In 1986, Nissan's design chief refused to follow the smoother, aerodynamic look of other cars, and told his design team to come up with an affordable, subcompact car.
A squarer Pulsar N13 series was released as a result; innovations included a permanently four-wheel drive model with a viscous coupling which appeared in May 1986.
In February 1987 a version with three viscous couplings was introduced: one for each axle and one in between.
This was originally limited to a production of 200 cars, at a price increase 50 percent higher than for the regular four-wheel-drive version.
For 1988 it became a regularly available model; this was very similar to the Attesa system which first appeared in the Bluebird soon thereafter.
In 1986, the Pulsar won the Car of the Year Japan award.
Capitalizing on the popularity of the larger R31 series Nissan Skyline, this generation shares many visual styling cues with the larger car.

The N13 series EXA was spun off as its own model internationally, but retained the Pulsar NX name in the United States.
It was designated as the N13 series, despite actually being based on the Nissan Sunny (B12) chassis.

Asia
The Pulsar was sold in Japan as a three- and five-door hatchback, plus a four-door sedan.
There was no turbocharged version of the N13 Pulsar, with Nissan choosing to focus on multivalve engines instead.
In April 1988, the 1.5-litre engines were changed to the new GA generation.

The Langley and the Liberta Villa (both sold as sedans and three-door hatchbacks) also continued sales in Japan as upmarket versions of the Pulsar, with a limited engine lineup.
Both the Langley and Liberta Villa had slightly different bodywork to the Japanese-specification Pulsar—although most parts were interchangeable.
Langley and Liberta Villa three-doors sported completely redesigned rear-ends, which were slightly longer and tapered off in a notchback-like manner and were much sportier in appearance with their more steeply raked rear windows.
The sedans featured reshaped upper doors (windows), rear windshields, rear quarter panels, and are noted for the repositioning of the license plate to the rear bumper from the boot lid.
The Langley and Liberta Villa were themselves differentiated by their own frontal styling.
Compared to the Pulsar, the Langley had narrower trapezoidal-shaped headlamps and a unique grille—whereas the Liberta Villa had narrow rectangular-shaped lights and again its own grille design.
The N13 Langley and Liberta Villa featured other options such as a limited-slip differential, luxurious interior and the much sought-after black headlights on the Langley, centre grille and round Skyline-style taillights, with the equipment shared in the Liberta Villa.
The Japanese-market Langley five-door hatchback was dropped with the N13.

In Malaysia, the N13 Pulsar was sold as the Nissan Sentra, which was introduced in 1987 to replace the slow selling B12 Sentra.
From mid-1989 it became available with the 12-valve GA16S engine, in a model called the SLX Super-valve.

Africa
In South Africa, the Pulsar was sold as the "Nissan Sabre".
There were three- and five-door hatchbacks and a four-door sedan.

Australia
The Pulsar–Astra relationship continued in Australia, with the series there continuing to use the more upmarket Langley sedan as the donor vehicle.
The sedan version was called the Pulsar Vector.
The five-door hatchback was also offered, but this model differed from the Japanese Pulsar with reshaped upper doors (windows) and rear quarter panels.
The development of the model was a collaboration with Holden, using the Family II engine built in Australia.
Nissan introduced a facelift in 1989.
After Holden ended their cooperation with Nissan in 1989 (and took up with Toyota instead), sales of the Holden Astra came to an end.
Nissan Australia, however, kept using the GM engines until the succeeding N14 version was introduced.

four-cylinder engines offered in the Australian built version were:
1.6 L Family II 16LF, 1,598 cc, single point TBI, SOHC, 56 kW (75 hp) at 5,600 rpm, 125 N⋅m (92 lb⋅ft) at 3,600 rpm
1.8 
In 1986, Nissan's design chief refused to follow the smoother, aerodynamic look of other cars, and told his design team to come up with an affordable, subcompact car. A squarer Pulsar N13 series was released as a result; innovations included a permanently four-wheel drive model with a viscous coupling which appeared in May 1986. In February 1987 a version with three viscous couplings was introduced: one for each axle and one in between. This was originally limited to a production of 200 cars, at a price increase 50 percent higher than for the regular four-wheel-drive version. For 1988 it became a regularly available model; this was very similar to the Attesa system which first appeared in the Bluebird soon thereafter. In 1986, the Pulsar won the Car of the Year Japan award. Capitalizing on the popularity of the larger R31 series Nissan Skyline, this generation shares many visual styling cues with the larger car.
The N13 series EXA was spun off as its own model internationally, but retained the Pulsar NX name in the United States. It was designated as the N13 series, despite actually being based on the Nissan Sunny (B12) chassis.
Asia
The Pulsar was sold in Japan as a three- and five-door hatchback, plus a four-door sedan. There was no turbocharged version of the N13 Pulsar, with Nissan choosing to focus on multivalve engines instead. In April 1988, the 1.5-litre engines were changed to the new GA generation.
The Langley and the Liberta Villa (both sold as sedans and three-door hatchbacks) also continued sales in Japan as upmarket versions of the Pulsar, with a limited engine lineup. Both the Langley and Liberta Villa had slightly different bodywork to the Japanese-specification Pulsar—although most parts were interchangeable. Langley and Liberta Villa three-doors sported completely redesigned rear-ends, which were slightly longer and tapered off in a notchback-like manner and were much sportier in appearance with their more steeply raked rear windows. The sedans featured reshaped upper doors (windows), rear windshields, rear quarter panels, and are noted for the repositioning of the license plate to the rear bumper from the boot lid. The Langley and Liberta Villa were themselves differentiated by their own frontal styling. Compared to the Pulsar, the Langley had narrower trapezoidal-shaped headlamps and a unique grille—whereas the Liberta Villa had narrow rectangular-shaped lights and again its own grille design. The N13 Langley and Liberta Villa featured other options such as a limited-slip differential, luxurious interior and the much sought-after black headlights on the Langley, centre grille and round Skyline-style taillights, with the equipment shared in the Liberta Villa. The Japanese-market Langley five-door hatchback was dropped with the N13.
In Malaysia, the N13 Pulsar was sold as the Nissan Sentra, which was introduced in 1987 to replace the slow selling B12 Sentra. From mid-1989 it became available with the 12-valve GA16S engine, in a model called the SLX Super-valve.
Africa
In South Africa, the Pulsar was sold as the "Nissan Sabre". There were three- and five-door hatchbacks and a four-door sedan.
Australia
The Pulsar–Astra relationship continued in Australia, with the series there continuing to use the more upmarket Langley sedan as the donor vehicle. The sedan version was called the Pulsar Vector. The five-door hatchback was also offered, but this model differed from the Japanese Pulsar with reshaped upper doors (windows) and rear quarter panels. The development of the model was a collaboration with Holden, using the Family II engine built in Australia. Nissan introduced a facelift in 1989. After Holden ended their cooperation with Nissan in 1989 (and took up with Toyota instead), sales of the Holden Astra came to an end. Nissan Australia, however, kept using the GM engines until the succeeding N14 version was introduced.
four-cylinder engines offered in the Australian built version were:
1.6 L Family II 16LF, 1,598 cc, single point TBI, SOHC, 56 kW (75 hp) at 5,600 rpm, 125 N⋅m (92 lb⋅ft) at 3,600 rpm
1.8 
Nissan Pulsar