A great compact sedan that's easy on the wallet

I bought my 2000 Nissan Sentra GXE in March of 2000, right as the redesigned model was introduced. I have not regretted my purchase once since then. This car has served its purpose beautifully.

When looking for a car, I shopped most of the Sentra's direct competitors, such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, etc. I found that the Sentra offered the best value in terms of features and what I look for in a car. #2 on my list was the Mazda Protege but a bad experience at the Mazda dealership crossed it off my list.

What I like

Reliability
For some reason, Nissan is not known for reliability as much as Honda or Toyota. But if you look at the track record of the Sentra, it is actually as good or better than the Civic or Corolla. This model is no exception. It is built for reliability, with features like a timing chain instead of a timing belt as well as 100,000 mile platinum-tipped spark plugs. I have had no mechanical problems thus far.

Fit & Finish
For an "economy" car, the fit and finish of the Sentra are quite good. Body panels are aligned properly, doors close with a solid "thunk", and interior materials are of decent quality. There is a lot of plastic, but this is not a Jaguar so it is to be expected.

Comfort
The driver and passenger have a ton of space. The seats are comfortable, as well. The dash is well laid out, with the radio controls very easy to access (they are located at the top of the center stack). The HVAC controls are easy to use, and the HVAC system itself (particularly the A/C) is amazingly effective.
The car is very quiet inside for this class. The liquid-filled engine mounts mean the car is nearly silent inside at idle, and not too loud at all at speed. Wind noise and overall NVH are minimal.

Power and handling
Nissan makes some of the best engines in the world (see Ward's 10 Best Auto Engines if you don't believe me) and the 4-cylinder engines they offer in the Sentra are no exception. The GXE has a 126-hp engine with a surprising amount of torque. This gives the car a lot of "usable" power for city driving. The suspension and automatic transmission are adequate, and about what you would expect in this type of car. This is by no means a sports car, but you will not be wheezing up hills, either.

Value
The 2000 Sentra actually had some reductions in price as compared to the 1999 iteration. I felt the car was an excellent value. The GXE trim with the "convenience package" included just about everything I wanted, such as A/C, CD player, cruise control, power windows/locks, keyless entry, split folding rear seat, etc.
Of course, everyone wants different features so I won't get into it too much. Suffice it to say that the car was definitely cheaper than its Japanese competitors when comparably equipped with what I wanted.
As an added bonus, insurance is quite reasonable as well.

What I don't like

Rear seat space
The rear seat is way too small to be useful. Adults can fit, but not for too long. I realized this when I bought the car. As I am a single guy, usually only my girlfriend and I ride in the car so it was not a big deal to me. But if you often transport four adults in your car, look elsewhere. Additionally, the trunk is quite small.

Looks?
Of course, looks are subjective. I think the car looks pretty good, especially from the front and in profile. However, I must admit that the rear is rather bland.
Still, this is an economy car, and overall it looks much better than many cars in this class.

Resale value
As I mentioned before, Nissan's reputation is not as sterling as Honda or Toyota's. Plus, Nissan often offers rebates or financing deals on their cars to sell more of them. Therefore, the resale values of Nissan are not very good. The longer you plan on keeping your car, the less of an issue this becomes, however.

Misc.
The driver does have a lot of room, but the seat does not go back far enough, in my opinion. At 6' tall, I have the seat back all the way all the time. The gas pedal is kind of close to the driver, so on very long trips my foot/leg can get sore.
I also had a seatbelt buckle that was mis-wired so the seatbelt light was always flashing, and also a rattle that developed in the passenger door after about 15,000 miles. Both of these things were fixed under warranty.

Conclusion
I think the Nissan Sentra has a lot to offer. While no car is perfect for everyone, the Sentra represents a great value in this class and I think it has many advantages over its competitors. The year 2000+ models are a huge improvement over previous Sentras, as well.
If you are looking around in this class, make sure the Sentra is on your test-drive list!