model, including a 7,500rpm redline, with a different badge and some funky graphics. Nothing says spiced-up '90s repmobile quite like a splash of red down the door.
Amazingly, this one was parked up in 1995 after fewer than 40,000 miles, only to resurface last year. Apparently it started with nothing more than a clean of the injectors and a new air filter (of course it did). Though it’s probably best to treat it as a restoration project to some extent, plenty has been done already: new fuel pump, brake bits, tyres, plugs, fresh oil and a new, advisory-free MOT, so it seems a good base to build on. More ambitious projects have been taken on, surely.
This eZX is a proper one-of-one, too, at least going from the HowManyLeft stats. It recorded just one taxed example as of Q3 2025, with another 8 SORN’d. From a peak of almost 800, that’s quite the decline; proof that even the best Primera was never really cherished. Admittedly a problem for many similar cars, if still sad to see. Because whose day wouldn’t be brightened by this?
While no Primera is likely to whip up a fanboy frenzy quite like more famous Nissans, it’s also for sale at £5,995. And as we all know, that really doesn’t get very far these days for those after a rot-free Japanese curio. Hidden away for the majority of its life, the eZX is now ready to hit the road once again. See you at the Little Chef.
Cool car though, just get out the hairdryer.
You're absolutely right about the graphics though: EZX makes you think it's an EV.
There is no way that mileage is genuine.
They had one of these and he always used to comment that the handling was brilliant, which used to surpise me as they always appeared so terminally dull at least to my eye.
This is a very rare beast with the "high port" version of the SR20DE. Could most likely count on one hand how many of these actually survive today.
The high ports are more like 160bhp which is nothing these days but in 1990 was quite a lot. Especially as an all alloy high revving 4 cylinder was very exotic at the time when Ford were still offering the CVH in their brand new models.
As standard you get fully independent double wishbone suspension from the Nissan Skyline R32 and the rear is a full multi link setup too. Absolutely unheard of at the time. Gearbox is superb and who can argue with a 7500rpm red line. This car was top of its class by quite the margin. This came at the peak of the Japanese economy where they just did everything better than everyone else even though a lot didn't notice at the time. (Ford were the experts at advertising turd)
It is alleged that Ford used the basis of this car when designing the then new Mondeo as nothing else on the market could compare in its class.
They also did some special "dealer principal" specs that were grey with full leather interior for the bosses of dealerships. Rust is the major weakness as with most 90's Japanese cars but looking at the underneath it is possible that the mileage in correct. The rear pockets on the sills are solid which is where they all went.
This is a bargain considering what some other tat from that era goes for. A great useable classic but does look like it could do with a few bits touching up. The leather certainly hasn't worn well and those graphics need removing straight away!
It is a shame all my money is going into flying at the moment as I would most likely have gone to view it!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff