Primera Gt v Civic 1.8vti?

[Razo]

A couple of weeks back i started a thread on the main forum asking about decent cars for 2k.

I'm seriously considering either a SR20DE engined Primera or Almera

but....

I've spoke to a close friend who has test drove both these cars and he insists that they are slow and that i should buy a 5dr 1.8vti civic instead!

I currently own a Almera Si and used to run a 1.6 civic vti for a year and ragged that car apart and sold it for peanuts on ebay, so i've got some experience with that level of power.

Are the Primera and Almera powerful enough to be considered nippy?

Thanks!

[Riknos]

Personally, I think the Almera and Primera can be fun, and quite nippy to an extent, but not as much so as a Type R (VTI). The 5 door, saloon shape one has about 177 bhp iirc, which is no slouch either. Driven the 1.6 like you had, and that was pretty fun, so can imagine the 1.8 being pretty much the same, except I think it has a few more toys, and looks better IMO.

[Gezzmarrelda]

in my egt i kept up with much more powerfull cars, the sr20 has a much stronger midrange than the b18.
You can pick up a p10 egt for peanuts.

[OrangeBob55]

I had a P11 GT ('98) for a few years and it was an absolutely fantastic car - loads of fun, really chuckable and totally controllable. They also come fully kitted up so have everything you could ever want.

The engine is fantastic and pulls all the way through the rev range - the red line is actually quite high too!

Not had any experience of the Civic, but am sure that would be great too... Best advice - go and look at / drive both and decide which is best for you...

But I would highly recommend the Primera GT.

[gtikurt]

Depends if your a Honda man or a Nissan man...Both in standard form the VTi, wheather it's a EG6 or a EK4...wil be quicker than the Almera/primera, But the SR20DE has an excellent torque curve..with 40mpg on long journeys.

And loads of bits for the SR20DE to soon squeeze an extra 30bhp for little money.

PS..I own a Almera GTi