Welterweights, Pt3

Welcome back from the holidays, ladies and gentlemen. I hope everyone had a good time. Now that the wrapping paper is cleared away and I have recovered from an egg-nog induced coma, it's time to resume the high quality of blogging that you all have come to tolerate.

For those of you joining us for the first time, this is the 3rd post in a series covering and comparing C-segment cars, their strengths and weaknesses. We have already covered 5th and 6th place (the Toyota Matrix and Corolla, respectively) and are down to our final four.

I should mention at this level of competition, it's harder to quantify which of these cars will finish where. So, without further ado, on with the show.

4th Place: 2011 Nissan Sentra


Seen above in it's SE-R trim, the Sentra on paper looks like a pretty solid performer. Starting off at about $16k, and topping out the range at just over 20k in SE-R and SE-R Spec V trim, the Sentra Bakes a lot into its Value proposition, and makes a creditable showing in this segment.

Where to begin?
First, for the comfort and tech oriented individual, it is possible to have a leather interior (a $900 option that comes with heated front seats), not to mention a very handy infotainment system, which is optional, but recommended. The standard stereo unit, while it does feature an Auxilliary input, could be transported from the 1980's in terms of style. Even with the old fashioned styling of the standard stereo, it does offer information as to what song is playing on the radio, which is also a nice feature.



Power comes from either a base 2.0 liter engine that cranks out 140 hp and 147 ft/lbs of torque, or a 2.5 liter 16 valve engine that cranks out either 177 hp and 172 ft/lbs of torque (SE-R) or 200 hp and 180 ft/lbs of torque (SE-R Spec V, which is manual only). All the power is delivered to the wheels in the form of either a 6 speed manual or Nissan's X-Tronic CVT (which in SE-R guise comes with paddle shifters). On its own, the CVT (or Constantly Variable Transmission) provides smooth shifts and power delivery, though you do have to poke it a bit (in the spirit of full disclosure, I haven't driven one with the paddle shifters, so I suspect that stodginess is mitigated somewhat).

All in all, for a basic commuter car, the guys at Nissan have made a pretty good example of the segment. And even the high end, sporting versions don't cost much north of $20k without incentives, so the price is bang on for today's consumer.

So why did it place fourth?

A few reasons. First, while the ride quality is right for this segment, the steering feels light and the car doesn't feel quite as planted as some of its competitors (though, to be fair, I haven't tested the SE-R levels of the car. I would imagine with the suspension upgrades, it would feel more sure of itself).

There's a few other reasons, mostly nit-picky, but this is where we start to pick nits. The interior, while offering some nice creature comforts, is still rather drab and bland, and like the Corolla, somewhat dated.

The driver ergonomics are a little funny as well. For instance, while steering wheel mounted controls for the audio and cruise control are mounted on the steering wheel, some of the buttons are oddly placed and, thus, force you to move your hand to operate them (the worst culprit is the volume buttons, which are located down around 7 o'clock on the interior of the wheel). While this may seem like a minor detail, it DOES affect the way you drive.

There's something else, however.

The Sentra is a pretty capable performer, I don't intend to imply that it isn't. However, the only real selling point that the car has at this level is that it's cheaper than its competition. While this is an important consideration, any salesman will tell you that price alone isn't what makes a sale. Features and personality are.

Bottom Line: A higher quality of Vanilla.

Driver's Pick: Either the SE-R or SE-R SpecV. Both cost about the same, and you'd be hard pressed to find a performance c-segment sedan for less.