as of June 2004
OverallI bought this car brand new in March 2000, and have never regretted my purchase. Model I own is a 2000 Sentra SE with auto trans. Car now has approx 42,000 miles on it and is just over 4 years old. I recently drove cross country this past winter (approx 6200 miles round trip) in the car and the Sentra performed great. Car was very comfortable on the long trip. Performance from the 2.0 litre 4 cyl engine was very good. Never disappointed when needed. Plenty of power for overtaking other cars on the highway, and no problems merging at high speeds. Engine ran smooth all day on the interstate at high speed. Car performed well in all weather, from heavy snow storms in the mountains to the desert heat. 4 wheel disc brakes also wood great. Handling was very good both on the long straight highway and the twisty mountain roads. Suspension could be a little stiff at times on bumpy roads, but it makes up for it when the road gets a little twisty
Interior
The Sentra make a great commuter car. Comfortable interior and easy to reach controls for heat and radio. Its a little tight in the back seat for taller passengers however. But is you are going to be driving alone or with just one other person, this car is great. This car had the best interior of any car in its class when I shopped back in 2000. Front bucket seats are comfortable and offer a good amount of support. The leather wrapped steering wheel that was standard on the Sentra SE is also comfortable. Good truck space, fairly low liftover and flat trunk floor. Cargo net that they included was a nice extra, but it gets tangled very easily. Radio with integrated cd player works fine as does the heat and air.
Problems
The car has not been perfect. Car came with Firestone tires that did not give much traction in snow or wet roads. I replace the tires last year with much better ones. The windshield wipers that came with the car were not of very good quality. I replaced them about a year after buying the car. The paint job on the car is not the best. The front and rear bumpers (which are plastic) scratch very easy. I have a few scratches on my back bumper from shopping cars. The paint on the rest of the car seems OK. There was also another problem with the car, but it has since gone away. For the first 2 years I had the car, whenever I was cruising at highway speeds (65mph +) there would be a shimmying sound coming from the front of the car. I have heard from other Sentra owners who had the same problem. It wasn't the tires, I had them checked out. The noise only went away after I had a minor fender-bender, that cracked my front bumper and grill. The car never made the high speed noises again after the new grill and new bumper was put on the car by the bodyshop.
Final Thoughts
The 2000 Nissan Sentra SE would make a great used car for anyone looking for a good, reliable, comfortable, good performing, small car. The Sentra SE with the 2.0 engine was only made in 2000 and 2001. It was replace in 2002 by the Sentra SE-R, which had a different front end treatment and a bigger engine. I prefer the 2000-2001 Sentra SE because they have a more conservative look, but still have a good amount of performance.
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