Dear Nissan,
Recently I had the most heinous memorable experience of driving a new Sentra. Having heard copious amounts of praise about the Sentra line over the years, I was curious to see what it was all about.
Before I dive into the weeds of details outlining my most wretched memorable experience with this Sentra, please know it was a rental. The upside is this example had right at 7,400 miles on its gray upon gray odometer when I drove it off the lot, indicating it was just starting its life of being like a doorknob. I’m sure you’ve heard that old joke; it’s where everybody gets a turn, although I’ve never heard it applied to cars.
I do have to admit being royally peeved pleasantly surprised upon getting home with the car. As I had chosen a mid-sized car in lieu of a compact, I had assumed this was an Altima based upon its appearance; my bad for not realizing it sooner. While you have the Sentra competing against the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla, there is substantially more legroom in the back of the Nissan. My progeny is 5’4″ tall and was highly appreciative of the extra space. Good job on eking out as much room for the rear seat as you could.
This Sentra was my third rental in about five weeks. As circumstances would have it, all three made roughly equal distance trips to various locations in the St. Louis area–roughly 125 miles each way. The Sentra totally spanked the other two in fuel economy. I am not easily impressed, but I certainly was impressed when I realized 40.6 mpg for my trip. If it weren’t for a few red lights before arriving, I would have handily broken the 41 mpg mark.
During the course of my trip, I think I may have figured out your philosophy of design. Your comprehensive approach is beyond polite description simple brilliance and yet so astonishingly simple.
Designing an interior cannot be an easy feat as people come in so many shapes and sizes. Having driven hundreds of cars and pickups in my lifetime, and possessing an average build and height with all four limbs in relative proportion to the rest of my frame, I have been very fortunate in being able to quickly get comfortable in any vehicle I am driving. Yet I could never get comfortable in your Sentra, incorrectly concluding that it must have been designed for an orangutan; my arms were always three inches too short while my legs were pretzeled into the wheel well.
After a short while of driving like this, with my arms growing ever more numb, it occurred to me! In your ongoing commitment to half-assing it improving driver safety, you have intentionally made your cars such that one cannot get comfortable and grow complacent–thus careless–while driving. Discomfort promotes attentive driving; this is profound brilliance! Having worked in traffic safety for a number of years, nearly all the collision reports I read had driver inattention listed as a contributing factor. Your approach is truly asinine monumental!
As an added bonus, I even noticed how the right armrest was actually located BEHIND me! Do the innovations ever cease?
No, I do not believe they do. Take this fascinating anti-theft system you have included at no extra charge. Imagine my surprise upon exiting a business establishment to see the truck lid open, just as I have recreated in this picture. The psychology you have employed here is on a level far beyond my comprehension. After my initial surge of adrenaline, accompanied by a record breaking 150 foot sprint, the utter marvel of this smacked me like a nightstick at a riot. What better way to keep the criminal element away than to loudly proclaim, “Somebody else beat you to the goods, chump!” What a wonderful ruse!
Yes, having a trunk open for the whole world to see is embarrassing at first blush. Yet shouldn’t we all be willing to trade privacy for some pretense of safety? My goodness, what a piss-poor marvelous job you have done on this Sentra. Words almost fail to articulate the enormity of it all.
Your anti-theft endeavors have even been made evident from the drivers seat. When my wife, the raven-haired domestic goddess, attempted to drive the Sentra, she called me about the adjustment for the tilt and telescopic steering column. She is a smart woman and shrewd beyond compare. When her statement was “How the hell do you adjust the wheel on this stupid little bastard?”, I knew you had hit a grand slam in the anti-theft department.
Your Sentra is so breathtakingly monumental in its contribution to society, my eyes are moistening as I write these heartfelt words to you. In addition to the wonderful safety and anti-theft features present, the ambiance of the Sentra’s interior is simply without a peer in the marketplace. The black as asphalt seats and dash provided a warm, comforting feeling; why, between this warmth and the closeness of the console to my knee, it was almost womb-like.
As an aside, I did write a nasty letter to the rental company after driving a Ford Focus. I insinuated the console was intrusive. I have now seen the light, and after driving your Sentra, the cockpit of that Focus seems as horribly roomy and comfortable as that of a…
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood. That is simply so undesirable. Why would a person choose to have their legs flop around freely when they could feel like they were in a staight-jacket be coddled like a baby?
Further, the headliner simply defies any modicum of quality rapid comprehension. It feels like cardboard, which indicates I have been safely packaged. Its texture is like that of surgical scrubs, and with hospitals providing such a sense of serenity in the care they heap upon you….my heart is aflutter with nothing but terrific things to say about the Sentra.
