The Gibbs Guy The G20 is built off the Primera chassis, features the same engine and everything, the only real difference between a G20 and a Primera is the badge and a few extra features really.
@@XenomorphLV426 The issue with the CVT, I honestly believe, is that many times people neglect to change the transmission fluid at 60k miles. A lessened viscosity leads to less effective fluid, breaking down the transmission much faster. When Nissan first brought out the CVT, they were just producing bad batches but I think the quality is substantially better now. Thankfully, my '18 Altima came with a lifetime powertrain warranty.
texan903 my stepmoms first trans went out at 1k miles on her pathfinder and three more followed and we still couldn’t lemon law it. She has a 2018 Acadia now with no problems
Not exactly a looker, but these were really well-built cars. I always thought of them more as an Integra competitor than a 3-series fighter. Nonetheless, that vintage Nissan "bell" chime might be enough on its own to make me want one.
I own one and it's incredibly similar to an Acura Integra. About the same engine specs and about the same weight and suspension setup. Its a really great car if you can find one but the Integra has a WAY better aftermarket. There are virtually no parts for this thing anywhere and barely any aftermarket support for it either so it's actually relatively challenging to keep running. Its all worth it tho because of all the cool Nissan things like how the interior door handles are the same ones they put on the GT-R and 240sx of the time and of course that chime
The closest competitor to this was the Lexus ES. Both were front wheel drive based on existing Nissan and Toyota platforms, this G20 being based on the Nissan Primera.
@@damilolaakanni - Yeahhh, not so sure about that. Even in top trim, the G20 was $5k less than a base Lexus ES and the G20 was quite a bit smaller. Still, if someone had an extra $5k in their pocket, the ES would be the better pick imo.
Robert Davis yeah the G35s were pretty good for their time, looks like Nissan is slowly returning to some of its executive/sporty glory with its possible new 400z
I would love to have this 1991-2002 Infiniti G20 in my 90s nostalgia collection with a 5 speed manual. They were the only Infiniti car next to the 1991 M30 coupe, convertible I ever liked in that lineup. They kind of remind me of a 1991 Nissan Stanza in that time era.
In 1996, this was my first car out of high school! The handling on this vehicle was amazing! I had this same exact model and features. Was a good first car for a young man.
I've loved all 4 of my G20s!!! I've owned two P10s and two P11s. The 5MTs with VLSD are the best!!! Solid, playful and fun touring cars!! All were ULTRA reliable, NEVER leaving me stranded or disappointed. Can't say the same for the eight (8) BMW 3-series I've owned.
This was such an undervalued car. The handling is so good and neutral. Push it hard into a corner and it holds. Too fast? Lift and the rear kicks out just enough. It is a true driver's car. The 2nd generation lost the rear independent suspension that this one have.
My coworker drives one of these and is the original owner-she bought it her senior year of college. I had to replace her headlight for her last year; it had 284,000 miles on it then. It ran great and was still in great shape considering the age and miles.
I had a family member that owned one of these and I got a chance to drive it. The handling and overall comfort was outstanding, Almost perfect suspension tuning for sporting road use. The engine was the Sentra SE-R engine but she got the automatic, so while it did OK when rev'd the auto dulled the overall experience. Probably would have been much better driving experience with a stick.
I had a first gen G20t. It wasn’t luxury but it was QUALITY and solid. Great handling and you could really wind out the underpowered motor. Neat little cat to buy on the used market. Built like old benzes. Solid
I remember the janitor at the school i went bought one of these new (nissan primera) in like 1990. I saw him about 25 years later and he was still driving that same car.
Why does Nissan have such an obsession with CVTs? Other companies use them, but not across the whole line. Some tried, but realized they looked good on paper, but weren't ready for the real world and dropped them. It's like GM in the late 80's/90's with the Iron Duke, or some variant. They tried putting it in everything, regardless of whether it was appropriate.
@@christopherconard2831 it's because they bought JATCO, JATCO builds Nissan's and I believe Mitsubishi's CVT gearboxes, and they spent a buttload of money on R&D, so going back to a normal torque converter auto, for people as prideful as the Japanese would be pretty hard considered a failure
Bought this car for $800 in 2013, kept it for 4 years with zero issues. It survived an epic West Coast road trip among many other adventures without a hitch. Awesome used car. The 5 speed manual, 4 cyl engine, front suspension made it a dream even at 20+ years old.
an excellent car back in the day, a Primera here in Aotearoa. Handling was excellent and they were bullet proof. Chain driven OHC made for a long lasting engine.
