Updated!!! 2000 Sentra: More car for your money

Update on Feb 17, 2001.
The vehicle now has more than 10,000 miles on the odometer and it has been extremely reliable in the eight months we have owned this. It had 3 oil changes done at the dealer with no unscheduled service appointments and the total cost of service is $130. It was in a 1800 mile trip from Alabama to Michigan during the christmas break and it was a pleasure to drive it all the way. The seats were very comfortable for long drives with good lumbar support. Gas mileage improved considerably from the time we bought the car new and it is now 31.5 mpg on highway and 24-26 mpg in city driving conditions.

The vehicle was also involved in a minor fender bender and the front bumper was scraped. It had to be painted again and the body shop charged $200 for that. Also, there are several paint chips on the hood from our trip to Michigan. I believe the sand and salt spread on roads in winter there is the culprit. This indicates that the paint quality and process on the Sentra is not satisfactory and Nissan has skimped on that. Also the Firestone tires that come with the car do not have adequate snow traction and need to be changed in snowy driving conditions. All in all after 8 months of ownership after looking at the 2001 Civic we couldn't be happier we bought a Sentra and we stick to the earlier rating given to it.

Posted July 2000.
Three months back we were in the market to purchase a new car for my wife who was tired of her 92 Ford Tempo. We looked at Ford Focus, Civic, Corolla, Protege and the Neon. Though the Civic and Corolla are reliable cars we were not interested in buying them as they are not exactly cheap and they are ubiquitous. You'd have a hard time finding your car in a parking lot if you owned one. You know what I mean! We were all set on getting the Mazda protege until one day we spotted a new Nissan Sentra at a traffic light. She liked the way it looked and we wanted to check out the new Sentra before paying the downpayment to the Mazda dealer.

Couple of our friends owned 97 and 98 sentras, which we were not exactly impressed with but what we found in the 2000 was totally different.
The 2000 Sentra looked a lot better, is completely redesigned inside and out and comes loaded with tons of standard features at a great price. It is not a head turner by any means but looks contemporary. We test drove the SE with the 2.0 L engine and it was really a blast to drive. With its 145 hp engine, good torque in the low rpms, and stiff suspension it is a performance oriented car for a lot less money. I asked her to get manual transmission but she finally got the one with auto and performance package. Standard features include power windows, pw door locks, 180 watt 7 speaker stereo w/CD, white faced guages with tachometer, 16 inch aluminum alloy wheels with performance tires, cruise control, 4 wheel disc brakes, key less entry. One look inside the car and you do not think it is an economy car anymore. It looks more expensive that it actually is. However, in any good car features are not everything. Reliability is as important. The odometer now has 4500 and we did not have any problems whatsoever and nissans have a good reputation in being reliable. The build quality is solid with increased torsional rigidity, and there are no squeaks and rattles and the inside layout is very attractive. It even has a storage compartment on the dash apart from the glove box which adds functionality as well as looks. The inside space though not as roomy as the protege is adequate and the trunk space is more than enough. However, the only gripe about having this car is that the ride is not as smooth and comfortable on rough roads. I guess it is because of the stiff suspension in this trim level. I also drove the GXE and liked the suspension and the ride. Also, at speeds above 80 mph there is noticeable road noise and the dealer told me that it is because of the performance tires. Other than that I absolutely love the car, its handling
and also the gas mileage (especially when gas sells at $ 2/gallon). On highways we get around 30 mpg with AC on and in the city it gives around 23-25 mpg depending on the way you drive. Also, I came to know that the engine in the SE is the same that powers the more expensive G20 and the pocket-rocket 91-94 SE-R. Since this engine has been time tested I do not think we would have any reliability problems.

If you want the performance and handling of a VW Jetta and cannot spend as much, if you want the reliability of Honda and Toyota and want to be different than the pack then the 2000 Sentra SE is for you.