Nissan Sentra reviews

1995 Nissan Sentra Walkaround

Your first impression as you view the Nissan Sentra is that this is one fine little sedan. Clean lines abound, although the Sentra very much resembles what has become the look of most Japanese vehicles these days: low nose, high tail, arched roofline and rounded shoulders.

There is also plenty of room inside, high-quality materials and good fit-and-finish inside and out. The new shape has a more aerodynamic quality than the previous model, leading to better visibility and more trunk space.

The difference between the four models, of course, comes down to equipment. The base model is not very well-equipped, and one would do well to overlook it. In fact, it is so unappealing that Nissan predicts the model will represent only about 5 percent of the expecte 1995 Sentra sales.

The XE, by contrast, has a wealth of standard equipment, including air conditioning, AM/FM/cassette, full wheel covers, outside mirrors and body-color bumpers, making it a pretty good package.

Move up to the GXE and add cruise control, power assists, split rear seatbacks and black side moldings. And for the GLE, add to that list a sunroof, velour seat cloth, remote keyless entry, security system, alloy wheels, larger all-season tires and body-color side moldings.

All Sentras are powered by a 1.6-liter 16-valve DOHC 4-cylinder engine that produces 115 hp. The engine has had some refinements that have increased horsepower by five and fuel economy by a couple of gallons over last year's numbers. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard, though a 4-speed automatic is optional on all but the base model.

The front suspension hasn't changed, but the rear suspension is now a version of the multi-link beam design currently in use on the 1995 Maxima. The idea was to give the small Sentra sedan the ride and handling of a larger vehicle.

This new design, because it takes up less space, allowed for an increase in the Sentra's wheelbase to 99.8 in. That means a more roomy interior, especially in terms of rear-seat legroom - 1.5 in. more, to be exact. Also, fewer mounting points and soft-mount shock absorbers mean less noise transmission into the passenger compartment.