I have been telling everyone I know about the Sentra and they are all aghast incredulous that such a car exists.
In my overwhelming stupor splendor from driving your crimson colored Sentra, I have saved the best for last. The drivetrain is a trophy of engineering, ranking right up there with the original Tacoma Narrows bridge Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
The 1.8 liter four-cylinder has the same auditory output that one can hear from a herd of cats in heat award winning opera singer. Never have I heard an engine that sounds both nasal and flatulent so eager to haul its occupants. As yet another anti-theft feature (you guys are so full of awesome ideas), I noticed the special double secret engine programming you created. Like clockwork, every third time I hit the starter, the engine would cough and not start. My old Ford van can sit for three months and start on the first try; this feature is truly one to frustrate anybody who drives the car any thief, looter, or other mischievous individual. Even the puffs of white smoke from the tailpipe would work to discourage thievery and other assorted maniacal behavior.
Overall driving your Sentra was like visiting a proctologist with abnormally thick fingers meeting a new person who seems like a lifelong friend. You can rest better tonight knowing that I will still be thinking about that little red Sentra, a car my wife said exudes cheapness a most special and unique aura.
Keep up the good work!
Very truly,
Jason Shafer
Thank you, Brother Shafer, for this Yeats-like Ode on a Greasy Spittoon.
Thank you; my political ambitions haven’t yet diminished.
Good thing they didn’t give you a Versa. You would not have been able to give such a glowing report about that!
For the life of me, I don’t understand how Nissan stays in business. Their vehicles don’t seem to do anything good, and a whole lot of things bad (particularly the lower-end models), for just about the same money as other, much better competitors.
My only conclusion is that they’re following the Mitsubishi practice of being one of the easiest car companies from which to get financing. Considering how well Mitsubishi is doing, that doesn’t seem like exactly a sound business model.
Based on what I see, Nissan is selling a ton of Altimas and Muranos. Whether it’s because they are truly superior, or at least competitive, or Nissan is selling them to anyone with a pulse, I do not know.
I have a 2013 Altima as a daily driver, and it is a very nice car. Huge inside, some of the most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat in (and I also own a Volvo V70R) I drove the Accord, Fusion and Altima, and the Nissan had the best features in my price range ($25k). Best ride, best interior, and it can routinely get over 40 mpg on the highway.
Nissan sales are lackluster. Seen many new Quests? No, me neither.
I live in SoCal. Two local Nissan dealers have been shuttered this year–a darn good year for the auto business in general. One reopened as a Hyundai dealer.
I was once quite an enthusiastic Nissan owner–three over the past 15 years, a Sentra, an Altima, and a Maxima. All with manual transmissions. The 2003 Maxima was fantastic! Now, with no alternative to CV transmissions, I won’t even consider a Nissan.
Hyundai/Kia has cleverly occupied the market niche once owned by Nissan. Nissan designs are boring, the transmissions are not for everybody, the marketing is clueless, and they seem to have lost their mojo–even worse than Honda. Good riddance! Carlos Gshon has proven that one man cannot run two global automakers well. Sergio Marchionne is doing the same, though the effects of his mismanagement are obscured by Chrysler’s solid profits….Fiat is DOA.
Despite your anecdotal evidence, Nissan sales are as strong as ever. The Altima is one of the best selling cars in the US.
I’m convinced most of the CVT hate is from people who haven’t driven a good one. I’m an automotive enthusiast, and I had repeatedley ruled out cars just for having them, until I test drove the latest generation. The Accord and Altimas CVTs are unobtrusive, smooth, and add to a relaxed commute.
As opposed to us elders getting used to them, I thought it was interesting to see a young person TOO used to CVTs. The girl who cuts my hair recently got rid of her first car, a CVT equipped Sentra, and got an Explorer. She was telling me about all the problems she was having with it, hated the way it drove. After a few minutes of her describing its “symptoms”, I realized she was just experiencing gear changes for the first time ever.
My wife couldn’t care less if her car were a CVT or an AWD, it means absolutely nothing to her. I recall similar belly-aching when I was a kid when guys ranted that manual transmissions were better than automatics.
I agree with you. Altima is a best seller for a while now because it’s roomy, gets better mileage than the Camry and Accord and is cheaper. It’s that simple. Personally, after driving the competition, I found that my 2012 Altima was a better driving car than the Camry, in terms of acceleration and responsiveness, and was roomier and smoother than the Accord.
The Murano, the Altima, Versa, Rogue and Infinities are cars that I see a lot of around my area. Sentras and minivans, not so much.
What happened to Nissan ? Renault, Carlos Ghosn , and extreme cost cutting…..
