When I first bought my Sentra, I was a bit disappointed at the fuel economy...until I performed a test. I filled up the tank, and reset the trip computer and drove around town at city speed limits till I reached half a tank. (Here in Tampa,FL 40-45mph streets) I averaged 34.1mpg as I watched the fuel guage dashes dissappear. This includes idling at redlights and speeding around old farts & slowpokes at 50-60mph. From Tampa to Orlando at 70 mph, I averaged 28.2 mpg. So I say it is respectable.
i love this little car, i don't care what people say about the styling i think its the best looking small car you can get, i think "mini maxima" when i see one, i often think about trading my frontier in on a spec v model.
I own a 2007 SER Spec V. I read some of the comments on the the car. Well here's what i have to say. I do agree the car is a bit nose heavy because of the drivetrain up front is rather large. But Nissan did this because it is a base engine for powering other vehicles in the lineup making it cheaper for production. The QR25DE can be found in the Sentra SER/SER Spec V, Rogue, Altima 2.5, and Frontier. Fuel econonmy can vary from driver to driver. Distance, speeds, frequency of stops all count.
@benchod94 Also, in 02-03, the problems with the engine were they placed the cat too close to the exhaust ports causing an internal break up of the cat and during the intake stroke, some air would suck bits and pieces of the old cat into the engine. The butterfly valve screws have been known to fall out and cause damaged pistons. Also, a third recall happened in Senra 2004 and Altima 04-05 QR engines with the upper Valves.
You will also note that you do not have to press the pedal all the way to the floor. Another feature I like is the gas pedal's length and how close it is to the brake pedal. If you're good at heel & toeing, this car makes it fairly easy with some practice. Another feature that suggests it is suited for sport driving. SO for any car you buy with a manual gearbox, you just have to learn the car. But I do reccomend this car over the Civic Si. For price and performance.
As far as performance, I agree with what the commentor has to say here. Roll in most spirited driving is well minimal. I do believe that is in part to the large factory installed anti-rollbar on the front suspension. Steering feel is somewhat light but the gearing ratio is not as quick as say a 2010 VW GTi. ( I test drove one before I purchased the Sentra) Power delivery is excellent in my opinion. the 180 lb. ft of torque makes everyday driving easy. No stomping the gas to get the car to move.
All I have to say is that these new Spec's ride great! The only complaint with this car is the stock ride height but it's dirt cheap and easy lowering the car and problem solved. I bought a 2007 Spec fully loaded with every single option for 20k. That's an insanely great value especially since I got the LSD with it as well.
Also someone mentioned that they disagree with placing large displacement engines in small economy cars or sport compact cars. Well the SER Spec V is an option...That is, this car is availabe with a less powerful 2.0 inline 4 with 150 HP. See? Nissan thought of everthing. Sometimes to achieve certain performance results, more displacement is needed. And I praise the car for that because it is one of the few in it's class that is not turbocharged. Though the next one is rumored to be force fed.
As far as the manual gearbox and clutch, gogs and gates are easy to find, speed shifting is easy, and someone mentioned the clutch engagement is tricky...No not really. All cars have a different amount of pedal travel until the clutch disc engages the flywheel. If you drive serveral sport model vehicles, you will note on the distance the pedal travels before engagment/dis-engagment. With most about an 2 3/4in. of travel is needed. Very little movment. This aids in speed shifting.
i like these little spec v's, they look a lot of people don't like the styling...i think they look pretty damn good myself, i'd get a spec v and lower it, add intake/exhaust and i bet it'd beat any sport compact out there. nissan has always built more powerful engines then the rest of the japanese competition.
I completely agree, the CVT just dosen't SOUND like a performamance car. I mean, it's definitely sporty and gets you up to speed.. my point is just that I enjoy hearing it rev through the power band, I can't stand listiening to it hold the engine at a constant RPM. Just my opinion, I love Nissan regardless lol.
yeah i know what you mean, i LOVE unlimited redline engines its just too bad hondas lack tq. they are awesome up top but im more of a tq. guy plus i think nissan makes some nice upper range hp engines too lol. i like the k20 in the new civic si, thats a nice engine.
