MotorWeek | Retro Review: '83 Nissan Pulsar NX

[@ThomasTalbotMD]

That was my 2nd car in high school. Had a baby blue one with racing stripes & blue corduroy seats. Nice. It had plenty of room and we could even fit a 15 year old in the trunk to sneak in drive in. They got fuel injection & turbo later on. My '83 was branded both as a Datsun and a Nissan - a transitional year.

[@pmafterdark]

I remember these back in the 80's. Hard to believe it's been 40 years.

[@lilibethdoherty295]

I had to push start one of these 40 years ago and did not know how light they were and I had to chase the car down and jump in the car to pop the clutch to get it started, no good deed ever goes unpunished !

[@martinjackson165]

I actually owned this car and loved it. Wish I could find it in my area now.

[@import4lifehaze217]

Got one in florida for sell Pristine condition

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

@@import4lifehaze217 Very beautiful and nice this car

[@MaestroTJS]

My father owned the two-door version of the Sentra John keeps talking about in the video (a 1984, though). I remember thinking how much cooler the Pulsar looked--hey, I was 7 when he bought the Sentra. This thing can't be mistaken for coming from any decade other than the '80's, it's something of an epitomization of the decades' favourite styling cues.

[@initial3615]

These little things are so underrated. id rock one of these things after sitting in one its like a flash back to the early 80s good daily

[@snortswhite3445]

Love driving this baby around my work

[@reggiedennis5331]

I seriously wish cars were made like this now! Everything looks like a round space ship. These cars had "character" which appealed to all of us back then.

[@reviewyourownadventure2083]

I had the 85 model of this car. One of the best cars I ever owned. Not fast with that little sewing machine E16 engine but damn fun to drive regardless. These were pretty cool little cars for what they were. It's a shame Nissan won't make anything like this again.

[@darink300zx]

I had one of the mentioned 4 door hatchbacks and one of the turbo models after that. I liked them both but the turbo was definitely more fun. Not fast by today’s standards but for a 17 yr old kid in 88, it was plenty peppy and fun for me.

[@Doobie1975]

I actually saw a first generation Nissan Pulsar for sale in Kennewick, WA and the car appeared to be in great shape.

[@sweetroscoeful]

I inherited a Datsun 310 (same chasis/engine/trans but in a hartchback) from my grandmother; it averaged 44mpg on roadtrips, but was painfully slow and struggled with hard braking. I recall it had a fan aimed at the carb to help keep it from vapor locking....my grandfather made a switch for it since it wasn't quite active enough in the hot florida summers

[@twoeightythreez]

Datsun 310 had an A series engine (ohv) these had the successor (the e series OHC) which was essentially a modified A block with an OHC head on it afaik

[@markb3756]

I remember when these came out. My boss at work got a brand new burgundy one with the same interior as the one here. I thought it was so cool and wanted one. Actually I wouldn't mind to find one now. 😊

[@steeeevm]

my mom bought one for her travel agency and used it to deliver tickets. it was red and really cute. she loved it. it was slow as fuck with the ac on, but did the job. getting on the freeway was an exercise in terror as it really didn't wanna go. but it got great mileage and was tolerable around town. i was shocked she did it. it wasn't bad for the day.

[@MajorMalfunction]

I had an '83 1.5 turbo. It wasn't slow. I got it up to 190km. But it handled like a lead-tipped arrow!

[@jacalr1]

My first car! Loved it

[@DMX-PAT]

front engine MR2!!!

[@dave1956]

I think that this an era that we have strayed too far away from. Vehicles today are just too big and expensive.

[@Johnny-Five]

I was the second owner of an 84 in black just like that. That thing was gutless and had a hard time going up hills with the A/C going. It took me all over the west coast though and was my first car. The gas mileage was awesome and that was the real deal back when a gallon of gas only cost $0.96.

[@jeremyb4493]

Must've been in the 90s? I remember gas being around that range in the mid-late 90s when I was finishing high school and road tripping in my 85 Mazda 626 5 speed. Even found a out in the woods Texas gas station selling gas for 77 cents!

[@Johnny-Five]

@@jeremyb4493 Yep, it was the 90s in the PNW.

[@WarthogRacer]

My Grandfather had one of these until the late 90s. The sunroof leaked and the body developed pretty bad rust. He replaced it with a 1999 Hyundai Accent Hatchback. My Grandparents also had a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis.

[@saracen7774]

the turbo in this model is awsome E15ET..0-60 8.2 sec.

[@rexjolles]

I have a grey 1983 NX model with redicilously red interior

[@gxdjoeybaby07]

lots of tr7 references in the details! a friend had one back when they were new. how did you manage to get craig into that tiny back seat? =)

[@twoeightythreez]

5:52 A datsun B210 easter egg! My first car was a blue 1984. It couldnt get less than 35mpg unless you let it idle overnight

[@kz1000ps]

"...a 0-60 time of 14.9 seconds" **facepalm**

[@cyotacorolla1489]

kz1000ps It's actually slower than all 1982 to '83 Sentras except for the diesel. I know I can get my '82 Sentra to 60 in less than 15 seconds....probably like 13 or so.

