Nissan Sentra Overview

When discussing its vehicle marketing, Nissan employs what it calls a 3-sedan strategy. Which means, not surprisingly, the Japanese automaker is offering its U.S. audience three sedans in three different sizes and three different price ranges for the 1995 model year.

At the top of the list is the popular Maxima. Slotted beneath is the even more popular Altima. And rounding out the trio, the smallest and the least expensive of the Nissans, the all-new Sentra.

Now the key word when talking about the Sentra is sedan. There are no longer any coupes in the Sentra line, only 4-door sedans. There is a marketing strategy at work here as well. Sedan and coupe buyers are of two different types, according to Nissan, and the company found that the Sentra coupe turned off those buyers who associated Sentra with a sedan. As a result, there is a new coupe for those folks: the Nissan 200SX. It's a Sentra under the skin, but with a coupe-only name.

To insure all bases have been covered in this highly competitive small-sedan market segment, Nissan is offering the new Sentra in four flavors: base, XE, GXE and GLE. We tested a Sentra GLE that came in priced at $14,839.