Posted 12.29.2008

2009 Nissan Sentra

By Jeff Rundles

Nissan hasn’t been high on my list of potential rides over the past couple of years because I found too many faults in comparison with the competition. Chief among these has been the noise. In many models, including the line’s upscale Infiniti models, I have found the road noise unsettling. They may have fixed that problem if this new Sentra is any guide.

What with people looking for more economical cars these days, the Nissan Sentra just may be a good place to look. When it comes to the smaller sedans out there - the Chevys, Fords, Dodges, Hondas and Toyotas - the Sentra is one of the most long-standing of any model. They have been making Sentra for years. What is interesting, however, is the change in size.

I almost bought a Sentra in 1990, but in a fit of “Buy American” sentiment I went ahead and bought a Chevy Corsica, which turned out to be a mistake. I liked the car and especially the engine, but the paint began peeling off within a year (GM later owned up to some paint problems during this time), and I had nagging little mechanical problems throughout my ownership. I chose the Chevy over the Sentra because it was larger and offered a V6 as opposed to a four-banger, but looking back I wish I had gone with the Sentra; it would have lasted longer and given me fewer problems, I am convinced.

At about the same time a friend of mine bought the Nissan Maxima, and she enjoyed many years of relatively worry-free, not to mention fairly luxurious driving. And that brings me to today and the size question. Her 1990 Maxima, the flagship of the Nissan line, was about the same size as this new Sentra. The little car, the smaller sedan in the Nissan line, has grown over the years. I was remarking about this to a pal in the car-review business and we were observing that the same thing has happened at Honda and Toyota; the new Civic is the old Accord, and the new Corolla is the old Camry, at least in the size department.

I like that. This new Sentra has the feel of a larger vehicle, and it also feels beefier and less tinny than the one I rejected in 1990. At the same time, though, what with today’s concern for economy on both the purchase and gasoline sides, this new Sentra delivers: The base price here is $17,760 - a good price for this ride - and the gas mileage here - 25 city and 33 highway (with the continuously variable automatic transmission; the 6-speed standard manual is rated at 24/31) - is impressive, especially for a car of this size.

Now this car is no speed demon - the base, “S” (which I drove) and the “SL” models feature a 2.0-liter I4 engine with 140 hp, and the SE-R and the SE-R Spec-V souped up models have a 2.5-liter I4 with 177 hp and 200 hp, respectively (which may be speed demons) - but I never found, in city driving or on the local highways, that I was lacking in the power department. This engine, and the CVT transmission, run smoothly, accelerate at the appropriate moments, and feel like they are doing the work of a car with more under the hood. In this age of “less is more,” the Sentra seems like a winner and a fine example off what’s needed.

In the driving department I was also pleased. The Sentra handles quite well, cornering tightly, changing lanes with ease and offering up a smooth ride even on bumpy stretches. I was impressed. Also - and this is key given my reservations on Nissan of late - it is a very quite ride, even in traffic, bumpy roads and all.

Inside it is also a pleasure. Since I was going to drive a lower-end model in the line, I expected that it would be rather sparse and basic. It wasn’t. There is a lot of car here for the money. Very comfortable and roomy seats - especially in the back, with plenty of leg room and ample room for three passengers - excellent cloth upholstery and nice, tight and heavy doors. The radio-CD package is excellent - a Rockford Fosgate audio system with six speakers, part of an add-on convenience package—and all of the climate controls work effortlessly and look beautiful. My test-drive model didn’t have the XM radio enabled, but you can get that here too. It’s also enabled for Blue-Tooth for a hands-free telephone.

One of the most shocking things about the car, if no one has let you in on the little secret, is that when you open the trunk it is so small you think something must be wrong. You couldn’t even get golf clubs in there, although I didn’t try since it was about 10 below for most of my test-drive week. I was ready to slam the car on that basis alone, until I discovered the sneaky, and very clever Divide-N-Hide trunk system. At the back of the trunk, as you’re looking in it from the rear, it just looks like the trunk ends and is rather small. But if you know the trick, the panel folds down revealing more trunk. To give you an idea of the space behind the Hide portion, a publicity photo shows 7 basketballs in the hidden part of the trunk compartment. Someone looking in there would think it is just a small trunk, but you as the owner have the option of opening it up for more storage, say golf clubs (ample room), or hiding away something you’d like to keep hidden. Very clever.

The one thing I didn’t like, and many Nissans have this, is the I-Key, or intelligent-key system. Basically, you just need to have the key in your pocket; there is no slot for it on the steering column, which can be convenient. But in other cars with a similar system, there is usually a push-button ignition which makes it easy. Here Nissan has put in a plastic key stub where the key would go, and it often catches and feels like it doesn’t work - or would last - well. If it was a smooth operation, I would have no complaints, but about every other time I turned the key stub it caught, and two or three times during the week I worried I wouldn’t be able to turn it at all. They need to make this more seamless.

What’s great about this car at this price is what is here. The seats are manually adjusted, but you have keyless entry, power windows, mirrors and door locks, cruise control, MP3/WMA capability, a tilt and telescoping wheel, adjustable cup holders, two auxiliary 12-volt outlets, suede cloth trim on the seats (very nice), leather-wrapped steering wheel, and steering wheel controls for audio and the like. One of the things I especially liked was that the arm rest wasn’t all plastic; it had a soft rubber feel and was nice.

I didn’t get a price sheet on the car, so I went to the Nissan site and tried to patch together the total price. For this “S” model, as I said, the base price is $17,760, and then it had splash guards ($140), and the Convenience Plus Package ($850; includes the I-key, Bluetooth, the steering wheel wrap, a CD holder (overhead), and the Divide-N-Hide trunk. With destination of $695, it looks like the bottom line here is $19,445, which is a nice price for all you get here and very competitive against the competition. You can also add on a moonroof for $750, alloy wheels for $350, a spoiler for $210 and body-color side molding for $150.

The Sentra is not flashy, and it won’t draw the oohs and aahs that other cars might, but it is perfect for these times of “less is more.” Here the emphasis is on the “more,” with the “less” fitting in nicely where it counts: price and mileage.

RATING: Four wheels (out of four)

Last updated on Nov 30, 2011 at 12:18 PM