Hi Guys,
Pulled the trigger on April 25th and bought my first brand new car:
2011 Nissan Sentra SE-R; 2.5L, CVT (177 HP) with sport and technology packages,
It has a NAV with backup camera, Rockford fosgate 8 speakers stereo, sunroof and other, Magnetic Gray in color.
Replaced my 2008 Toyota Camry LE v6; which is a good car but I never felt desire to drive it…, felt like a big boat, traded it in after 5 months/4000KM of ownership…,
Wanted something smaller sportier and more nimble…, still needed a decent back seats as I have small kids.
Want to share with my fellow Canadian drivers some pros and cons of Sentra SE-R
Previous list of used (new to me) cars, that I had, includes following make and models in chronological order:
91 Mercury Sable GS; 1995 Honda Civic Hatch, manual; 1998 Toyota Corolla CE, manual; 2003 Subaru Legacy L; 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GT; 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS, 6 speed; 2007 Ford Focus ST, manual; 2008 Toyota Camry LE v6;
After 1,200 KM here is a summary:
Nissan Sentra SE-R Pros:
- Pretty peppy, good pickup, around 7.5 sec 0 to 60 M/h; I traded Toyota Camry v6 (268HP); so I needed to have some pep…, This car has good get up and go, compared to regulars like Corolla and Civic; I am still breaking it in, don’t rev over 4,000 rpm, but it moves good.
Mid-range acceleration is seamless and effortless, very little noise or strain from 2.5L powerplant.
- Quiet car; not Camry quiet, but quiter than Focus ST and XRS; Wind noise is subdued despite tall profile; Engine noise is there only under hard acceleration
Has a small rattle in the B-pillar on the driver side, but way better than Camry that had a prominent dash rattles/interior rattles at 48,000 KM.
Engine operated around 2000 RPM at 100KM/h you don’t hear it on the highways..
- Handling is very good, better than Focus ST…, leans less (subjectively), and better than Camry off course.
Steering feel is decent, however I would rate our 2003 Subaru Legacy wagon higher…, which has better feel than any other car I had.
Does not float…., one of the things I absolutely disliked about Camry.
Very well planted on the road.
Feels like midsize sedan on the road, without midsize dimensions.
- CVT…; I really like it in the city, seamless operation; it annoys me only when I have to accelerate from 0 to a highway/freeway speed, however it takes only a few seconds.
Paddle shifts work very well, when you want some fun
Highway operation of CVT is totally great, no shifts, RPM just rises slightly on incline and goes down again, Subie with 4 speed auto is a torture to drive compared to this one…
- Fuel Economy; too early to say, at 50/50 city/highway, I got 8.6L/100 KM, last tank; only 1,200 KM on the car, so it is not bad and should get better.
- Interior; Plastic is hard but looks very well put together. Panels aligned well, Camry had numerous misalignments. Seats are great, very supportive and comfortable.
Interior is very roomy for the class, wider than Civic/Corolla/Mazda3. Corolla listed more leg room in the back, but I doubt the numbers are telling the truth…,
In fact, everybody is surprised how much room back seat has…., more than 2003 Subie Legacy…
Rockford Fosgate speakers system: 2 tweeters by the windshield, 2 speakers in the doors; 2 speakers and 2 subs in the rear deck. Good sound and I am pretty picky…, USB plug and AUX are located in organizer between the front seats.
NAV and Rear backup camera: 4.3 inch display. Best thing about it is how easy it is to use, everything is straightforward.
On board trip computer shows: average speed, trip time, distance to empty, average fuel consumption and real-time fuel consumption. Average fuel consumption seems to be bang on with the calculation done at the pump.
Cons:
- Assembly has some flaws. My trunk lid is sagging, seats a little lower than rear fenders. 3 Sentras out of 8 on the dealer’s lot has flaws with misaligned exterior panels…Been in VW dealership and those new Jettas have same issues…, you do the math where these assembled. I got an acknowledgement paper from the dealership about misalignment of the trunk and sent it to Nissan Canada, still waiting for response.
- Engine has a little drone when going 50-65 KM/hour…, since the RPMs are 1100 – 1300/min…, very low. This is a well documented issue with various models: Rogue, Altima, Sentra, Juke and even Maxima…, it sounds like a low frequency rumble…, some hear it, some don’t…., unfortunately I do and recommend you to pay attention to it if/when test drive. The universal solution seems to be to get used to it…..There is some merit to it as it seems to bother me less than at the beginning.
Cars that I considered: (only automatics/CVT were considered)
Toyota Corolla: No power.., even XRS with 2.4L does not feel strong enough.
Honda Civic: No power.., don’t like the huge dash.., feels like I seat in the middle of the car.
Mazda3: Don’t like the smiley face and rear doors are pretty narrow compared to Sentra, otherwise, great car with 2.5L
I am still somewhat kicking my butt for not getting SPEC-V, would be fun, but 6 speed shifter is not really nice, feels notchy, and premium fuel turned me off.
All in all, I feel like SE-R has a great value in the compact class, I read about problems with them (rear alignment on 2007-08), but it should be all worked out in 2011 MY, and I hope for 5-7 years of fun and trouble free ownership.
I could get a base Altima for about the same price, but wanted a smaller package.
Sentra is not a thing of beauty by any stretch of imagination but SE-R has a pretty masculine, athletic look to it that I actually like.