[@colestarman1504]

I owned one of these. It was slow.

[@rexjolles]

Believe it or not these things top speeds are 99 miles an hour

[@badbooking3221]

Lower end of average Mr. Davis says... NO SHIT SHERLOCK ITS BELOWWWWWWWWWWW AVERAGE! Seriously that's unsafe in today's world.

[@Channel-cm7yc]

@@rexjolles yea and people didn’t drive like they just stole them either. It was just fine for the era. People also forget or don’t know that car loans weren’t cheap in this era either. The interest rate at 12% alone was high enough to kill a horse. So you didn’t get a lot of car for your money back then like you can today. Cars that were loaded were a novelty then too. If you didn’t make a lot of money you got what you could afford to pay the interest on and that was that pretty much.

[@NavyPanther54]

I passed on a pulsar three years ago for 500 bucks... Wasn't running, engine was there, but taken apart. Wish I grabbed it then

[@Prizm2356]

I wish there was a road test on the 82-86 Sentra

[@RickJohnson]

Same powertrain - just 2 more doors and different bodystyle.

[@britishsecretagent0078]

My mom had one of these same year, in grey and automatic. What a dog this was not to mention a rattle death trap.

[@piestochuj1]

say what

[@twoeightythreez]

I had one and it never felt like a death trap. It didnt have a single rattle, and I was very hard on it. These cars were better built than a modern Nissan by far. They were lightweight because they were TINY. The "deathtrap" misnomer is because these cars shared the road with the big Detroit behemoths, I am pretty sure one of these would win handily in a low speed bashup with most new cars...(obviously in a high speed crash it would fare poorly, like any car made in the early 80s) i remember the bumpers on mine being quite substantial, remember that these came out in 1982 and therefore were designed to meet the 5mph bumper standards (no damage from a simulated collision with a solid wall at 5mph) Mine was a 5speed so at least didn't FEEL doggy but 70hp is only gonna do so much....

[@lexburen5932]

didnt get the americans the pulsar turbo NX with the E15ET engine?, wich also sits in the nissan cherry turbo * for europe * great little fun car with the E15ET engine :))

[@Infinitrium]

These would be ripping good fun with an sr20de swap

[@thyone2669]

CA18DET

[@lexburen5932]

E15ET would be a good engine for this car, as it fits in the original engine mounts. Because there is an turbo version of this car in Europe Australia en japan

[@twoeightythreez]

The e15et was available in 1984 in the US as well

[@landyachtfan79]

Um......yeah, this is an '83-'84 model, not a '90. And the Sentra was the replacement for the 210, not the 310.

[@SuperBQuiet]

Mitsubishi Starion 😊

[@anthonymartin6352]

It took me forever to sell my 83 turbo pulsar nx!

[@colestarman1504]

I owned one! They were junk. When it broke down, the dealership said all the turbo versions eventually developed serious problems that were expensive to fix and that would reoccur.

[@herrgolf]

14.9 seconds to sixty--must be geared very tall.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

Apparently both 4th and 5th in the 5-speed gearbox were overdrives, so very tall to say the least!

[@Thinker669]

Nissan Pulsars are rare. I haven't seen their later models in 13 years.

[@vinzclortho7766]

Didn't the later versions have a swappable rear lid, making it a wagon style or a notchback?

[@retrocompaq5212]

they were unable to hold together for 5 straight years

[@chadharmon5716]

I had a '85 in high school in the early 90's

[@markmarshall39]

cool little car

[@angelsepulveda8393]

2:10 it’s uncle pull tab!

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

No Pulsar NX Turbo review?

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

+scterka Or for that matter the 3- and 5-door hatchback sedans?

[@lexburen5932]

nope. in australia, they had the nissan pulsar NX turbo wich is almost the same, except for some trim pieces, and a little mean 1.5 litre turbo engine * E15ET * , wich had 115 HP. that was a quick car in those days

[@ZoomyZoom77]

did you guys review one with the sportback thing?

[@TannerCIS]

I bought a 1983 one in 1989 for like $3,000.

[@anon457]

if I could buy one of these new right now I would, only 2 things I would want is a 5 speed auto with OD and a V6 engine with double over head cam naturally aspirated twin valve with EFI throttle body and instead of red plush enterior id rather have black so I guess that's 3 things lol but yeah do those few thing and I would buy one of these in a heart beat.

[@Sanpedranoazul]

Greg Singhaus, right? I Used Toy think this Car, the Fiero and Rx were the bomb!

[@djkenny1202]

All Show an no Go. The Pulsar was a visual not driving experience until the next generation. Cool looking, though. They tried with the Turbo model of this generation, but oddly only as a 3 speed automatic?? Odd. In 83 it would have been advisable to seek something like a Rabbit GTI. A real driver's car.

[@cyotacorolla1489]

djkenny Because the next gen pulsar we got in 1987 was sooo fast. Even uglier too.

