N15

After the elegant lines of the N14, Australians were slow to warm to the European wagonoid styling of the N15 Pulsar hatchback, but the sedan remained conservative.

Essentially the same underneath, the difference was in the details.

The suspension and steering were tweaked, body rigidity improved and refinement levels rose.

The 1.6 twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine now pumped out 86kW of power while the superb 105kW 2.0 remained fundamentally unchanged.

The LX returned in both body styles, the hatch again came in Q 1.6 and SSS 2.0 guises, but the SLX 1.6 replaced the Ti sedan, and the Ti hatch disappeared altogether.

Sales were disappointing until Nissan stumbled on the value-added “Pulsar-Plus” idea in October ’97. Buyers responded enthusiastically and the Plus became a semi-permanent member of the newly popular Pulsar range.