+ 1,000…… Amen and amen!
Mr. Bill
7,500 miles on a rental is roughly equivalent to 75,000 miles on a civilian car.
At least if I got my hands on it 😀
Wow, I’ve borrowed district cars with 30,000+ miles on the. That old Dodge held up well for the equivalent of 300,000 miles.
It is amazing to me how a company that has been building cars for so long (and some really good ones, too) can put out something so irritating to a normal person (at least a normal person who cares about cars). Then, when it has the same effect on someone who pays less attention to cars (like Mrs. Jason), then there is trouble.
No wonder Kia is on such a roll – some of the more established players start phoning it in and after awhile, people notice.
I am curious – did this have a CVT? That could explain how a mildly irritating engine note can become unbearable. I love the fuel gauge, that seems to measure in units of “the tank” where full appears to = “1” tank. Brilliant.
Yes, it did have the CVT, which I do credit for the fuel mileage. However, at a certain speed, there was always a precipitous drop in engine speed and power available. Never having experienced the joys of a Chevrolet Powerglide, I could not credibly make a comparison.
Powerglide would be just flatfooted off the line to about 50. Since it’s basically a 3 speed Turbo-350 with no 1st gear.
Remember all those Mercedes that ooze off the line because of the second gear start? That’s how a PG car drives. After 20-30mph it’s not an issue.
The transmission I dislike are the idiotically programmed 6+speed units that behave exactly like you said, the flat spots and delay in power while it figures out what the hell you just requested.
Interesting review. I’ve seen a fair number of these on the road, and thought that they looked pretty good, especially compared to the prior generation. Apparently living with one isn’t that pleasant.
For what it’s worth, the upcoming 2015 Focus has a heavily reworked center console to give both the driver and front-seat passenger more room.
I will admit that I am a fan of the styling on this vehicle and at least where I live the pricing is very enticing. So I took a test drive of a base car with a manual transmission… easily one of the most miserable cars I have ever driven.
The motor was no more refined than with the CVT and since it had short gearing the painful caterwauling was constant. Ride? Nope. Handling? Nope. Interior fit and finish? It smells like Hyundai’s used to smell before they upped their interior game. Considering how good the new Altima (not to mention the Sentra’s of 20 years ago) are, this is car is a huge disappointment.
Thank you for mentioning the ride. There is a story about the ride of this little jewel that I did not include.
Every Monday, my offspring has an extracurricular activity that requires going down a 1/2 mile of very rough gravel road. My wife has driven it in our ’93 Buick Century, our ’07 F-150, our ’00 E-150, and a ’13 Toyota Corolla. All did fine; with this thing, she was worried about things falling off about the same time her kidneys lost their connection to the rest of her. Not an impressive car by any metric.
Great read haha. I am leasing one exactly like it at the moment.
And I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not the one paying for it so the car doesn’t bother me in the least little bit, so nothing about it really bothers me.
But I agree with everything you said. The seating position is horrible, the armrest is too far back, the engine and the CVT sound horrible. But it gets fantastic gas mileage and is very cheap to run. I’m toying around with the idea of buying it off lease if I can get decent financing, just to have a reliable car (which will allow me to buy old non-reliable cars with no guilt :))
But I have driven Mazda 3s, Ford Focuses, even the Kias and Hyundais that compete with the Sentra, and pretty much every car out there outclasses it in every way. Do the Japanese just not care about making competitive products anymore? Don’t even get me started on Toyota.
The Japanese carmakers are starting to remind me of the American Big 3 in the 1980s. They’re getting complacent while the Koreans are setting themselves up to surpass them very quickly and leave Toyota, Honda, and Nissan in the dust. Just like what the Japanese did to the American car companies back in the day..
Thank you Jason for another great episode from the Rental Chronicles. I rented one of these “beasts” last winter and it failed the one simple task of getting out of my slightly hilly driveway. In all honesty the driveway was plowed to the pavement and sanded..which my Civic can handle in one bound leap out to the road. Even my 2005 Mustang with a good running start can make it up and out..but the Sentra..NO. I had trouble getting the damn car up the driveway because at 6″2 feet tall I couldn’t get my damn legs around the steering wheel…then when I made it to the top and started sliding backwards..I had issues trying to steer and hit the brakes to keep from hitting the 200+ year old maples as I was sliding backwards down the hill because I couldn’t brake and steer at the same time…I was not as nice as Mrs. Jason and chose to use language that cannot be typed here. Please continue this series as I am shopping for another car and you and Mrs. Jason are providing a valuable customer service by sharing your adventures. Can you try out the new Civic?–
I hope to drive a Civic at some point, but I’m not sure when I will be renting again. For a Monday-Tuesday trip to Kansas City, rental rates were not competitive vs. fuel cost for my own vehicle.