[@zerohero23677]

Was the audio for this played through a phonograph?

[@RhinoXpress]

that's not a 90 pulsar, that's an 82 - 86 pulsar based on the N12 first gen model.

[@arabicelvis]

One of the rarest cars on earth 🌎 I had a 83 red and black miss that 🚗 n

[@alwiassegaf8694]

has reviews nissan sunny coupe Rz1 87/90?

[@Doobie1975]

does the guy at 2:00 look like Kip from Napolean Dynamite?

[@cyotacorolla1489]

Doobie1975 Looks more like 80s Walter White...

[@MicheluceRizzuto]

Is that Sam Kineson's doppelganger? Or is his alter ego?

[@6ec6YRFPTcC]

Feel the Pulse

[@Dankcatvacs]

Ah nissan back when they were cool now everyrhing is dull and has a cvt

[@frankburns8871]

"The tachometer is full-range." Were partial tachs a thing in the 80s?! I've never heard of such a thing, and can't think of any reason why any car maker would ever design a tach that wasn't full-range. Maybe some didn't include much above red line because they were afraid that would encourage abuse?

[@05gtdriver]

Is that Joey Silvera in the back seat? LOL

[@selerim]

50 hwy mpg? Did it even get 50 mpg anyway?

[@bobloblaw7613]

selerim friend of mine had one. It COULD potentially hit high 40's....however...it was so damn slow, you ended up redlining the engine even in normal traffic conditions, and would get low 30's typically.If I remember the thing would cruise at very high rpm on the highway with the automatic....doing typical highway speeds and not speed limit speeds. Im sure if you were able to drive this thing with no stopping at 45-55mph you could hit 50 (no hills either)...with a manual tranny...

[@selerim]

bob loblaw Really? wow, yea driving at 55 mph I believe it can do 50 mpg. But must be sucks hitting rpm at red all the time on highway speed.

[@bobloblaw7613]

selerim nah the thing would redline on a casual trip to 35mph...to keep up with traffic. I think it might have had that three speed auto...which would explain all of that. You just couldn't keep up with normal traffic without flooring it.

[@cyotacorolla1489]

selerim If the sentra can do it this shitcan will too. Same engines.

[@chrismc410]

bob loblaw don't see how it can be that slow. My mom had a Pulsar when I was a kid. I remember it taking Interstates 66, 64, 95, 395 and 495 without a problem keeping up. I have a 200SX of this era I drive to this day that took me from WV to TX down 81, 40 and 30 at 70 mph without a problem keeping up. I don't get it

[@andxx0r_the_second671]

O lawds. I used to have an '86 with an automatic. Got it in 2001 or so. It had been some old lady's car since new and only had 70k miles or so. It was one of the slowest things I've ever driven.

[@jakeybran]

+andxx0r_the_second that's funny, I have an '88 pulsar with a CA18DE 5spd. It is incredibly quick.

[@mcqueenfanman]

Slow day at MotorWeek, huh? Get it?

[@BigXSmoke1]

mcqueenfanman i get it

[@WarrenShort-h4x]

Would you want to Sale it

[@northhankspin]

cool

[@iandominics4328]

The manana from GTA vice city😁

[@miketheyunggod2534]

You can’t get mid 40’s mpg nowadays.

[@97warlock]

Whats with all the Pinto comparison, Pintos were a 70s car, surely theres some comparable cars of the 80s to compare to, I would think.

[@tbok75]

1990? Wait a sec... I hafta laugh at this typo cuz I graduated in 93 and a friend of mine had one and was the oldest most beat up, high mileage pile of crap thing I'd ever seen and swore it was a 1975 or something.

[@Motorweek]

VaperBok75 Lol! Title has been fixed. Thanks for watching!

[@BMan100]

90s??? looks much older. like mid 80s.

[@DANNY40379]

0:60 14.9s I could probably run faster lol

[@BrendanMacWade]

Oh yeah, this is not Motorweek '90.

[@olekaw8765]

pure pyer!

[@alfamonk]

oo..the dark days of Nissan styling. Looks like a mini-me subaru XT.

[@vinzclortho7766]

Also like the Prelude.

[@honkhonkler7732]

"#2 importer Nissan-Datsun" ....lol my have they fallen, especially since the Renault deal. Honda is firmly #2 behind Toyota these days.

[@toyoscio]

Rust has claimed many

[@vinzclortho7766]

That seemed to happen to a lot of cars from Japan on the late 70s into the 90s.

[@carysledge1984]

My wife drove one of these when we were dating........POS

[@adamtrombino106]

Say it with me.. SLOWWWWW.... ungodly slowwww.... Dangerously, SLOWWWW.....

[@upinya9000]

Ah, gotta love early 80s economy cars. Pathetically slow, ugly, and junk. There's a reason you never see these, the Escort GT, Chevy Chevette, Dodge Omni, etc on the road these days. Most were unreliable and found themself in a junk yard by the early 90s... The rest rotted away through the years.

[@jotyers7845]

It's ugly

[@sidropunk]

What a shitty car.