WHEN introduced in mid-1997, the N13 Pulsar offered massively better small-car buying, with an Aussie-honed drivetrain courtesy of Holden's Family II engine range and transaxle, a stronger body, higher levels of comfort and refinement and better styling. Two years later there were small changes to the grille, taillights, body ornamentation, cabin trim and colour palette. The GL hatch and new GL Vector sedan used the Holden 1.6, while all other variants were powered by the Holden 1.8. Which was an irony considering that, by now, Holden dropped the Pulsar-based Astra for the less-successful, Toyota Corolla-derived Nova. Meanwhile the GXE disappeared as the sporty Q and SSS Vector gained the Viscous LSD feature. And in a definitive ‘80s move, Nissan introduced 200 Pulsar Reebok hatches in September ’90. Along with multiple badges promoting the briefly-popular English foot ware fashion label, the Reebok also included sports seats and the 1.8 litre engine. The GX Sports was another limited edition model, released in early 1991. In fact, such activity, along with the image-destroying discounting that pervaded throughout this series’ lifespan, ended up undermining the excellent N14 model introduced in late 1991.