Stay tuned!
Sentra means nothing to most of us on here now that there’s no longer a SE-R version. Foolish on Nissan’s part, but I guess they’re all about volume.
The most interesting thing now is I wonder what you got at Five Guys 🙂
Double bacon cheese burger in a bowl with cajun fries and water.
Having personally sent not one, not two, but three nissans to that great crapyard in the sky, I am in agreement with such praise for this biscuit tin on wheels. I too was most impressed with my nissans’ fuel milage; 40mpg+, until I realised that those clever japanese achieved it by making cars with steel thinner than a crisp packet…….no, make that the crisp inside.
Living in asia I have observed that people here like the japanese driving position. Eyeline below the dashboard and teeth firmly gripping the top of the steering wheel.
Fabulous review Jason. Keep it up and you’ll get Clarkson’s job soon!
This review makes me want to drive one of the new Sentras, as Jason’s review reads like the exact opposite of my wife’s 2010 Sentra. I find hers to be comfortable, well-finished (except for the somewhat cheap looking interior door panels) and relatively powerful, though it gets poor gas mileage. I do agree about the engine note though, between it and the CVT it sounds quite similar to my 5hp hydraulic log splitter.
So, I have to wonder, have things gotten that much worse? Though to be fair, all 3 (recent) rental reviews have been generally unfavorable. It makes me curious as to which (new) cars meet Jason’s approval currently?
Fabulous question.
This endeavor has been an intentional move to step outside my box. Of the new vehicles I have driven the last two to three years, the Ford F-150 has been the best, hands down. It’s roomy, is comfortable, and for its size gets good fuel economy. However, it is not practical for me to be driving one of these all day every day. I say this as I just got back from a similar length trip to Kansas City in my ’07 F-150 with a 4.6 liter that averaged 16.35 mpg. The drivetrain in mine differs considerably from the ’10 and up models, but even if I realized an additional 5 mpg (not an atypical event with the newer ones), it still gets pricey.
In addition to the Focus, Corolla, and Sentra, I did drive a new Jetta TDI back in January or February. Of the four, the Jetta is hands-down the best overall in comfort and interior room. Even if the Jetta was a gas powered one, its fuel economy is comparable to the other three.
I looked at Jettas a couple years ago and was impressed with them overall. Nice styling and fit and finish. What I didn’t care for is the option structure. I seem to be one of the few who still prefers cloth seats, and the only way to get them in a Jetta was to get the base model, which gives up things like cruise control and an armrest for the center console.
I agree with you on pickups. That’s very similar to what I get with my 99 5.3 Sierra, which because of that only gets driven about 2000 miles a year. There’s really no substitute for their utility, but they’re far too thirsty to make good daily drivers. My brother has a 12 F150 with the Ecoboost V6 which is a nice driving truck and feels much stronger than my GMC, but it will still not get much better than 20mpg on the highway.
I seem to be one of the few who still prefers cloth seats, and the only way to get them in a Jetta was to get the base model, which gives up things like cruise control and an armrest for the center console.
I drove a base Jetta sedan as a service loaner last winter. Ghastly. You have to flog the daylights out of that ancient 2 litre to get it moving. Wasn’t crazy about the hard, shiny plastic door trim panels either.
My Jetta S wagon is the deal: cloth upholstry, 2.5 litre gas engine moves out nicely, and most of the creature comforts.
The old 2.5 is out of production now though, just a few 2.5 wagons around. Next year’s wagon gets the “new and innovative” 1.8T. Given VeeDub’s reliability record, I preferred the 2.5, which has proven pretty solid, once they got the timing chain issue resolved in 08.
Love my F-150 too. So roomy and comfortable and useful, and despite perception all-around performance is respectable. The only downside as you mention is the gas mileage, but even that isn’t so terrible compared to what my parents drove in the 70’s and 80’s. And real world economy has actually been about the same as my previous Explorer and 4Runner.
If the new ’15 gets mileage into the upper 20’s as is being predicted, they may not be able to make enough of them.
Agreed. Used to be cars were stout enough to do a variety of heavier tasks if called upon. That is no longer the case. In turn, pickups can now double as cars while still doing the heavy lifting. Is it any wonder Ford et al cannot keep them on the lot?
Hell! That looks like a nice car for being an econobox! Seriously, if you had that much trouble and pain maybe spring a few extra bucks on a bigger car? I don’t know, just a crazy idea.
