i've had an almera gti for bout 3 years now, just breaking it however and got myself an n14 bit of a project - not an R, fwd sr20ve'd n14
Anyway, i loved my almera. even as standard it was quick enough, not as quick as a sunny gti which i had before in std form, but nippy. and they handle brilliantly, really well balanced.
Plus with a few mods, coilies especially, they look soo much better and handlings awesome.
mine turned from a daily when i wasn't too fussed about it into being stripped, cammed, lightweight pulleys, 2.5" mandrel system, nismo afpr, etc etc.
and then it was fookin quick. never tracked it, but theres similar almeras on the club forum that have run mid 14 second 1/4s.
so not to be sniffed at. typical nissan thing to watch out for rust but other than that a decent, fun, reliable daily can be had for around £1k or less
looked cool too with right little mods...