In December 2002 my '92 Pontiac Bonneville's transmission died. The Pontiac had 163k on it and had many more minor problems with it, enough that I decided to scrap it and get another car. My mother used to work for a Nissan dealership, and it was there I ended up purchasing my Sentra. Originally I had gone in looking at a Toyota Celica they had on the used lot, but somehow I ended up getting into a Sentra. I hated the car, but the salesman was a "family friend" and offered us a "good deal", and my dad was so happy with that he offered to give me the $1500 downpayment on the car. We ended up paying $6000 for a '96 Sentra XE 5spd with 55k, which is way too much (salesman was a liar, basically, but that's beyond the scope of this article).

The car itself was green. The exterior was rather bland. The XE is a the lowest model and therefore has black mirrors and a monobar across the back (instead of body-colored trim) which honestly, I could care less about. The 13" wheels were rather small as well.

The interior could be better designed in a couple different ways. First, the driver's side visor won't go down all the way without hitting the rear-view mirror. I remember the first time I tried to use it I had some choice words for the Nissan engineers who designed it that way. Its a minor thing, but it is something they should have picked up on and fixed.

Next, the cupholders were poorly placed. If you had drinks in the cupholders, you couldn't get at the radio (they blocked it). Stupid, stupid.

The only other things I didn't like were the lack of a tach (it mentally bugs me to drive a car, especially a manual, without a tach). And, on the XEs, the seats are bad. They are the cheapest flat slabs I have ever seen and they're pathetic. Maybe the uplevel versions have better seats. I hope so. And lastly, the ugly ribbed shift boot has to go. Take a clue from Honda and put some decent boots in your cars, Nissan.

On the bright side the rest of the interior was well designed, and the fit and finish was excellent. No squeaks or rattles, much better than any American compact.

The driving experience was ok. The car was fairly quiet and well-behaved on the road. The 1.6L DOHC I4 has variable valve timing on the intake cam for low-end torque, which means, in laymens terms, it climbs hills more easily than a Honda Civic. At least it was supposed to. Personally I was never impressed with the engine. It had ok power and I would guess it would run a mid 17 second ET in a quarter mile drag race (fast enough for normal driving). I did average low 30s during my daily driving, and got 36mpg on a highway trip averaging 80mph or so.

The transmission was simply horrible. I think the clutch was mis-adjusted, because it just did not shift well (grinding gears, etc). I put Redline MT-90 (synthetic gear oil) which helped the shifting a little but not much. I want to get my hands on another Sentra just to see if they all are that bad. I _have_ driven 200SX SE-Rs which have the larger 2.0L engine and a different transmission and they shifted beautifully.

The handling was acceptable. It was reasonable for normal driving, but for any spirited driving, forget it. The suspension was not loose, but it was riding on 175/70/13s and with a solid-rear axle setup. Some people might say "what's wrong with that?" Try driving a Honda with double-wishbone all around. You'll eat your words.

The cost to own of a Sentra is fairly low. Low 30s in gas mileage, and they are reliable. The only problem I ever had with mine was the rear oxygen sensor (right after the cat) come loose and started throwing codes in the computer. I tightened it up and reset the ECU and that was the end of that. The only major work I had to do was a front brake overhaul (pads, rotors, full system bleeding) which was easy to do, and cost me very little (I got the parts off eBay for around $60 total).

Anyway, after owning the car for about 5 months (and putting 12k on it, for a total of 67k), a woman in a Ford Explorer pulled out into the middle of the road and stopped right in front of me. I hit her doing ~25mph, did a large amount of front end damage, and bent the front unibody. Luckily I was not seriously hurt. As part of the settlement her insurance company totalled the car.

Since I was pleased with my Nissan for the most part, I tried to get a 200SX SE-R (which is basically a Sentra coupe with a larger engine). Although I came very close, I was never able to get one (a girl bought the very car I was test-driving during the test-drive, in one example). I ended up buying a 1995 Honda Civic EX coupe, 5psd. It is the best economy car I have ever driven and sharply highlights all the Sentra's shortcomings. It looks, feels, drives better.

In summary, the Nissan Sentra is a good economy car, on par with a Toyota Corolla, and better than any American econobox. However, it still doesn't come close to beating a Honda Civic.
Amount Paid (US$): 6000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1996
Model and Options: XE 5spd