The Nissan Sentra has been a mixed case here in the Philippines. When it first appeared in the local markets in 1988, the public rejoiced at the arrival of another Japanese car giant besides Toyota and Mitsubishi. The public immediately wanted to try-out this new car, only to be let down by several key problems. The 1988 Nissan Sentra, also called the Series I, was plagued with a lot of build and reliability problems. In fact, a close friend of mine recalled his 1988 Nissan Sentra GLX in this rather blunt statement:
“Basta, ang natatandaan ko lang sa kotseng [Nissan Sentra] iyon ay naiwanan ang transmission noong nagmamaneho kami sa lubak ng Quezon City!” (The only thing I remember about my Nissan Sentra was that its transmission came loose as we passed by several potholes in Quezon City.)
Experiences and thousands like it caused Nissan to befall under bad light which until now they are still paying the price for. The Sentra soon lost its original prestige and its value as an alternative to the Toyota Corolla and the Mitsubishi Lancer. (in fact, come to think of it, almost all of the original Nissan Sentra cannot be seen running on Philippine streets anymore…) Nissan tried launching a face-lifted version of the Series I complete with better build quality, more avant-garde styling, and heavily bolstered sport-bucket seats. It helped for a while, but Nissan had to figure out a new way to start again.
1992 came and the Sentra Series II was released. The best thing about this Series II Sentra was it was the first car in the Philippines to offer anti-lock braking system or ABS as standard on its SE Saloon variant. Aside from having ABS, the top-of-the-line Series II offered four-wheel disc brakes, which was a car enthusiast’s dream. Soon, Nissan felt their name and their sales rise, and the Sentra was on top form again. In fact, the Nissan Sentra Series II was also named as the Best Car in its Class ($12,000-16,000) in Road and Track. Nissan also released several other versions of the Sentra, which made cult status such as the 2.0-liter inline-4, two-door Nissan Sentra SE-R.
However, like all car manufacturers, Nissan had to come up with something new for the Sentra’s next iteration: the Series III. At first glance, the Nissan Sentra Series III is undoubtedly a handsomely shaped car. Its low, almost hatchback like, short rear overhang contributes a sporty nature to this automobile. Its trunk-mounted rear brake lamp and rear lamp cluster instills a sporty characteristic as well. The only let down to this car is its front-end styling, which is rather mundane, and lacks the sportiness of say, the Mazda 323 or the Honda Civic.
The Sentra Series III WAS a good-looking car until Nissan found the opportunity to introduce a face-lift in 1998. Now, it turns out to be a very ugly car. Why? Well, I can summarize them in three words: grille, wheels and rear lamp clusters. The vertical chrome grille does look a bit classier than the original horizontal one, but it doesn’t fit the sporty image of the Sentra at all! It’s like giving Ben Johnson a pair of wooden clogs to run in the Olympics. The wheels on the other hand are a bad attempt to copy a common BBS design. But, once again it doesn’t jive with the car, unlike the original five-spoke design that our test car had. The rear lamp cluster lost the original sporty magic of the Series III, this one is a bit more conservative, and looking a bit older because of its configuration and design.
Going away from Nissan’s failure to hype the Nissan Sentra, let’s go to its good points. There are a lot of reasons for you to buy the Nissan Sentra Series III, despite the fact that the design is about four years old. However, for the sake of this magazine, I would rather limit them to four reasons: interior, handling, ride and package design.
The Series III interior is quite simple to look at, but the quality and feel of the materials are a cut above the rest in the 1.6-liter class. In fact, I would like to name the Nissan Sentra as a sort of Mini Cefiro. Just like the Nissan Cefiro, the Nissan Sentra is an ergonomic delight. All the switchgear and stalks are where they should belong. There are no more problems when it comes to looking for aircon controls and such, because they are all in easy reach of the driver.
Moreover, the plastic feels better than some 1.6-liter cars such as the Mazda 323 and the Mitsubishi Lancer, both of which are actually later model cars. The switchgear, though being shared with the Nissan Cefiro, lacks the same well-damped feel as its bigger brother. The Sentra switches are more of crisp and unobtrusive, rather than luxurious and soft in feel. The aircon switches are the only let down in this whole system of buttons and stalks, because its rotary switches do not have the same snappy feel as that of other cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer.
As a sidebar, I would like to note that this Nissan Sentra also sports the same stereo and speaker system found in the Honda City LXi and the Mazda 323 GLX. Thus, it is no surprise that the stereo is flimsy to use and the speakers are as good as those found in telephones. People should stop using systems like this Clarion. I know that it is manufactured locally and we should promote our own products, but this isn’t a valid excuse for producing this kind of stereo system!
Anyway, back to the car. Now, aside from being an ergonomic place to be in, the Nissan Sentra is surprisingly spacious in both its front and rear seats. Though on the outside it may look smaller than other similar cars, let me tell you that we didn’t have problems fitting inside the driver’s seat. In fact, I liked the driving position very much and the car was very easy to set-up and drive. The only problem I had with my driving position was the ingress and egress when I had to go in and out during a fuel stop.
The car also performs well on the road. The Nissan Sentra’s 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve inline-4 packs a good midrange punch and is very smooth in low rpms. However, rev the engine above the 4,500-rpm mark, and the engine changes attitude: it becomes more boomy and the car starts to shriek all the way to its 6,500 rpm redline. What’s surprising about this car is the pace it develops even when compared to some cars on the highway. The Sentra’s acceleration coupled with a very nice gearbox system means that this car is a force to be reckoned with on the highways. In fact, I found overtaking very easy despite the fact that this car only has 110 horsepower on tap.
Aside from the good gearbox and engine, the Sentra has excellent steering and handling prowess. Though steering feel is still to be desired, this car is very accurate to drive, and promotes a level of confidence that other cars such as the Mazda 323 don’t evoke in my highway driving.
The ride is surprisingly excellent as well. Riding on Nissan’s patented multi-link beam axle technology, the Nissan Sentra works well on any kind of road condition, whether it maybe the potholes along Araneta Avenue, or the unevenness of the North Express Way.
The brakes, though lacking the option of ABS, unlike the Sentra Series II, still give a pretty good bite and are able to stop this car in an instant, still giving the driver a bit of confidence at well. The brakes feel well, and don’t feel spongy unlike that of a same era Toyota Corolla for instance.
The current Nissan Sentra Series III Super Saloon has additional features not found in our test car. For instance, the Super Saloon now offers a driver-side airbag as part of the package. If you were able to catch a Series III SE Saloon, then ABS would have also been standard.
So, I have been praising the Sentra Series III again and again in this article. Can I find any fault in this little car? Maybe just a few, and these all have to do with the cosmetic changes that Nissan Motors Philippines has done to this fine car. Another is that Nissan Motors Japan is about to release a new Nissan Sentra late this year, and should be able to make it to the Philippines as a 2000 model. Aside from those factors, it still boggles the mind why the Nissan Sentra couldn’t sell here in the Philippines. It’s a pretty damn good car with great value and pricing. However, the Nissan Sentra Series III GTS is rather too much. Perhaps, the American Sentra 200 SX should have been a better choice.
Maybe people are just afraid of Nissan reliability, to which I say: they have every right to. Which I’m going to discuss in a short article regarding our long-term test Nissan Cefiro.
By Tamago | Photos By Redline and Tamago
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