Nissan Pulsar gets 188bhp turbo petrol

Nissan's Pulsar range has now been spiced up with the addition of a 188bhp turbocharged petrol engine and minor chassis tweaks. The sportier family hatchback will take on cars such as the Peugeot 308 GT, and will start from £19,645.

That price is nearly £5,000 cheaper than the Peugeot, but the Pulsar has the firepower to keep up with it. The 1.6-litre DIG-T 190 petrol unit has previously seen service in the Nissan Juke, and in this form produces 188bhp and 240Nm of torque from 2,000rpm.

It propels the Pulsar from 0-62mph in 7.7 seconds, and on to a top speed of 135mph. Despite this, the car manages 49.5mpg (47.9mpg on the larger 18-inch alloys), and CO2 emissions of 139g/km. 

In order to cope with the extra power, Nissan has engineered a new chassis set-up specifically for the DIG-T 190 model. It gets revised spring and damper settings to sharpen up the handling, and extra structural bracing to increase torsional rigidity. The steering rack has also been tuned for quicker responses.

As well as chassis upgrades, the Pulsar gets a boost with interior and exterior trim upgrades. There are new two-tone diamond-coated 17 or 18-inch alloy wheels, a sportier headlamp design and a chrome exhaust finisher. Inside, unique stitching, revised dashboard finishers and leather seats set the car apart.

The DIG-T 190 Pulsar is available to order from dealers now in Acenta, n-tec or Tekna trim.