I bought a '95 200SX SE-R in 1998 and have been extremely happy with it. Unfortunately, the 200SX line was discontinued after '98 so you cannot buy these new. However, if you're looking for an inexpensive used car that has above-average performance and is practical, the 200SX is worth a look.

The 200SX is essentially a two-door version of the Sentra and comes in three trim levels with increasing prices and features:

* 200SX (base model)
* 200SX SE (SE)
* 200SX SE-R (SE-R)

Since I own a 200SX SE-R, my comments will be mainly about this particular trim level.

The SE-R is the flagship of the 200SX line, because it has a more powerful engine than the other trim levels. The SE-R is equipped with Nissan's popular SR20DE engine. The SR20DE is a 2.0 liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine (the base and SE have 1.6 liter engines). You can get detailed information about the car and the engine at http://www.se-r.net (this is a great resource that I have used many times for information since I bought the car). Essentially, it's a fairly powerful engine (140 hp @ 6,400 rpm) in a pretty small, lightweight car. This means it performs pretty well: 0-60 MPH: 7.13 sec (according to an article in the January 1996 issue of Turbo Magazine on the stock 200SX SE-R -- by the way, this info is from the se-r.net site that I mentioned previously).

The SE-R has front wheel drive and four wheel disc brakes. It comes standard with a 5 speed manual transmission that is very smooth and fun to use. You can also get an optional 4-speed automatic. The SE-R comes with big tires -- they're P195 55R15 Goodyear Eagle RS-A's. These tires grip the road well, but I was a little surprised to find that they cost quite a bit more (around $120/tire) than the tires I had been buying for my old car. Mine also came with A/C, a power sunroof, power windows, and a basic alarm system with a remote for unlocking doors. The SE-R comes with a nice leather-wrapped steering wheel that feels good in your hands, but leather seats are not available for this car. Nor are power seats. This has never bothered me. I have found the cloth bucket seats to be very comfortable -- even on long trips.

This car is not a speed demon, but it is definitely fun to drive. Acceleration is better than average -- especially for a car in this price range. It also holds the road quite well -- great for windy, mountain roads. Sure, you can find better performance in a Mustang, Camaro, BMW, Porsche, etc..., but you can probably buy this car used for less than $9000 and get all the options. It looks pretty sharp too.

What I really like about this car is that it's both sporty and practical. It's got good pickup and it holds the road well, but there's a lot of head room and leg room for a car in this class. For instance, compared to my friend's Eclipse, the Eclipse is way faster (being a turbo), but has a lot less room, especially in the back seat. No one complains about sitting in the back seat of my car because it's really not that bad. Another nice thing is that this car has a pretty decent amount of trunk space. This is important to me, because I play in a band and sometimes have to cart around amps and guitars. The trunk is a pretty good size, although the opening is a bit narrow so it's hard to get really big things in there. The car also has 60/40 split fold-down rear seats. When you fold down the seats, there's a small opening though. This limits its usefulness somewhat but it's handy for long, thin objects like skis and snowboards.

One minor annoyance for me is the cup holder. It's very close to the stereo so it gets in the way of using it and if I put a large cup in there, it tends to push against the buttons and change the stations. I should mention that I replaced the factory stereo with a Sony CD player. The cup holder may not be a problem with the factory stereo, but it tends to get in the way of mine. I wish that the cup holder was in the center console instead of the dash, but that's a pretty minor complaint.

Reliability has been pretty good. I had one major repair which was a big drag. I had the air conditioning compressor go on me on the way back from a ski trip to Tahoe (this can break even when you're not running the A/C). I had to get AAA to tow me and it cost $1100 to fix. That was the only major repair I've had done though. It's been very reliable, otherwise.
Amount Paid (US$): 9100
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1995
Model and Options: SE-R, manual