2008 Nissan Sentra (Editor rating B+)

Introduction

How would you feel owning an economy sedan without the constant feeling of holding your breath when you try to squeeze into the vehicle? The 2008 Nissan Sentra has me feeling all of my limbs without costing me an arm and a leg. I tested the Sentra out into all of the environments; from driving 6 hours to see by buddy graduate, to driving down a slippery slope on a snowy Long Island night. This car has a lot of pro's outweighing the cons and trust me, being a hefty guy getting the assignment to test out the 2008 Nissan Sentra, I was completely surprised by the room and the performance this economy car has to offer.

 

Engine

This Nissan gets about 30 MPG, with 80% highway traveling 70 so it great for commuters who wants to save a few bucks to school or work. The engine is a 2.0-liter four cylinder which produces 140hp and has continuously variable transmission standard (you could have it in manual for you speed tech freaks). The car lopes along at very low rpm at first so you have to get used to the fact that it doesn't shift. Other than that the transmission and the engine are still really good as an economy car.

Interior

The stereo system could use some improvements however they do give you the CD/AUX/am/fm system that always great for long distances. The Air conditioning is very good; it definitely gets the job done on a hot summer day in the city. The interior of the car is very spacious which surprised me when I looked in the trunk and noticed that there was a lot of space there as well. Nissan has found a way to put as much space inside the car as possible. The seats are slightly uncomfortable; it didn't have the lumbar support that the 2010 Nissan Sentra has. There is also the steering wheel issue; the space in the car can easily fit a person that is more than 6 feet tall, but that couldn't help for the driver if there isn't a telescopic wheel to adjust for his size. You still have to manually switch the headlights on but that's not a real major issue for anyone with thumbs.

Safety

The Sentra has great safety features which made it a very safe car as well as economically friendly. This includes the dual-stage front airbags, front side airbags, full=length curtain airbag. There's also a tire pressure monitoring system that activates when there's a change of pressure in one of the tires. That alert system however can be over sensitive. I checked the tires myself when I had that problem and it still stays on. I had to go to the dealership to fix the tires in a way that the sensor wouldn't complain to me. Don't worry though there's no annoying beep, just a little symbol that lights up next to your "check engine" light

Overall

The 2008 Nissan Sentra has a lot of perks to being a compact car. The interior doesn't do justice from outside. It definitely has a lot of space both inside the car and in the trunk. As a commuter myself, this is an ideal car for people who wants a compact car that doesn't feel compact, and with its price tag from $16,000 to $20,000 new ($11,000 - $15,000 used). This car would definitely give you more bang than your buck.