Advise you to consider the ability to obtain future service. Which manufacturer has the strongest commitment to the Thai market? Which may have had a presence in Thailand years ago and then abandoned the Thai market?

I very much like my Nissan truck, by the way. Nissan trucks 30 years ago were jokes. The Nissan diesel that I have now, however, may be the best truck I've ever owned, and I've owned several.

Not that you're asking about trucks, of course... You were asking about a Nissan car, about which I know nothing, vs. a Suzuki car, about which I know nothing.

I merely suggest you consider your ability to get things serviced, and where, 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

Advise you to consider the ability to obtain future service. Which manufacturer has the strongest commitment to the Thai market? Which may have had a presence in Thailand years ago and then abandoned the Thai market?

I very much like my Nissan truck, by the way. Nissan trucks 30 years ago were jokes. The Nissan diesel that I have now, however, may be the best truck I've ever owned, and I've owned several.

Not that you're asking about trucks, of course... You were asking about a Nissan car, about which I know nothing, vs. a Suzuki car, about which I know nothing.

I merely suggest you consider your ability to get things serviced, and where, 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

It sounds good, but how the heck does one do that?

The Swift is a much nicer car to drive. The Almera is the worst car I have driven in the last 20 years or so - simply awful.

Awful in what way? If I remember correctly, you are a large SUV groupie - perhaps that flavours your perspective of smaller vehicles.

Exactly, why do so many posters say something is great or awful and do not, or cannot, back it up with an example.

Because many of them have only had a few cars in truth over 20 years They didnt learn to drive in the Fifties in a 10 Y.O old Jowett Bradford van,like us old cootes and work up.

Advise you to consider the ability to obtain future service. Which manufacturer has the strongest commitment to the Thai market? Which may have had a presence in Thailand years ago and then abandoned the Thai market?

I very much like my Nissan truck, by the way. Nissan trucks 30 years ago were jokes. The Nissan diesel that I have now, however, may be the best truck I've ever owned, and I've owned several.

Not that you're asking about trucks, of course... You were asking about a Nissan car, about which I know nothing, vs. a Suzuki car, about which I know nothing.

I merely suggest you consider your ability to get things serviced, and where, 5, 10, 15 years down the road.

It sounds good, but how the heck does one do that?

Didn't Makro have a sale on crystal balls last week?

Because many of them have only had a few cars in truth over 20 years They didnt learn to drive in the Fifties in a 10 Y.O old Jowett Bradford van,like us old cootes and work up.

1947 Ford. Flathead V8. 3-on-the-tree

Because many of them have only had a few cars in truth over 20 years They didnt learn to drive in the Fifties in a 10 Y.O old Jowett Bradford van,like us old cootes and work up.

1947 Ford. Flathead V8. 3-on-the-tree

1949 FX Holden, column gearshift, no syncromesh on first gear, drum brakes all round. Live axle rear leaf springs. 2.2 litre 6 cylinder engine, surprisingly reliable and durable given the cylinder clearances were way outside today's tolerances. Similar in looks to the Chevrolet of that time, deemed too small for the American market. Fast cornering was an adventure, massive understeer.

The Swift is a much nicer car to drive. The Almera is the worst car I have driven in the last 20 years or so - simply awful.

Awful in what way? If I remember correctly, you are a large SUV groupie - perhaps that flavours your perspective of smaller vehicles.

It's noisy, has a rough engine, uncomfortable seat, feels flimsy, has no power, feels poorly made and cheap (it is, I know).

On the upside, it's roomy for the money and no one would ever want to steal it.

* To clarity - we were given one for a week to use about a year ago. Hated it. The Swift on the other hand was a great little car to drive and am more than happy to hire one of these if out of town. Prefer the manual to auto, but I've not seen a small manual rental car here for years.

The Swift is a much nicer car to drive. The Almera is the worst car I have driven in the last 20 years or so - simply awful.

Awful in what way? If I remember correctly, you are a large SUV groupie - perhaps that flavours your perspective of smaller vehicles.

It's noisy, has a rough engine, uncomfortable seat, feels flimsy, has no power, feels poorly made and cheap (it is, I know).

On the upside, it's roomy for the money and no one would ever want to steal it.

* To clarity - we were given one for a week to use about a year ago. Hated it. The Swift on the other hand was a great little car to drive and am more than happy to hire one of these if out of town. Prefer the manual to auto, but I've not seen a small manual rental car here for years.

Think hes got it mixed up with a Tuna.

Because many of them have only had a few cars in truth over 20 years They didnt learn to drive in the Fifties in a 10 Y.O old Jowett Bradford van,like us old cootes and work up.