I had to rent the cheapest car ever in 2001 when my car got demolished/totalled by a hit and run driver while parked on the street. A 1998 Chevrolet Lumina LTZ, I still miss that car! I rented a white Geo Metro 1 liter displacement 3 banger/3 door hatchback, I didn’t like the car, but I wanted the cheapest rental. I still remember it fishtailing on a rainy day, scared the hell out of me. The Geo really was bare bones! This car is friggin’ nice by comparison. Try driving a 2001 Geo Metro and compare it to this Sentra.
Beggars can’t be choosers, I say.
As mentioned, I did spring for a bigger car and thought this was an Altima. The next time I rent, I will be refusing any offered Nissan. The size I have been choosing has been intentional as I desire a vehicle that gets good fuel economy to offset my two light truck based vehicles that get 16 to 17 mpg.
Another element is that ten minutes into our trip my wife complained of her back hurting.
Yeah, but at least the Geo made no pretentions about being anything other than a crapmobile. We had one for errand running and I have to give it to it that I could at least fit into in fairly well (being 6′ 3″). To me, there is nothing worse that being smashed into a cheap car.
Aww… c’mon now – the car has chrome door handles, that can’t be all bad!
BTW, Jason – much overuse of stike-throughs in your text. It got tedious reading. Other than that, we are also planning a trip to the STL area this summer to visit relatives. We’ll be driving my Impala, thank you. We made the mistake last year of renting a Mazda3 wagon. Not good for us.
I have an old Sentra its not a bad little bomb goes every time reasonable comfort average economy not bad for 344.000 kms its racked up. However the Sentra got renamed in our market now a Tiida and having had one as a rental its easily the worst car Ive driven in ages uncomfortable no power mediocre cornering ability it wasnt a patch on the high mileage heap I have in my driveway.
Tiida’s gone now mate, we’ve got the same model as above, named Pulsar.
I can back you up about crappy Tiida rentals- also the driver seat was the worst I’d been in for years. Like a karate chop in the lower back!
I have rentals all the time as I travel for business a lot and indeed, the Sentra is not a good car-but it is a cheap car. The list prices on the website are fiction: Nissan will deal, so for someone who sees their car in a similar vein as their washing machine, the Sentra could provide good, economical transportation.
I thought about writing rental reviews here but I really can’t. The problem is I am used to driving a low km premium sports sedan, which I use for my benchmark. Any economy car, or almost any, seems like crap to me. In fact, I have not had a good rental in years. All the car companies are cheaping out like mad to keep prices low.
Interesting, I seem to have had the opposite experience with rental cars. I have not had a lot of them, but in the last few years I’ve had a PT Cruiser, Altima, Sonata, Grand Marquis, Routan and Cruze. The PT felt really poorly assembled and lacked cruise, which was important because I was renting if for business for an 8 hour solo drive each way. The GM felt cramped in front and the headrests were permanently angled forward to the point that I couldn’t hold my neck straight. All of the others were pretty nice, no complaints.
Agreed. They are all nice cars, for the most part. But they are not as nice as what I am used to driving.
I dunno, I have a 2013 Versa 5 speed and I find the ride and handling to be very reminiscent of my father’s Westmoreland sourced 1980 Rabbit L (damning with faint praise) while averaging 38 mpg at this point and being MUCH more reliable. The handling is decent enough that I get adventurous on the on-ramps while the motor seems willing enough to pull up to the redline in the lower 4 gears. I drove one with a CVT and didn’t care for it, I do wish more auto manufacturers would allow the selection of a manual transmission in their higher equipped tiers, they all seem to think that the folks who like clutches don’t need power windows, leather seats or an interactive display.
Want more manuals? Go buy them. They make up only about 3% of the market now. For example, Honda maintains a manual for the Accord, but the take rate is is less than 0.5% on them.
Yup it is the new auto buyers that are mainly behind the lack of manual transmissions and the inability to get more equipment on the few vehicles available with a MT. Some of it is due to emission certifications but again that goes back to the fact that no one is buying them. It reaches a point that it costs more to offer than manual trans than the automatic since they need to do separate emissions certifications for both and at a low take rate the cost per unit will eventually exceed the cost of the automatic. If they make the auto standard and the manual even a no cost option that would make things even worse since even fewer people would choose an MT over an AT if the price is the same.
I agree with both of you, it’s one of the main reasons I’ve kept my 95 Altima around for as long as I have. At the same time, it makes it difficult to buy a new car with a stick when there’s nothing available, thanks to a la carte options largely becoming a thing of the past, and package availability being artificially restricted. For that reason, instead of replacing my Altima with a Versa or similar when the time comes, I’m planning to find a nice early 2000s Accord or Civic with a stick AND equipment like cruise, pw/pl, etc. Not that there aren’t good new cars out there, but I don’t want to pay through the nose for a car that’s lacking equipment that is important to me.