Very solid cars in a time when the compact luxury class was still trying to find its way(3-Series not withstanding). I always liked the styling and quality of this car for the time. Unfortunately, it had an identity crisis as well. Nissan was offering the new Maxima for similar money and equipment. Honda's new Accord moved up market in EX-L trim. So it had tons of competition in that same price range. Then Infiniti debuted the updated, controversial J30 and this car began to fade into the background. It wasn't until the 2003 G35 when Infiniti really got serious in this class.
Nah... I had the same car in the early 90s, took it to Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ, and ran high 15's against my friends Dodge Neon. Quick but not that fast....... unless you had work done.
Why are you lying? Stock SE-Rs of that era ran nearly 2 seconds slower than you're claiming. You don't go from 15.8 to 14.1 with "knowing how to drive". You're a liar. You expect us to believe your 140 horsepower SE-R was running with Corvettes? That your econobox was blowing the doors off Mustang GTs? Take that crap back to middle school.
Exactly. That kind of time is impossible on a normally aspirated Nissan Sentra that came out over 25 years ago. Dude must be watching too many Fast and Furious movies.
The G20 was basically a Nissan Sentra SER with leather and better styling. This was back when Nissan made good cars. Some of those performance numbers still stand up today. 8.2 second 0-60 and 109 ft. stop is pretty good.
BTW, the cruise control on this car is NOT activated by buttons on the steering wheel. There is a separate ON/OFF switch on the dash, behind the steering wheel, that ACTIVATES the cruise control, the steering wheel buttons only set the speed and resume the chosen speed if the brake pedal has been pushed and the cruise is temporarily shut off. I have noticed in other MotorWeek videos that similar mistakes are made, it makes me wonder if the script writers even see the cars they write about, much less drive them.
Had a '94. LOVED it. If it weren't for flaky air-conditioning, there's a slight possibility I'd still be driving it. The SR20 was a marvelous engine... not a barn-burner, but VERY confidence-inspiring levels of power. Haven't owned as refined a car since, though my current Mazda comes close.
For what its worth, I remember JD Edwards or was it Consumer Reports rating this car very highly for its reliability. It was probably the best built G20 model.
Criminally under appreciated vehicle. I always seen it as a more luxurious 4 door Sentra SE-R. My last P10 was a blast to drive. Sadly I experienced engine knock and had to let it go, but once I trade in my GTI for a Q50, I do plan to get another 5 speed P10 soon after, l may also consider a P11, but P10’s with the high port SR20DE are my main preference.
My old mechanic used to keep several of these as courtesy cars (UK Primeras). Despite having high mileages and being used and abused by customers they drove really well. Far superior to the modern Nissan/Renault rubbish
Of the nearly 30 cars that I have owned in 50 years of driving, the 92 G20 with a 5 speed is one of the few that I would want to own again. Just this morning I was remembering the kick that I got from zooming up and down and around on the winding 2 lane roads in rural Pennsylvania. Like driving a self-propelled and self steered roller coaster. That car would just hug the road and the curves. I owned a 92 Integra at the same time, and maybe because of the Integra's automatic transmission I didn't enjoy it quite as much.
One of the best cars ever for daily use. Especially the 2 litter with the manual transmission. Many bought for taxis (diesels) in Greece back then and last for a couple million Kms on the odometer.
Look for a 1994-1996 5spd G20t. Truly a European car (the market for which it was originally designed) but with Japanese build quality. A 1993.5 refresh brought airbags and real seatbelts. The G20t has black "mock Recaro" sport seats. Beware of weak 5th gear synchros. The European influence shows in the adequate legroom and the subtle E34-esque looks.
I bought one of these from its first owner with 60,000km on it in 2015! New brakes and new fluids throughout… totally minty! it was an awesome little car as my winter ride. I really regret selling it but found a beauty low km bmw 330ci.
My mom's friend got one brand new in 1995. It was black with tan cloth interior. She daily drove it til 2003 then bought a brand new Altima, but the G20 went to her daughter. As far as I know it was a good car very reliable. It was never garaged kept so the paint was oxidized on the hood, roof, and trunk when It finally got traded in for a VW beetle in 2006
Bought my 02 G20 with only 54k miles in 2019. It's got 80k now and is my daily driver. Absolutely love the suspension on this thing. Handling is so precise and confident. Much more responsive than Toyota's from the same era.
