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Auto Affairs
New Nissan Sentra -- Wheels for the Mainstream
By Jim Bray
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Nissan's all-new Sentra won't set the world on fire, but it's a pleasant and efficient vehicle that should serve its target audience very well.
Nissan says this new Sentra is "all about you." If you're an enthusiast you might find this a tad insulting, but if you're one of the millions who looks upon a car as simple transportation and not a means to an exciting end, it may speak volumes to you.
And so it should. The front engine/front wheel drive car is unpretentious and features a good list of standard features and that, for many, is exactly what the doctor ordered.
I will tell you that, after nearly a week behind the wheel of the Sentra 2.0 S, I went away quite satisfied with what it does and how it does it, but pining for a dash more elan.
For 2007, the Sentra features a more powerful engine and the choice of either a six speed manual or continuously variable automatic transmission. My tester had the optional CVT, the latest application of Nissan's Xtronic CVT, which treads the fine line between performance and fuel economy by keeping the engine operating at its optimal rpms.
It works well, though I noticed that the engine/transmission combo tended to be a bit loud when pressed. Still, this is an economy car, so you shouldn't expect the sound deadening of a more expensive vehicle.
The 2.0 liter four cylinder engine is of the dual over head cam type and features four valves per cylinder. It creates a competitive 140 hp @ 5,100 rpm and 147 lb-ft of torque @ 4,800 rpm, the same horsepower and a tad more torque than the Honda Civic sedan and the base Mazda 3 -- and appreciably more than Toyota Corolla's 126 /122 hp/torque.
Nissan prides the Sentra's four banger on its low end torque, and claims about 36 mpg, which is pretty good. I did notice the low end torque, which is great for when you're zipping away from a traffic light, and my gas mileage over the "near week" was quite satisfactory (thanks to having a lead foot, I never get close to the EPA ratings).
Sentra is slung via an independent strut front suspension with a stabilizer bar and there's a torsion beam axle with integrated stabilizer bar in the rear. Nissan says "Ripple Control Shocks" and rebound springs combine to help damp out vibrations while offering a flatter, more secure ride. I didn't have a chance to take the Sentra onto my favorite twisty bits during my snowy time with the car, but it handled just fine on wintry urban streets.
Braking is done via a front disc/rear drum configuration and ABS. My tester, which wore 16 inch wheels, featured a good pedal feel and stopping distances were quite good.
Inside, the cabin is quite comfortable but it seems just a little tight, especially in back. I didn't have any trouble getting into the back seat, but once there I had to be careful getting out to ensure I didn't put footprints all over the place. And while there's a good greenhouse overall, with plenty of glass, the A pillars up front are a tad thick.
This "close but no cigar" mien stretches to the driver's seat, too, where the tilt steering wheel wouldn't tilt quite far enough down for my comfort. I had to raise the seat from where I like it to get the steering wheel angle I prefer. Likewise, where there were cruise control buttons on the steering wheel there were no audio controls. Huh?
The fabric seats are comfortable, though without bun warmers, and the interior materials seem quite good. And the little storage bin at the top of the center stack was a handy place to put my cell phone and other small knickknacks.
Instrumentation is analog, clean and easy to read. Not so for the LCD displays (on the instrument panel and the center stack), which are illegible when you're wearing polarized sunglasses. On the other hand, the HVAC is efficient, easy to fathom, and has plenty of fan control positions.
The rear seat splits and folds 60/40, with a high and wide pass-through, for extra storage.
The AM/FM/CD audio system sports Nissan's nicely configurable preset buttons (where you can store AM or FM regardless of the band to which the radio is tuned), but the audio quality is less than optimal. I found it bass heavy and somewhat muddy, though the power was more than adequate. And, on the upside, it does offer an MP3 player input.
Naturally, power stuff abounds, including door locks and windows (with driver's side auto down, but not auto up), and Nissan makes a bunch of generally higher end options available on the Sentra, including keyless, push button start/stop and Bluetooth capability.
According to Nissan, its 2007 Sentra earned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) highest front impact safety rating of 5 stars for front-impact. The car comes with six standard air bags, including seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags and roof-mounted curtain side-impact air bags.
The base Nissan Sentra 2.0 starts at $14,750US/$16,798.00 Cdn. The 2.0S trim level of my tester starts at $15,650US /$19,498.00 Cdn., and the top line 2.0 SL starts at $18,400US/$23,998.00 Cdn.
Whether or not this new Sentra will snag buyers away from the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, or the "zoom zoomy" Mazda 3, only time will tell. But it doesn't seem like a bad deal for what you get.