Jowett Bradford ...............Jowett Javelin now that was a car

The Swift is a much nicer car to drive. The Almera is the worst car I have driven in the last 20 years or so - simply awful.

Awful in what way? If I remember correctly, you are a large SUV groupie - perhaps that flavours your perspective of smaller vehicles.

It's noisy, has a rough engine, uncomfortable seat, feels flimsy, has no power, feels poorly made and cheap (it is, I know).

On the upside, it's roomy for the money and no one would ever want to steal it.

* To clarity - we were given one for a week to use about a year ago. Hated it. The Swift on the other hand was a great little car to drive and am more than happy to hire one of these if out of town. Prefer the manual to auto, but I've not seen a small manual rental car here for years.

You must have got a bad Almera, or one that's been abused. Rental/courtesy cars frequently are. I've test driven one and been in several others, seats were quite comfortable and quite quiet. Can't disagree with the lack of power.

Because many of them have only had a few cars in truth over 20 years They didnt learn to drive in the Fifties in a 10 Y.O old Jowett Bradford van,like us old cootes and work up.

Jowett Bradford ...............Jowett Javelin now that was a car

Australians must have missed out on a fine example of British engineering, because the sales figures in Oz probably only needed the fingers of one hand. Looked like a 1948 Ford Mercury that had been through a shrinking process.

Fond memories of an Anglophile who drove a postwar Austin variant with mechanical brakes. One could never accuse it of leaking brake fluid.

Welcome me to Almera club. Just hooked up one today. Used 2012 @ 280k. Quiet inside and quite smooth drive also.

One Topic Hidden - a one word reply. Constructive posts always welcome.

I own a Nissan March. I choose it over Suzuki because I am a tall man, much more leg space in Nissan cars compared with Suzuki, thats why they are so popular among foreigners.

I own a Nissan March. I choose it over Suzuki because I am a tall man, much more leg space in Nissan cars compared with Suzuki, thats why they are so popular among foreigners.

I'm 6'3" and have no problems in my swift. I do put the seat right back though and have plenty of space. Not much in the back though. I don't the march being any bigger when I sat in one. The suzuki ciaz is the largest eco car at the moment.

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

It's only dangerous when the person behind the wheel doesn't know how to drive. Or use the gears on an automatic. Underpowered cars are quite safe when driven within their limitations.

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

Methinks your imagination is running wild,the Honda City is a good car no doubt but the Nissan Almera is a much better (cost effective) buy

I,m getting 20.8 kilometres/litre (58 miles/uk gallon) from my manual Almera-with speeds (when road conditions allow) of around 100/120 kph done 35,000 kms(long runs down to Trang 943 kms away) in it since I bought it in February and its never missed a beat

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

Methinks your imagination is running wild,the Honda City is a good car no doubt but the Nissan Almera is a much better (cost effective) buy

I,m getting 20.8 kilometres/litre (58 miles/uk gallon) from my manual Almera-with speeds (when road conditions allow) of around 100/120 kph done 35,000 kms(long runs down to Trang 943 kms away) in it since I bought it in February and its never missed a beat

I have a much bigger car and at 100kph(the speed 90yo's drive on long drive) i get 17-18kph with tons of people in the car so 20km/l is nothing to shout home about. City does about the same.

The difference is the city can actually accelerate out of an obstable while say you are in an almera and a massive 12 wheeler comes crashing into you, if you floor it to move away you'll never have any time to get out of its way while the city you'll have a much much better chance.

Those 80kph engines are dangerous in thailand with all the trucks losing their breaks/hills and drunk drivers. 90% of the traffic i encounter daily is a vios that cant get above 50kph before reaching the next intersection, thus blocking the whole street. Those slow engines make people who can afford average to good engines really angry as they are losing 5-10-15-20mins extra per small trip waiting behind people with cars that can't accelerate. Those angry people, a small percentage will go nuts and create accident that will also make other people wait even longer to reach their destination, making more people angry and more potential crazy violent drivers.

So imo they should be outlawed or kept in dense cities like bangkok.

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

Methinks your imagination is running wild,the Honda City is a good car no doubt but the Nissan Almera is a much better (cost effective) buy

I,m getting 20.8 kilometres/litre (58 miles/uk gallon) from my manual Almera-with speeds (when road conditions allow) of around 100/120 kph done 35,000 kms(long runs down to Trang 943 kms away) in it since I bought it in February and its never missed a beat

I have a much bigger car and at 100kph(the speed 90yo's drive on long drive) i get 17-18kph with tons of people in the car so 20km/l is nothing to shout home about. City does about the same.

The difference is the city can actually accelerate out of an obstable while say you are in an almera and a massive 12 wheeler comes crashing into you, if you floor it to move away you'll never have any time to get out of its way while the city you'll have a much much better chance.

