I stumbled across a 2017 Nissan Sentra Nismo. I know the generally accepted wisdom is to steer clear of Nissan products, especially those with a CVT, but this one has the 6 speed manual transmission.
I don't (normally) drive a car like I stole it, and C&D says this isn't a very fast car compared to its rivals, but I am more interested in its probable longevity. That, and I like to drive something different.
Thoughts? Opinions? Advice?
I don't know about the newer stuff, but one of our local guys used his daily driver Sentra as a rallycross car. It survived the pounding every bit as good as the P71 I was using.
I have also been fairly impressed with my G35 which is also a Nissan product.
The biggest complaint I hear about their latest offerings is the designs are dated.
Personally, that's the only way i'd spec a Sentra for myself. The CVT is the single worst part of that car IMO. I haven't heard anything bad about that 1.6 turbo and it's running around as the base engine in tons of Nissan Jukes so it should be an ok ride, a hundred pounds lighter and the lower CG may make it entertaining. I heard they didn't make that many mt Sentras, how in the world did you find it?
I searched in my area for them and found one at what I would consider a good value price. My understanding is Nissan is a bit above average reliability brand. If you like it and have benchmarked the competition, I don't see any big negatives. Sometimes uncommon cares like this can create great used car buying opportunities.
There's a black 6-speed Nismo at a Chicago dealer for $15,000.
I watched this review and they were not impressed. On paper it looks like a nice car. Go Civic Si.
I had (already) forgot about these. I don't think they made much sense new as they had some pretty stiff competition that cost about the same and was better in many ways, but I think they could make a lot of sense now as long as it's MT not CVT and IF you can't find a Mazda 3 or Civic Si with similar miles for the same price. "Decent" is probably a good word to describe them.
I know nothing about actual ownership, and I doubt many do, as they seem to have sold very few.
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
The one I found is under $14K, with under 33K miles.
For those who ask, Civic Si are easier to find but the ones that I find have high miles.
I would be more inclined to stick with Ford (my dd is a P71) at this juncture, but I want a Fiesta or Fiesta ST and in my area they are next to impossible to find with a manual transmission.
I have two VW's and a Nissan Sentra, I'd personally go with a VAG product over a Nissan most days. I only bought the Sentra because it was a good deal for a Rallycross beater.
It should be fairly reliable. You see a ton of Nissan's still cruising the streets so I'm sure as long as you take basic car of it, it will return the favor. Nissan gets a ton of hate for their CVTs and because the company as a whole has no direction. They haven't done anything groundbreaking since they released the GT-R in the states in 2009.
*edit - I can't stand any Nissan for my own reasons - that doesn't mean I would turn someone away from one. They have the positives, in your case the car having a manual is a huge plus!
In reply to Carsandbikes :
You're not going find a 3 year Civic Si w/30,000 miles on it for $14,000, are you?
These Nismo we're pushing $25,500 sticker when a base 370Z was $29,999 but hello Mr. Depreciation on that Sentra
When those were brand new, they made no sense. Loaded up, they were MORE than the Civic Si, the Focus ST, GTI, and more. For $14k, they might make an interesting, cheap, modern daily driver. I'd shop that against an Elantra Sport, which should be around the same money on the used market.
Other than the CVT I don't think Nissans are that bad. I'd just go for it if you like how it drives.
Carsandbikes said:In reply to Datsun310Guy :
The one I found is under $14K, with under 33K miles.
For those who ask, Civic Si are easier to find but the ones that I find have high miles.
I would be more inclined to stick with Ford (my dd is a P71) at this juncture, but I want a Fiesta or Fiesta ST and in my area they are next to impossible to find with a manual transmission.
Definitely no comparison on the price between a used Sentra Nismo and Civic Si. Mazda3 is in the ballpark. I think the Sentra Nismo would be a big step up from the P71. FiSTs are worth traveling for, I did for mine. The Sentra Nismo might be slightly better value. I haven't driven a Sentra Nismo, but I suspect I would prefer the FiST.
I would say, it is not only the CVT, it is poor build quality on their US-made models.
I generally dispise their Versa-Sentra-Altima lineup, but hey, cheap, reliable and a stick? Unless you can find a Mazda 3 or a Civic for the same price, go for it.
After looking at the performance numbers, I'd also consider a Mazda 3 at that price. My old 2012 3 pretty much matches or even beats this thing performance-wise. A 2014+ with a 2.5L 6MT would be a great option, and performs better and is nice to hang around in. If you want something much faster, Focus or Fiesta ST would be worth the search. I have a friend with a 2014 Focus ST with a Ford Performance tune and the thing pulls like it has a V8 under the hood!
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