AIR conditioning in lieu of a sunroof is to become available on all Nissan Primera models, excluding the five-door entry level Equation from Saturday, February 1.

Available for an additional £345 on all petrol and turbo diesel models, the move sees Nissan become the latest in a long line of volume manufacturers in the upper medium sector to make air conditioning a feature to win fleet appeal. The range-topping SE model has an electric sunroof and air conditioning as standard. On the road prices for models with the air con option start from £14,620 for the 1.6 litre GX rising to £16,520 for the 2.0 litre SRi.

Meanwhile, Nissan's new high performance 2.0 litre GT Primera will go on sale in the UK in May following its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Fleet chiefs will have one of the first opportunities to see the new model, which will be available as both a saloon and five-door hatchback, at the Fleet Motor Show at Silverstone from April 29-May 2. Power comes from a 150 PS engine which has a top speed of 136mph and boasts a 0-62mph acceleration time of 8.7secs.