Those 80kph engines are dangerous in thailand with all the trucks losing their breaks/hills and drunk drivers. 90% of the traffic i encounter daily is a vios that cant get above 50kph before reaching the next intersection, thus blocking the whole street. Those slow engines make people who can afford average to good engines really angry as they are losing 5-10-15-20mins extra per small trip waiting behind people with cars that can't accelerate. Those angry people, a small percentage will go nuts and create accident that will also make other people wait even longer to reach their destination, making more people angry and more potential crazy violent drivers.

So imo they should be outlawed or kept in dense cities like bangkok.

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

i see this all the time.. A vios, An almera and other underpowered car. Danger coming, they floor it.. the car isnt moving. They are on a hill? The car almost goes backwards. It's really dangerous. Yeah high HPs are unnecessary for most but these cars have no HP. City is the only car in the category that can avoid an accident and that also has some style.

Methinks your imagination is running wild,the Honda City is a good car no doubt but the Nissan Almera is a much better (cost effective) buy

I,m getting 20.8 kilometres/litre (58 miles/uk gallon) from my manual Almera-with speeds (when road conditions allow) of around 100/120 kph done 35,000 kms(long runs down to Trang 943 kms away) in it since I bought it in February and its never missed a beat

I have a much bigger car and at 100kph(the speed 90yo's drive on long drive) i get 17-18kph with tons of people in the car so 20km/l is nothing to shout home about. City does about the same.

The difference is the city can actually accelerate out of an obstable while say you are in an almera and a massive 12 wheeler comes crashing into you, if you floor it to move away you'll never have any time to get out of its way while the city you'll have a much much better chance.

Those 80kph engines are dangerous in thailand with all the trucks losing their breaks/hills and drunk drivers. 90% of the traffic i encounter daily is a vios that cant get above 50kph before reaching the next intersection, thus blocking the whole street. Those slow engines make people who can afford average to good engines really angry as they are losing 5-10-15-20mins extra per small trip waiting behind people with cars that can't accelerate. Those angry people, a small percentage will go nuts and create accident that will also make other people wait even longer to reach their destination, making more people angry and more potential crazy violent drivers.

So imo they should be outlawed or kept in dense cities like bangkok.

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

the average(or brain dead) human with a 140hp car and the one with a 85hp will still have a big difference in their 0-50 time. The 85hp will hit about 90secs and the 140hp might go as high as 25-30 not much more.

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

Funny thing. I drive regularly between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, plenty of hills. Quite frequently I'm passing vehicles uphill in the Vios, even though said vehicles have twice my horsepower. Think the difference is I change gears and use the accelerator. Real rocket science.

Am I the only person to notice Thai drivers move away from traffic lights turning green as if it's a funeral procession?

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

Funny thing. I drive regularly between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, plenty of hills. Quite frequently I'm passing vehicles uphill in the Vios, even though said vehicles have twice my horsepower. Think the difference is I change gears and use the accelerator. Real rocket science.

Am I the only person to notice Thai drivers move away from traffic lights turning green as if it's a funeral procession?

Good reason for that, checking no red light runners. Want to live here a long time?,

That's more to do with having weak engine than anything else. It takes so long to finaly get some speed that they never slowdown as going back to a decent speed will take a few hours.

Only way to get someone to accelerate in thailand is to put your flasher. Then people finaly wake up(farang or thai)

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

Funny thing. I drive regularly between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, plenty of hills. Quite frequently I'm passing vehicles uphill in the Vios, even though said vehicles have twice my horsepower. Think the difference is I change gears and use the accelerator. Real rocket science.

Am I the only person to notice Thai drivers move away from traffic lights turning green as if it's a funeral procession?

Good reason for that, checking no red light runners. Want to live here a long time?,

Good point; however, the funeral procession continues after the intersection is cleared.

One disrespect Post Hidden.

I think you'll find most slow vehicles are due to the brain-dead DELETED 'driving' them, rather than the actual car.

Funny thing. I drive regularly between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, plenty of hills. Quite frequently I'm passing vehicles uphill in the Vios, even though said vehicles have twice my horsepower. Think the difference is I change gears and use the accelerator. Real rocket science.

Am I the only person to notice Thai drivers move away from traffic lights turning green as if it's a funeral procession?

No you're not. Does me nut in. I even manage to look at all directions to check the intersection doesn't have a kamikaze coming through before I move off and I'm still a good few seconds ahead of the local brain surgeons.

The most fantastic drivers are those 20kph drivers that will pass everyone on the curb to go first and still be the slowest in the queue.

Its insane how people are slow, if i illegaly pass everyone at a light and start first, i can save 15minutes on a 15km drive in phuket

See what you mean, watch out for the bus lane.