With up to six airbags, stability control, as well as AEB across the range, the all-new 2020 Nissan Almera looks to be a winner.

However, beyond its on-paper specifications, let’s take a closer look and see how much you’re expected to pay to maintain the Nissan Almera.

Nissan Almera maintenance costs

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Unlike the Honda City or the Toyota Vios with their 10,000-km/6-month service interval, the Nissan Almera requires a service every 7,000 km or 6 months – 3,000-km less than its rivals. ETCM also offers free servicing at every alternate interval, up to the 60-month/70,000-km mark.

If you’ve been following our maintenance posts, you’ll know that we typically compare maintenance costs over a 5-year/100,000-km period. For the Almera to hit close to the 100,000-km mark (it’s actually just 98,000 km), it needs another two more years than the Vios or City.

By capping all three cars to the 5-year/60-month limit, then the Almera is considerably cheaper to maintain than the Honda City (RM 3,669) or Toyota Vios (RM 4,242), coming in at just RM 1,766.

However, if we calculate by mileage, then the cost to maintain the Almera over a 98,000-km period is slightly more than the City, but less than the Toyota Vios, amounting to RM 3,889.

The most expensive service is actually out of the 5-year mark, but at the 6-year mark. This service costs RM 1,004, as owners are required to replace the CVT fluid and spark plugs. That said, ETCM did mention that the CVT fluid is replaced at the 84,000-km or 48-month mark, whichever comes first.

What about tyre cost?

Tyre cost varies from variant to variant, as the base Almera VL gets 15-inch tyres, while the VLP and VLT variants get 16-inch tyres.

The average cost for one piece of 195/65R15 tyre is RM 170, while each 205/55R16 tyre typically costs RM 220.