FIRST IMPRESSION: 2012 Nissan Almera !

 Honda City and Toyota Vios has been battling each other in the B-segment sedan market ever since Nissan stopped promoting its aging Sentra. However, it will not be the same again because B-segment will soon have a strong contender from Nissan, the Almera. Almera will come in 3 variants, E, V and VL, but I'm not going to go over the specs again as I've already written it here.

 There's nothing offensive with the exterior of the Almera, elegantly designed but the long rear overhang doesn't quite proportional with the whole car from the side. What's impressive is the interior of the Almera. Closing the door doesn't feel like you are in a budget car eventhough the Almera will be one of the cheapest B-segment sedans when it's launched here. Estimated price starts from RM70k to RM85k.

The seats no doubt are produced by Nissan, comfortable and generously padded without feeling too soft. Nissan really does know how to produce seats with superb comfort, check out Sylphy's (especially the rear seats) and you'll know why I say so. Plastics used on the dashboard and door are on the hard side, but thankfully they felt like built to last. Moreover, buttons are nice to press, and the main buttons are arranged uniquely in the shape of a rotary phone on the centre console.

 The door handle is designed like a huge hollow ring, looks luxurious when finished with chrome!

With a wheelbase of 2600mm, Nissan surprised me with the generous 636mm of rear legroom in the Almera. If the front seat is adjusted for a small-sized adult, I'm sure I with a 5 foot 10 frame can sit like a boss with one leg on another, enjoying the ride. I'm sure you can imagine how spacious is the legroom now! My head wasn't touching the roof, but headroom could be better if it wasn't because of the sloping roofline.

 The long-ish rear overhang might be slightly off for the eyes, but in return it gives a huge boot, 490 litres big to be exact. The boot is deep and nicely shaped, good for balik kampung trip!

 Nissan Almera is going to be launched on either end of October or November. I believe that the Almera is a good car for small family, thanks to its huge cabin and boot, fuel economy (14.9km/l) and it is expected to have a comfortable ride and reliable since it's a Nissan.

Of course, the Almera would also be a good roundabout vehicle in the city for students or housewifes. Honestly, I'm loving the Almera already!

*UPDATE: Click here to see the launch of Almera!

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