Nissan Gloria review: the VIP Cedric, and the same Bahrain registration wall
motorssouq Editorial Team
If you are set on a Y34-generation Nissan for a private collection or exhibition, the Gloria — especially a 300VIP or turbo grade — is the better car to chase over a base Cedric, with a nicer cabin and a genuinely quick range-topping engine. That preference is academic, though, until you have confirmed with Bahrain's Traffic Directorate that a right-hand-drive private import can actually be registered for the road; treat it as a collector purchase, not a used-executive-sedan alternative.
Pros
- Stronger, smoother VQ30DET turbo V6 than the base Cedric
- Plusher rear cabin aimed at being chauffeured, not just driven
- ATTESA all-wheel drive available on FOUR-badged grades
- Genuine JDM collector appeal for enthusiasts
Cons
- Same right-hand-drive registration obstacle as every JDM-only Nissan in Bahrain
- No factory warranty or authorised parts network in the region
- Realistically a collector purchase, not a usable daily sedan here
- Any locally-delivered executive sedan of the era does the daily job better in Bahrain
Gloria shared its platform, its VQ-series V6 engines and its 1999-to-2004 production window with the Cedric, but wore a plusher badge aimed at Nissan's more senior Japanese buyers. The range topped out with the 300VIP and turbocharged VQ30DET grades — genuinely quick for a full-size executive sedan of the era, with a rear cabin tuned for being driven rather than driving.
Better car, same wall
Everything that makes the Gloria a more desirable Y34 than the Cedric — the extra power, the softer suspension tune, the nicer trim — is undone in Bahrain by the same problem: it was built exclusively in right-hand drive for a market that drives on the left, and Bahrain's traffic rules make registering that configuration for private road use a real obstacle rather than paperwork to push through. Grey-market examples that reach the Gulf are almost always destined for static collections, exhibitions or parts, not daily traffic.
For anyone who has already confirmed a registration path or intends to keep the car off public roads, the underlying engineering holds up well: the ATTESA all-wheel-drive system on FOUR-badged grades adds genuine traction on the rare wet Bahraini morning, and the VQ30DET turbo grade's power delivery is smoother than most contemporary turbo sedans, Japanese or European.
As a practical used-car recommendation for someone who simply wants a comfortable, well-built full-size sedan in Bahrain, the Gloria loses to almost anything sold here new in left-hand drive during the same era — the appeal is entirely about what the car is, not what it can usefully do for a Bahraini owner.