Interestingly, you can only get a stick in an ultra-base Versa (or Kia Rio) but in every model of the Fiesta and Sonic.
A friend recently bought an 06 Acura TL with a stick. If you are looking for something used that is unusual, Carmax can be your friend with its website that makes searching for a stick easy.
Big problem is there’s lots of propaganda perpetuated about manuals by people who never in their life have driven manuals and the ones that tout them are dismissed because they’re wacky backwards car enthusiasts. Other problem is it tends to be a personal learning experience for someone now a days since drivers ed classes rarely teach it(I never was and that was 10 years ago). And people learning something without formal schooling is scary and impossible apparently.
I used to be a die hard manual lover but the these days, the automatics are much better than they used to be. In fact, they are often more efficient than the manual. The big fours in all the midsize cars pull right smartly with their six speed automatics and I seriously doubt any manuals will exist soon. Only Honda still does it and the take rate is minuscule.
I also see a manual with a lager motor as kind of a waste of my time as the torque of the larger motor is going to move you along well anyway. The real reason I went to automatics is the hellish traffic conditions I must endure do not make pushing a clutch fun at all.
You make excellent points as always, Canucknucklehead. Automatics have come a long ways and mileage is often superior, and most if not all automatics have a “manual mode” option. I agree on traffic issues also, I have driven stick in Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta and it was a miserable experience. Thankfully here in mid-Michigan, prolonged traffic jams are extremely rare, and I prefer the more hands on (for lack of a better way to put it) interaction I get with a manual transmission. That said, we always have at least one automatic among the 3 vehicles we have plated, and if I could only have a single vehicle, it might very well be an automatic for versatility.
I grew up in a rural area and were I to move back to one (which is highly unlikely) I would consider a manual. But in heavy traffic, no thanks.
Agree that if your daily commute is bumper to bumper stop and go, auto is best. I got used to it in LA traffic, always had a stick but if I still had to deal with that kind of drive today I would go with a modern automatic, even with a 4 cylinder. I almost didn’t buy my Titan because I really wanted a stick which is not offered, but the 5 speed auto behind the powerful 32 valve V8 makes more sense. And the 2.94 rear end and the overdrive 5th gear makes for 1600 RPM cruising at 65 MPH along with somewhat decent MPG.
VERY well written Jason! Hilarious and snarky…in a really GOOD way.
Kinda makes me feel old, though…the 80’s and 90’s are so far behind us now and the tables have turned.
Used to be Detroit – and especially GM – were the ones phoning it in with their small cars…now the field’s wide open and I see an opportunity for the North American brands to re-establish themselves. Of course you can’t leave Korea out of this discussion… Hyundai/Kia have become increasingly desirable in recent years.
Good times for the consumer who first does their homework.
I had a 12 or 13 as a rental awhile back. It seemed flimsy and dangerous. This was the first car I ever felt unsafe driving.
Barf. Thanks for reminding me again why I bought a big old RWD cruiser despite living in Manhattan where cars aren’t necessary and parking is pricey. Every time I went to rent a car for a weekend in the summer or to make an out-of-city court appearance, these (and the Fords, and the other crap) were what was available for less than $100. I’d have to squeeze myself into the hot, plastic interior, listen to them fart and slam along the roads.
I’d rather risk anything a 20+ year old big GM or Ford has wrong with it than spend another hour in one of these.
Agreed on the F150. If I was in the market for a new car, it’d be a similar sized SUV.
Sir, Shafer, I forgot to show you this. It’s a funny Datsun movie clip from 1982 😉 one of my favorite movie car scenes.
http://youtu.be/R6X9W3_erKk
“Overall driving your Sentra was like visiting a proctologist with abnormally thick fingers…”
I just snorted Pepsi all over my keyboard!
If you want to find another vehicle to hate go sit in the back of an Extended Cab (or Crew Cab?) 2015 GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado. The seat is soooo horrible, like cement church pew.
I figured the Sentra would be a piece of crap and sure enough it exceeded my expectations for crappiness. Seriously, it would not start every third time, damn! Wonder if the white smoke is coolant being burned? The current Quest looks neat, but I am turned off by the CVT due to narrow mindedness. The Murano Convertible looks cool in a funky way and I like the Versa Note because of its crank windows and it looks easy to work on.
It’s funny, but yesterday I witnessed a reverse “Curbside Classic Effect” – a 2011-present Hyundai Elantra shooting clouds of white smoke for about eight car lengths behind it! You literally couldn’t see through it!
