Nissan Sentry SE? Looks nice to me!

[SuperGroove]

Uh...the Sentra isn't much of a looker either...I think the Mazda Protege looks good all around...except for the hideous rear end. Oh well...that's for everyone else you dust to look at as you rip past them on the twisties

Go to http://www.caranddriver.com and look up the cars you want. You should find a comparison of the Mazda and its competitors. The Mazda wins handily Oops...spoiled the good ending, hehe

Down with Honda! Long live Mazda!

Paul

 

[atom]

The sentra looks good coming, but don't watch it leaving. I think it has a nice front end, but one of the fugliest backends of any car on the road today. Typical of NDI.

BTW, I read the car and driver issue where they compare compact cars. The Mazda Protege beats the Sentra for top honors by one point. So much for winning handily.

 

[allan120]

My family had a Sentra SE '91 that ran great for about 110k miles before we had to sell it to move cross country. Also have a friend with the ol' SE-R who loves the engine. He likes how it goes to 60 in 2nd gear in no time flat. Good car for the money.

The new one does look nice from the front, just close your eyes if you walk to the back of the car. Kinda like the Altima (what I own now). Decent front, "uh-what-were-they-thinking" back.

 

[claiomh]

hahahahaha, dusting people in a protege, around here the roads are alive with the evils of redneck souped up sports cars, like `72 corvettes from hell...


brooks-

if you are gonna get a car, get that nissan.
i swear i will roll over in my grave if i have seen anything oust them on life. my dad has run a nissan pickup forever and hit has had no repair done besides regular maintenance.

i do run a honda, but i would buy a nissan as second pick anyday

 

[rickn]

pronto: they must have increased it, because I believe the original figure was only to produce 60,000 the first year

 

[Wingnut]

Nissan can't be beat for their motors and value. I am also in the market and definitely hooked on the VW Golf 1.8t. If VW actually has the nerve to charge over 19,000.00 then off to the Nissan dealership I will be heading. Parents just bought a 2000 Maxima SE fully loaded for $30,000 and that thing just kicks so much a$$ over anything in the price range and class and if that's any indication to their overall quality then the Sentra SE (145HP?) is the way to go although, I wish they offered a two door.

 

[quaze]

According to motortrend a SE-R version will be available during 2001. It will have 160hp.

It is found under the future vehicle section.

quaze

 

[prontospyder]

rickn:

You're right, they increased it later on...and it's still backordered!

 

[SuperGroove]

atom,

Read the the Verdict for the Protege. There are no lows according to C&D when comparing the Protege to the other cars. The Sentra is boring...the protege is not.

Paul

 

[ThurzNite]

Wing: my bro picked up a Nissan Maxima SE 5sp, all the options for $27k, before tax and crap from www.carorder.com. I don't know what the end price was.
Sentra has always been a reliable car. As for performance, it's what I call a banger: small and puts a good punch. Definitely get the 5sp. I don't know if u can get the better engine w/the 5sp though. Check on it. I have 2 friends who have sentras: 91 and 98.
I never knew the Protege was so good all around. I've been thinking about getting a new Mazda 626 cuz it's way cheaper than a Maxima and slightly roomier than compact cars.

 

[Brooks]

quaze

Well I did the math last night, it looks like my '89 accord will be sitting pretty a bit longer...but the current 145 HP sentras? Well 160 in the 2001 SE-R sounds a lot better! Maybe I'll get one of those, probably mid 7's for 0-60, not bad at all...

wingnut

Yeah My dad had a maxima, I love those cars, they really are a sweet buy. Also, since the fastest thing I'd had before was a mini-van, I just loved cruising on the highway at about 110km, and then to pass I'd crank it into 3rd, it picked up very very nicely up to 150 in 3rd gear.

Brooks

 

[ThurzNite]

I heard from several sources (trusted, but not official) that Nissan will be having Special Editions coming out for almost all of their models in the next year or so. Maxima in '02, Sentra in '01, Pathfinder in '02, Altima soon, and they will be bringing back the Z soon too, so if you can wait, get some madd performance (engine too!) in a lil bit.

