Description Of The Car

2007 Nissan Sentra Big Surprises Inside!

Nissan says it designed the 2007 Sentra to "serve as a 24-hour mobile knapsack, a home base for people who are anything but homebodies." Now we just need to know if Nissans knapsack drives well enough to be a 24/7 companion for enthusiasts on a budget.

Nissans Sentra is bigger, roomier, and more luxurious than ever before. The 2007 model marks some big changes for the popular model, changes that are sure to delight Nissan fans everywhere.



Once again, Nissan is putting into practice with its all new Sentra model something that has succeeded for them in the past: push the model up market. As it first did with the Maxima and later with the Altima, Nissan has now promoted the Sentra to make room for the pending introduction of the subcompact Versa. With the all new model, Sentra fans will find a better equipped, more polished model then any other car that has ever worn the Sentra nameplate. Intrigued? You should be: the car simply goes where no Sentra has gone before: up market.
Over the years, plenty of automakers have taken a popular selling model and elevated it one notch.

Why? For a few reasons: to capitalize on demand for the model – a more luxurious version typically carries more profits with it then the base model. Instead of losing customers to another model [or worse, another make] when they are ready to trade up, why not move up the model instead? Another reason: the introduction of a newer, but smaller model in the line up. For Nissan, the latter reason holds especially true as the subcompact Versa, a car built to compete against the likes of Scion enters the Nissan line up at about the same time.

The new Sentra is much more roomier than the previous model. In fact, it could be mistaken for a midsize car as it packs in an additional 10 cubic feet of interior space. Other surprises found with the 2007 Sentra include a center console/shifter and dual folding high back rear seats to maximize carrying potential. Importantly, front and side impact air bags are now standard and a whole host of options not previously available with the model can now be had. These options include: smart key accessibility, Bluetooth wireless, a sound system to die for.

Best of all, fuel mileage is exceptionally good. Mating a 2.0L I4 to a six speed manny tranny yields EPA estimated fuel results of 29 city/36 highway. These figures are likely to be at or near the top for any car in its category.

Yes, the Nissan Sentra is a pleasant surprise, one that the Nissan company hopes that you will notice. For people looking for a bargain basement model, the Sentra no longer qualifies. Instead, the tiny Versa takes over and it will deliver two things that Nissan knows you will love: exceptionally high gas mileage and an affordable price starting around $12,000. Look for well equipped Sentras to retail for around $18,000.


What Special about it ?

With strong new entries from Mazda, Honda and Kia ruling the economy sedan segment, Nissans aged Sentra has fallen behind in performance, comfort and style. But not to worry, this completely revamped, and larger, 2007 Nissan Sentra will go on sale in late October 2006, followed by a new SE-R model in early 2007.

"I think the 2007 Sentra will change the way people think about Nissan in this segment," John Weiner, director of product planning for Nissan cars, told us. "It has a level of refinement people havent seen before."

After seating ourselves in the Sentra, were inclined to agree. Materials quality has improved, and the stage cars tan leather and light faux wood accents had the feel of a Scandinavian furniture store. Features like a keyless startup system, Bluetooth and an MP3 player hookup will be available, and thanks to the cars longish 105.7-inch wheelbase, a 6-inch increase over the current generation, theres finally some legroom for rear-seat passengers. The trunk is large at 13 cubic feet.

Unlike the independent rear suspensions used in the Mazda 3 and Honda Civic, Nissan chose to stick with a less sophisticated torsion-beam setup on the 07 Sentra. We think this could be a liability, but VP of Product Planning Jack Collins says, "We can deliver the handling performance we need with this suspension and keep the car more affordable."

Braking hardware is a similarly basic front disc/rear drum design, though the discs are vented and both ABS and EBD are available. The steering is electric.

More interesting are the drivetrain options. The standard all-aluminum 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder sends an estimated 135 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. Nothing remarkable in this segment, but the engine is paired with a standard six-speed manual gearbox, a rare feature on an entry-level economy sedan.

Based on positive feedback from Murano SUV owners, Nissan will also offer a continuously variable transmission (CVT) instead of a conventional automatic. With the CVT, Nissan estimates the 2007 Sentra will get 29 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway.

Prices will start around $15,000 and side-impact curtain airbags and air conditioning will be standard.