Want simple? Nissan is bringing the Micra to Canada, the stripper going for $9998, the one people will actually buy $13,998.
I’ve sat in the rear seat of the current Sentra at auto shows, and it is impressively spacious for the compact class. Most mid size cars are hard pressed to match it, particularly GM products.
The rear seat space and high (real experience, not that made up stuff Kia and Hyundai are known for) mileage are two big positives as I consider a cheap car that I can beat miles on to cart the kids back and forth to college.
The front seat does seem discouraging. I’m tall, and Ford products cramp me. The console armrest does not even appear in the picture. It must be way back there.
I’m not adverse to a CVT. I’ve lived with one that has a marginal reputation in a 2005 Ford Freestyle for 9 years. I really don’t have a problem with it – except for the $7,000 cost if it blows up. Mine has made it 90K miles, and I’ll be satisfied if I get about 2 more years out of it.
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/11/20000-compact-sedan-challenge-results.html
I’m not a fan of this Sentra, but I think I would still take one over a Focus. I’m lying. I know I would take one over a Focus. They’re my rental counter kryptonite. When my sister visited, she rented a Focus. When it died the next day, they replaced it with a duplicate Focus. Thought we were going to get a reprieve, but no.
I used to drive a 2000 Sentra with a 5-speed and while the new sentra is similar in terms of crappy interior space and build quality, my 2000 just felt more nimble. When I was trying to unload my lemon of a 2011 Malibu onto it’s next unsuspecting victim, I drove the 2012 Sentra and found it to be not aweful, but not comfortable either. I am not tall, but I have long legs and like a lot of leg room in a car. I couldn’t get by in a Sentra. I did, however get an Altima due to it’s smoother ride and ample interior and trunk space.
While I’m sure that the Altima is a smoother ride than a Sentra, I don’t for the life of me understand the CVT hate. I mean, it’s not like regular automatics are that fun to drive, and in my Altima, it’s silky smooth and is always in the right gear (something I loathed about the 6-speed in the Malibu). And it’s not like Nissan’s regular automatics last forever either. So far my Altima has been a perfect car in the first 50k miles (knocking on wood). For me, I found that the Altima is a nice mix between the tightly sprung Accord and the vanilla-beige Camry, gets better real world gas mileage, and is cheaper then both of them. That is why Nissan sells so many of them. As for Sentras and other Nissan cars; they definitely lost the plot over the years. But I can say the same thing for Honda and Toyota, so I got no beef with Nissan.
It’s funny to me how they bothered giving this car LED taillights. It also looks like these cars are supposed to have LED running lights up front, but ever Sentra I see driving during the day has them off. Are they just dummy “holes” meant to look like LEDs?
A few years ago I toyed with buying a stripped versa. It was the “cheapest car in America”. I thought, buy one for 10G and get reliable cheap transportation.
I went to the dealer, opened the door to the car and didn’t even sit down. It was such a POS I just left and have never looked at nissans again.
With the sentra, you have to think about how mich nissan actually got for this car from the rental company. Probably 8G, max. I say this because two years ago I rented a top of the Line ford escape. Sticker price for that SUV was close to 28G or so. By accident someone left the actual invoice in the glove box. Budget Rent A Car payed 10,995 for a ~28,000 car.
So it’s no wonder these car makers cheap out on their fleet sales models.
I had a pre-CC effect this evening after work as I was behind a black one of these. I thought at first it was an Altima but then saw the Sentra logo. I thought it was way too big to be a Sentra. I guess Nissan’s strategy is “all the style of the Altima, with none of the comfort!”
Have rented a number of small cars. Hit 40mpg with the versa and probably with the corolla. Traded in a 2010 manual cube for a 2013 with CVT. The CVT gets better economy and goes like a bat out of hell. Pull about 35mpg with the cube and suspect the same drive train as your car. There are some things I don’t like but mostly I think Americans tend to be spoiled.
After reading the review I think I have to consider this for my next car. Can you get one that’s brown with a stick?
Don’t sugar coat it Jason, tell us how you REALLY feel!
“When my wife, the raven-haired domestic goddess, attempted to drive the Sentra, she called me about the adjustment for the tilt and telescopic steering column.”
Do these Sentras really have tilt and telescopic? If so, even with the telescopic all the way out, you still had to stretch your arms? That doesn’t sound good at all…
Correct. It was tilt/telescopic and it was still too far away. I played with it many, many times in a futile attempt to get it where it needed to be.
Too bad, it actually looks pretty nice from the outside.
Love the rental series Jason, hope you are able to write some more at some point.