I've had 4 B14 200sx's, and a B14 Sentra. Currently doing SR20DET (Turbo version of this car's SR20DE) swap on 5th 200sx. The B14 is 95-99. This vid is B13 91-94. The B13 Sentra SER was the Sentra Coupe which turned into the 200sx. These are AMAZING cars. If you can find 1 scoop it up!!!
I bought one of these in 2002 for $1,500 and drove it another 140,000 miles until something broke and my mechanic couldn't get the part. It was a superbly well built car and never gave me any problems.
Can’t believe this was branded luxury. That looks like a Primera, so in the U.K. it was a bread & butter car; competed against Cavalier and Mondeo and nothing more. To be fair it was a BTCC champion eventually.
The cruise control switches are identical to that on my old early-2000s Maxima, pretty much exactly the same. Some of the other switchgear looks very familiar too, like that trunk/gas lid release button... I think MW kind of hits on this, but the biggest problem with the G20 is where does this car fit in? (Finding the G-spot, as it were, is elusive!) For this kind of money, never mind the Accord, I'd go with Nissan's own Maxima. The 4DSC of the era had the best V6 on the market, it was even roomier, cabin appointments were similar (Tom said it himself) and the Nissan would have been priced a little lower. What does that extra money actually get you? A better front suspension, yes, and a better name on the badge. But also a Stanza/Altima motor. To me, all of that wouldn't have been worth $1-2k in 1991 money. I always have a soft spot for rare Japanese cars from the 1980 and 90s. Unfortunately, Infiniti is on that list several times. The G20 was never a big seller and they are extremely rare these days. I haven't seen one in a long time. Nice, tidy cars, I can see their appeal but MW was 100% correct, they were overpriced as Infinitis. Maybe that's why they were more successful as Nissan Primeras in Europe.
I had a 1992 G20 in red with gray leather interior. I got it after my 1967 Cougar I got from my grandfather was totaled in an accident. (I was 16 and someone rear ended me). After we got the settlement on the accident, I wanted the new 1992 BMW 318i which was new for that year. My father took me on a test drive, yet somethtng was weird with the manaul transmission (was making a whistling noise in the 3 & 4th gears) and my father quickly said no because my mother had had a 1987 5 series that had issues and he was like they still aren't built well. I ended up with the Infiniti. I have to say though it was a really well built car at that time (though I hated those seat belts). I ended up letting my dad take it and I got a 1994 VW GTI lol.
A really good front drive sedan with super clean lines and big outward visibility of the era. An excellent handler. Better than the Altima that replaced it in the mid-90s, IMO.
Brendan A. MacWade what lines? Its a brick with wheels. It took after all the other japanese cars at the time: boring, bland, slow as balls, but itll get you there. I will NEVER understand why people like these cars. Probably the most uninteresting cars to ever come from Japan. And ive never seen one on the road to boot.
Owned one back in the day. No cup holders. NO cup holders! hahahaha! Was a GREAT car though. Don't "miss it", but if there is a mint one in grannys garage somewhere it would make a darn good 1st car for a teen or a backup / 2nd car. Just my $0.02. We traded ours for a 1996 Explorer Eddie Bauer.
Almost brought a blue/black touring model several years ago as a first car. Was sold just before I could get to it. Haven’t seen any like it since. The USDM P11 was way too heavy for the same engine at ~3k lb. Plus, we didn’t get the higher performance SR20 w/ ~190 hp like in Japan.
My cousin had a 1993 that she got preowned in 1997 it was a good car she had hers up until 2008. It was a good reliable vehicle. Nissan/Infiniti used to make good cars.
For 2 years, I owned a fully loaded '92 G20 that I purchased used. My car had the automatic transmission option, which was not an ideal companion to the 2.0 liter rev happy engine, to say the least. (All the raving reviews seemed to have come from those who tested the manual version.). The 2.0 liter 4 was a screamer for its size (back then, 140 hp from a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine was unheard of) between about 5,000 rpms and redline. I cross shopped a '91 Honda Accord SE at time - and that was better suited to an automatic transmission (bigger engine, more torque, less horsepower).
This was back when Nissan’s Infiniti actually stood a chance against Toyota’s Lexus and Honda’s Acura. Too bad it’s nowhere near Volkswagon’s Audi nowadays.
