Near my home in San Salvador a curious-looking Sentra showed up last year; a shape that forced my mind to dig deep and retrieve some forgotten memories. Ah yes, the 3-door Sentra hatchback. The lesser-known body variant of the B12 generation that ran from 1987 to 1990.
And while the boxy B12 needs no introduction to those who lived that era, the hatchback is another matter. In the US, the model was available for a short period, just for model years 1987 and 1988, ditched due to poor sales. A wagon and coupe version would remain around though, with the sedans being the most common ones –the shape that first jumps to mind when thinking of the model.
Talking about the US, today’s find is a visitor from that nation; the US-spec bumpers being the main giveaway.
It’s always curious to come across a familiar shape in an altered form, particularly with a model that was so prevalent around my California college days. In my case, my mind goes into overdrive: Did I ever see one of these on the roads? Or did I just remember it from a previous CC post?
I spent enough hours on B12 Sentras during those college days to know that they’re innocuous and reliable daily transport. As for looks, they were clean and rational in their unobtrusive linearity; attractive and distinctive enough for the segment.
But the model’s sheer horizontal lines seem truncated in hatchback form, giving this version a somewhat unfinished look to my eyes. Not the sharpest-looking of hatchbacks from the era; and with that body style out of favor with the public by the late ’80s, it’s no surprise the 3-door was a rarity.
From this angle, it all looks almost normal, doesn’t it? No one would be the wiser that the usual trunk ain’t there.
However, as can be seen in the photos, the dusty car seems to be living a semi-retired life. Even falling slowly into disrepair. Too bad, as this is truly a rare one. Being a humble Sentra, there’s hardly any hope the Fast and the Furious crowd will pick this one up for preservation. But for the time being, we’ve given it its 5 minutes of CC fame.
Related CC reading:
Cohort Outtake: 1987-88 Nissan Sentra Hatchback – When Nissan Made Non-Sedan Sentras
When I first saw the picture of this for the article, I thought it was a Toyota Tercel or Corolla. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a Sentra 3 door hatch.
Very odd looking in the rear. The back edge of the roof has an odd raised design that makes it look like the car was rear ended and wasn’t fixed properly.
Unique find, and pics. Even with its close to generic two box, late ’80’s design, great to see such a rarity. The small-looking ’80’s derived wheels, might seem too exotic style-wise, for such a price conscious car. Might work better on a more stylish, design-driven example of this body type. Like the Izuzu Impulse. Larger diameter wheels would be more impactful, and modern-appearing.
They were fairly rare but I do remember seeing these. Curious as to its low sales as Toyota and Honda were selling plenty of Tercel and Civic hatchbacks.
The 2-door sedans were *everywhere* in the era. I only vaguely remember the existence of the hatchback, but to my recollection, the cheapest variant you could buy was an ultra-base 2-door sedan that came with 4 speeds instead of 5, no passenger-side rearview mirror, rubber floors, etc. I don’t think you could even buy that trim with auto or A/C; you were forced up a level if you wanted such frippery. I think a lot of buyers liked the styling, which (if you squinted) was similar to an E30 BMW.
I’m not surprised the hatchback did poorly. A lot of Americans hadn’t yet warmed up to the idea, and still loved their trunks.
Nice find! I can barely remember these as they were quite rare. I’ve always loved a hatchback and was driving a Rabbit in the late 1980s. These appealed to me much more than the Sentra sedans…which were so angular and boxy they looked as if they were designed using only a ruler.
I had this exactly same car in the wagon version, actually a 5-door hatchback with plush blue velor interior & seat . At around 90,000km automatic transmission would only take off in 2nd gear which made this already slow vehicle worse. For me at Nissan, transmission problems started before cvt’s.
I believe and according to the tiny text of your ad posted, there was also a Sentra Wagon XE 4WD version with push-button on top of the 5-speed’s gear knob to compete with the 4wd Tercel wagon.
I remember them but its a very long time since Ive seen one, the reached cheap heap status then vanished.
I am certain that we never received this nifty hatchback model in Canada. I find it quaint. I really liked the overall lines and style of this generation, particularly the station wagon.
I owned one of these little beasties round about 1992. There weren’t many of them around even back then. It was a perfectly forgettable little car that I owned for a year or so and traded on a new 1993 Sentra SE-R – a car I wish I had kept. I few years later while in college I happened upon a very nice 1988 wagon. By that time I had downgraded big time to a 1978 Ford Courier for my college car. That Sentra Wagon was a major step up and felt like driving a Cadillac compared to the Courier.