 

[Brooks]

Oh I can wait, I did the calculations on buying a new sentra yesterday I think maybe I'm gonna wait a year

 

[Skaven]

Brooks: check this out... (and yes, I am biased)

Sentra:
2700lbs
145bhp/129torque (SE)
MPG 24/31

Golf/Jetta 1.8t
2900lbs (Golf, Jetta +50lbs)
150bhp/155torque (both)
MPG 24/31

My brother was looking at the same cars you were. Sentra, Impreza, Focus, Civic SI etc... The Golf/Jetta GLS 1.8t were at the bottom of his list. Until he drove one. The torque from that 1.8t engine is insane. You almost HAVE to have the traction control on to prevent the wheels from spinning. 0-60 times from VW are 8.5 blah blah.. they don't want it competing with the VR6 cars. Truth? C&D posted a 7.3 0-60. So you are already in the low 7s.

After you get used to the power you can always do this:
http://www.giacusa.com/gol18t.html
For $500 you can increase power to 193bhp/238torque. Easily into the 6s 0-60. Try getting a Sentra or Civic up to that kind of power for $500..
If modding isn't your thing though, the Sentra is probably best bang-for-the-buck as is. But the aftermarket for VW is insane.

Anyway, my brother ended up getting his Golf GLS 1.8T for $300 over invoice, which ended up being $16975. For the money he got a great car. Have a seat in one, take it for a ride. You will be impressed.

Jetta:
http://www.vwvortex.com/resources/gallery/motorshows/waterfest_00/pages/134.html

Golf (a bit overdone):
http://www.vwvortex.com/resources/gallery/motorshows/waterfest_00/images/large2/80.jpg
http://www.vwvortex.com/resources/gallery/motorshows/driversfest_00/pages/23.html

-Skaven
'90 Jetta 8v

 

[ThurzNite]

Hey, I'm impressed. How about seating? Adequate for a 6 footer like me? Looks cramped in the back. Can I get me and 4 of my best buddies in the rear, throw in a sub, and still be able to climb the hills of Frisco? Hmm...hope the tranny doesn't die under all this stress!
Jay

 

[Nessoldaccount]

Wingnut,

Does Nissan still offer the 200SX? I believe that was a 2-door Sentra sported up a bit...especially the SE-R version.

 

[BiB]

skaven

I am looking at motortrend they give the jetta GLS 1.8 a 7.8 0-60 (not bad!), so is the golf much better? I don't see how it could be a half second faster...so either Motortrend or C&D are wrong

Also - that chip looks SWEET. But the site does not give any road-testing of 0-60 or quater-mile - also it seems like it might run hell on the engine; would it? Nonetheless you've made me, at least, think about a VW for my next car...since I _need_ something under 8 seconds and its gotta be foreign.

ness

Don't think so...

 

[Skaven]

Well, my brother is 6'11" and he is VERY comfortable in the front. Also, I have had to sit behind him and I still had enough room to be comfortable. The interior has many similarities to its bigger cousin the Audi A4. There are a lot of nice interior touches etc...

When at the auto-show last year, I felt that the Golf/Jetta had more rear-seat room than the Audi A4!! So yea, its plenty roomy insinde. And the rear seats fold TOTALLY flat. So you have a TON of space for your 21" monitor and computers.. or what have you. My brother fits his mountain bike back there with room to spare (although he seperates the front tire).

As for power? Well its all over the board. The tourqe comes on at @2400 rpm (can't say that about a Honda!) and is almost level to 6000. I haven't driven the car myself with more than another person in it. But to give you an idea of the power that the 1.8t has:

I was in Argentina with my parents on vacation, and we had a Passat 1.8t (the Passat is MUCH heavier than the Golf/Jetta). Same engine specs. With a FULLY loaded trunk, 4 adults, and a teenager (my sis) the car had power to spare! The tranny never felt overburdened, and I never even smoked the clutch once! This with all the mountains and hills around. Plenty of power, I can't imagine with the chip!

One thing that you MUST keep in mind about the 1.8t engine is that it is the SAME engine in the base TT. The base TT puts out 180bhp. The difference? Engine software... the ECU. So the 190hp chip that I showed you won't stress the engine too much more than the TT does. People have been running chips on their A4s and Passats for YEARS now. So its proven to be a strong engine, and reacts well to mods.

Anyway, let me know if you have any additional questions. There is a TON of cool stuff out there on those VWs.

-Skaven

(edit) and about the difference in 0-60 times in the magazines? There are lots of factors. It was actually a GTI 1.8t that pulled the 7.3 in C&amp;D (It may have been European car though).. the engine is the same but the tires are better. Also the heat plays a MAJOR factor on the turbo performance. Add that to driver differences and it could be as big as a .5 sec difference. Also the jetta IS heavier than the Golf. Not by much, but it can make a difference. Also, I am not sure if the tranny ratios are the same on the G/J. <shrug>