@jsnevels2 thats not a good thing about the Sentra, it is almost the Altima's size which is why it weighs more than a Civic. Sport compacts need to be light, a 2.5L engine is much heavier than a 1.6-2.0 engine which also makes the sentra more nose heavy. I'm just not a believer of big 4 cylinders in compact cars, sure they are torquey but they also use more gas and are heavier. Not to mention the sentra se-r has torque steer, the 6MT isn't as crisp as an Si and the clutch engagement is tricky
@viprdude hi there! I agree but the new 2.5 with small tunning example intake, headers, downpipe, mid pipe and any good high flow muffler can easily add 20hp or more! I have a 08 spev V stock which is tons of fun to drive!! but then I drove my friends 09spec v with heathers, intakes and all piping with a good tun...is a lot faster!! he added some sticky tires and that thing is doing 5.7 - 0-60! which is about the same as a mazda speed 3 turbo with 265hp. I agree is not a looker but tons of fun!
@xoquixxoqafxo Ok we would you put the jukes engine in the sentra if the Qr25De is already faster than the Juke that would make the sentra slower. Large displacement. I dont think a 2.5 liter is large displacement. 200hp vs 188hp why would you even move down 12hp? Just keep the engine and tune it better . Btw the sentra is almost the altima size. so thats why the 2.5 is needed. The 2.5 has been in the sentra for a decade.
@jsnevels2 it all depends on what you define as a sport compact. I think they should uses either high revving 4 cylinders or a turbocharged engine. Not a large displacement 4 cylinder from the Altima. Sure this is way better than the stupid current Corolla XRS with the Camry's 2.4L engine but Nissan could do way better. If they put the Juke's 1.6L turbo engine in the next generation Sentra SE-R Spec V than we will talk.
ya its hott but if u want a hott car check out the 09 maxima omg i saw it inperson today and did a test drive dude this car kicks major ass its a re-designed look unbelivably hott :)
@sexyboi142 Because those are newer ones. From 1991-1994 The Sentra SE-R was around. Then in 1995-1998 the 200SX SE-R was around. Those had two doors and were the original SE-R's.That and it had a nice engine in it. The QR25DE is a shitty engine.
@benchod94 When the QR25DE engine was first introduced in 2002, it created 175 HP in the Spec V trim. Now, it does 200 HP in the Spec V trim. That is fairly pathetic progress considering the engine is now NINE years old. The SR20VE engine had almost the same amount of CURRENT HP (187 HP) out of a 2.0 liter engine. The QR engine is a pile of stroking crap. In small four cylinders, the over stroked engines are poor (but that last sentence is my personal opinion)
@xoquixxoqafxo Civic is 1 of the lightest cars in its class. Sport compact dont need to be really light I say 3,100pounds is the limit which the spec-v barley tips 3,000. I think the spec-v is a good car. Nose heavy ive never heard of people saying the nose is heavy. Gas mileage is not bad. And the si doesnt have torque steer cause it doesnt have any torque. 180trq is going to make you work. I really dont care about the trans to be crisp. Just me.
@xoquixxoqafxo So if its better why comment on this video. Who wants a car that only has 139 trq that only can go 134mph the spec-v can go 137mph plus. And Vtec doesnt do nothing till 6,000rpm.
haha hp per liter thats a ricer thing to say, real racers could give a shit about hp per liter they care about tq. which honda lacks... alot of too. im not hatin on you though dude i respect for what some people has done to hondas but ricers killed honda for me plus nissan builds badass cars.
Real SE-R's have two doors if you read up on history. This is a french engine and it sucks and the car is ugly as hell. High center of gravity kills it.
But it still has a rear beam so suspension sucks. The engine sucks, bro. Sorry. French engine in a Japanese car, assembled in Mexico, and sold to Americans. My cam'd SR20DE would beat a stock Sentra SE-R Spec V.