The car club I belong to had their annual show at a Nissan dealership. All the cars had been moved from the lot prior to the show. When the event was over I volunteered to help bring the cars, nearly 200 of them, back from a few miles down the road. I tried to at least drive one of every model. There was nothing outstanding or distinguishing about each one other than difference in trim or one seat firmer than the others. They all however had a detached feel to them, or lack of feel that is. Might as well replace the wheel and pedals with a game controller.
The only one that stood out was a 4×4 Frontier. Other than the automatic it felt just like the hardbody trucks I used to own.
I daily drive a 2006 Sentra with a 5sd. Over all it’s a decent car but you have to wind it out to make it go. I think my ’04 Accent would roast it from a standing start though. The ’06 Sentra had a fuel pump issue that made about every third start difficult. There was a TSB out on it, not a recall, and a fuel pump assembly repair kit that’s $250 in the US and $436 here in the Great White North. Surprised to read this may still be an issue 8 years later. When I get sick of hearing “Maybe we should take my car” and “I’ve got my CAA card with me.” I may spring for it.
Some of the rentals I had over the last few years and quick impressions:
Mazda 3. Zoom-zoom approach was nice, it never felt slow. The trunk opening was an odd shape so you had to plan how to load the trunk.
Chevy Cobalt. For a whole week I had to adjust the seat every time I got into it. I couldn’t wait to give it back.
Mitsubishi Lancer. Same impression as the Mazda 3 except more often than not we just gave up on putting things in the trunk and used the back seat.
Chrysler 200. Floaty and disconnected. The most unnerving thing about it was how it coasted down hills unless the cruise control was on. This made for some white knuckle moments in a city on a hill.
Nice humorous review of what sounds like another compact penalty box. Too bad, really–they’ve succeeded in creating a mini-Altima with the exterior design. My wife’s cousin showed up in a new 2013 Sentra (first year of this generation) on Christmas 2012 and we all thought it was an Altima at first. I’ve never been inside of one though and I always wondered why such a nice-looking car didn’t sell; you have provided my answer.
Nissan seems like it was positively rolling up until about 10 years ago and then it all started going downhill. I had a brand-new ’07 Maxima SE (brand new as In I was the first time it went out after the agency received it in stock the day before) as a rental for a week when my Lincoln was totaled, and that car was a mixed bag. It looked great in black, had cool features like a full-length glass panel in the roof, proximity key and push-button start (fancy stuff 8 years ago), and plenty of power from the VQ35 six-cylinder. Handling was respectable to entertaining for a car its size. Seats were nice and comfy. But there were a number of quirks–overall I hated the interior. The seats were nice but the rest of the ergonomics were questionable, the materials were way below what I’d expect in a premium midsize/sports sedan like the Maxima, and found it aesthetically displeasing (unlike the nice exterior shape.) The new for that year CVT took some getting used to and made it seem slower than I’d expect from a car with almost 270 HP. And the turning circle was absolutely monstrous. I didn’t so much notice it in regular driving, but parking lots and especially U-turns took some skill. There were enough compromises that the car moved down my list of desirability.
Sadly it sounds like they’re getting worse rather than better, other than the Altima. And while I do like the Altima it seems like the exterior design hasn’t changed in about 10 years. There is such a thing as refreshes being so evolutionary that the casual obsever doesn’t notice.
The Z cars including the GT-R and the Frontier/XTerra are about all that’s worth a damn from Nissan these days. The Pathfinder looks like a hideous bloated ‘fat Elvis’. The original 2-door Pathfinder was a slick rig, once the 4 door came out it was all downhill from there.
Nissan sure has fallen. The late 80s early 90s 2 door Sentras weren’t bad cars. 2 buddies had them in highschool/college. Wouldn’t storm any barns but were quick enough with the 5 speed to at least be a bit of fun and they looked like BMW 3 series knockoffs.
My buddys wife had a ’04 Sentra she bought new. Wheezy sluggish ugly little POS that had some new $400-$1k problem ever few months over the years Ive known them. They FINALLY kicked it to the curb for a mommy mobile Outback.
I still miss my 2005 B15 Sentra 1.8S. Sure, it wasn’t an SE-R Spec V, but it had the Special Edition package, with SE-R interior/exterior bits. [To use up parts for an outgoing model]
I could sit in the driver’s seat for hours with no back aches. i drove it from Chicago to DC areas, twice. One return trip, all in one day, 11 hours
But, it hit 105, k miles in 5 years and I foolishly got a new used ’09 Focus. Hated the seat, had to modify it. My Civic now is OK, but still, my back has never been comfortable in any car since!