Nissan acting on impulse

ALASTAIR SLOANE joins a launch with a difference as Nissan unveils its latest Pulsar.

Nissan is spending $500,000 on print and television advertising over the next few months to tell New Zealanders about its Pulsar sedan.

The theme of the campaign is that the car breaks all the rules about design, that bigger isn't necessarily better, or safer, or roomier, or more powerful.

Nissan hired New Zealand actors to emphasise the point at the Pulsar's launch at the Force Entertainment Centre in Auckland this week, a contrived but light-hearted unveiling as car launches go.

Marketing chief Peter Merrie was into his spiel about the small-medium Pulsar being powerful when a fellow with a Texas drawl, a skinny tie and a 10-gallon hat interrupted and said Merrie was talking hogwash.

He said his car-dealer daddy done told him when he was just an itty-bitty boy that the only powerful car was a big American car - ain't that the truth, y'all?

Merrie, the straight man in all of this, said the Texan was talking through a hole in his hat. The latest Pulsar broke daddy's rule - so there. The Texan eased on out.

Next to butt in on Merrie's delivery about the Pulsar being safe and strong was a fellow with a German accent. Nein, he said, Merrie was the one talking through a hole in his zipfelmuetzel. Only the Germans make such cars, built to last like "my father's beer stein."

Merrie waved away the objection and the second reference to a father's influence and moved on to dimensions, like interior room and boot space.

This time a mother-of-three butted in to complain that there was never enough room in small cars for children and shopping bags. "If I drive off with my purse on the roof of the car, it's not my fault."

Merrie didn't give her the time of day either, even though she spoke with a New Zilund accent.

Later they all made up. The three actors joined Merrie on stage in a symbolic rule-breaking ceremony to further emphasise what Pulsar was all about, then passed around snacks.

The Texan said he borrowed the hat from a mate in Christchurch, someone told the woman not to buy as many groceries next time, and the German searched a tray of sweets for a Kit-Kat.

The Pulsar has been redesigned from the floor up. It is longer, wider and higher inside and out, and builds on the strengths - strong engine, good space, handling and ride - of the model it replaces.

It is made in Japan and shares its platform and interior styling with the European market's Nissan Almera. (The Almera is named after Almeria, an arid area in the south of Spain where spaghetti Westerns were made).

Nissan is making much of the new car's body rigidity, which has been improved by 30 per cent.

Less flexing means a stronger vehicle, which in turn means reduced road noise and better ride and handling.

It says the Pulsar is the only small-medium Japanese car to receive the highest crash-test rating in Japan. It also meets European and American impact standards.

The sedan is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine equipped with variable valve timing and developing 87kW at 6000 rpm and 143Nm of pulling power at 4400 rpm. The 16-valve powerplant is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed automatic transmission.

A brief drive over varied surfaces supports pretty much everything Nissan says about the Pulsar.

The car's looks don't exactly break new ground and its interior is a typical example of Japanese function. But it rides and handles very well indeed, even if the four-speed automatic tends to hunt for a suitable ratio when heading into the hills.

Four models are available. The entry-level LX manual costs $28,295 and the automatic $29,495. The better-equipped LS manual costs $29,895 and the automatic $31,095.

Standard equipment is typical of the segment and includes driver's airbag, air-conditioning, electric windows and door mirrors.

The LS adds ABS anti-lock brakes, passenger airbag and pre-tensioned front seatbelts.

A bonus for the mother-of-three are the two shopping-bag hooks in the boot. She can now loop the plastic checkout bags over the hooks to stop groceries spilling as she searches for her purse.