Spy Shots: 2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R
It seems like horsepower wars are popping up everywhere. While the supercars of the world are currently battling it out between 600 and 1,000 horsepower, economy cars are waging war between 200 and 300 horsepower. While we have no information on how much power the next generation Nissan Sentra SE-R will produce, we'll tell Nissan straight up it's going to need at least 225-250 ponies to compete. These spy shots show the Sentra in SE-R trim with the obligatory revised front and rear fascias plus side sills. Larger wheels and some massive rotors are also part of the package. The power bar has been raised by the 250-hp MazdaSpeed3 and 300-hp Dodge Caliber SRT-4. Hopefully the next Sentra SE-R can hold its own on the battlefield. [Source: Straightline Blog via Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Nero 11:09AM (7/19/2006)
Nice looking 2003 Saturn Ion.
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Michael Karesh 11:13AM (7/19/2006)
Well, if the GM-R-N alliance came to be it wouldn't make sense to have Nissan supply Saturn with the next ION, because this car looks very similar to the current ION. Which hasn't done so well for Saturn.
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Matt 11:17AM (7/19/2006)
Hopefully it's as damn fun as my 02 spec-v. Hopefully whatever new engine they use is torquey like the QR is, and not a rev monster like the honda one.
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Puff Chippy 11:38AM (7/19/2006)
Man, that's a disappointment. If this is what the new Sentra is gonna look like Nissan is in trouble. What a pile.
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djSyndrome 11:54AM (7/19/2006)
"we'll tell Nissan straight up it's going to need at least 225-250 ponies to compete. "
Compete with what? The WRX, MazdaSpeed 3, and GTI? These cars are all blown and all well over $21,000, and the SE-R has never played in that league.
It's natural competitors are cars with 160-200 hp, such as the Toyota XRS cars, the Mazda 3s, and the Civic Si. All of these cars go for 20 grand or less. Unless the SE-R is going to be seriously repurposed, don't expect more than 200 hp from it.
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Oliver 12:02PM (7/19/2006)
Nissan should do with the Sentra what volkswagen did with the Fox. That's right.....KILL THE BITCH. Its time has passed.
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Shure_F00t 12:25PM (7/19/2006)
#3: Do you also find seriously heavy torque steer fun in your '02 Spec-V? That was one of the deciding factors on why I passed on the SE-R, that and the rather shabby interior.
But I always liked the SE-R, especially since it comes in two versions--the base model offering an automatic, which is good for those of us who deal with city traffic.
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Jason 12:33PM (7/19/2006)
I can't really imagine the reason that Nissan can't seem to make a good Sentra recently. They're putting out quality stuff in the mid-size, pickup, and crossover categories...but when was the last excellent Sentra that had fun + style?
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PJ 12:43PM (7/19/2006)
There's nothing wrong with the new Sentra that a total restyle wouldn't fix. Inside and under the skin, the '07 model looks to be plenty competitive. Personally, I wish Nissan had just left the (related) Renault Megane's skin alone, and sold the Sentra as a 5-door hatch:
http://www.renault.co.uk/Cars_Information.aspx?m=meganeHatch&page=explore&vehicleTypeId=meganeSportHatch
In any case, I agree with djSyndrome regarding the SE-R's output. The current model only has 175 horses, but with some (dealer-installed) NISMO suspension mods, it's an absolute blast to drive. If the new model is as torque-heavy as the current one, I'd be happy with 200 horses.
I love going fast as much as the next guy, but when we're talking compacts that are tuned for fast street driving--and less so for the track--I really don't need to be able to do 0-60 in less than six seconds. Where are you going to use it?
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CrunchyCookie 1:22PM (7/19/2006)
Timeline:
1991: 2,500-pound Sentra SE-R debuts with awesome free-revving SR20DE engine, tight handling, quick steering full of road feel, snickety shifter, all-strut suspension, firm brakes, 0-60 in 7.3 seconds yet 27 MPG... probably the greatest front-drive car in the world at the time
1995: redesigned into blobbier, anonymous-sounding 200SX SE-R, same cool engine but fun factor down due to slowed-down and numbed-out steering and beam-axle suspension; 0-60 mysteriously falls to 8 seconds
(owned one, still liked it)
2002: re-redesigned back into bigger, heavier (EPA "compact") Sentra SE-R with low-revving QR25DE engine, bulky styling, still riding on lame suspension and steering, shifter gets even worse, build quality takes a plunge due to new Mexico assembly, fuel economy falls to low-20s, and 0-60 only recovers to 7.2 since the low redline necessitates two shifts to reach 60 MPH
2007: same as 2002 except for the Sentra having grown so large (EPA "midsize") that it will now be as huge and heavy (3,000 pounds easy) as the Maxima of the time of the original SE-R's debut
What a disgraceful end to a legend.
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Dan 1:29PM (7/19/2006)
As far as I can tell, the 2007 Sentra is a vast improvement over the current model. It's not beautiful but has more personality than the previous model, one of the blandest cars on the market! Perhaps we should wait until the complete reviews are out before saying that Nissan should "kill the bitch"! Perhaps the new car is fun to drive and well built, which is at least as important as styling. The new model has 135 hp and I'm pretty sure the SE-R will have at least 200 hp.
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SER REAL 1:35PM (7/19/2006)
Yeah...I'm not feelin it at all. Having been an owner of the "classic" B13 Sentra SE-R(1992), nothing has really lived up to the original. The 200SX's rear beam axle suspension was the first big disappointment and it was all downhill from there. The B15 QR-powered Sentras were just plain ugly and not very fast, even modded. B13 and B14 owners are now swapping out their tired SR20 motors for JDM SR20DET/VE/SR16VE motors with serious HP to keep up with all the modern day sport compact cars like the SRT-4 and the Civic Si.
They should just leave the Sentra to being an econobox and scrap the idea of trying to make it into a sports car that its not.
If you're a Nissan fan, wait for the Sport Compact concept. Its a much better successor to carry on the SE-R name...
http://www.freshalloy.com/site/cars/nissan/2005/nsc-hatch/photos/001.jpg
http://www.freshalloy.com/site/cars/nissan/2005/nsc-hatch/photos/003.jpg
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spdracerut 2:44PM (7/19/2006)
It's still pretty ugly, and that's after a major redesign because the first one was worse! If they shrunk the whole car about half a foot in height and kept the length... well, it'd look somewhat like the new civic; a car that I think looks great and I'm a diehard Nissan guy having had my SE-R since 1996.
I highly doubt you'll see 200hp in the SE-R unless Nissan has a motor I don't know about. I believe the replacement for the QR25 is going to be the MR20 which was designed for midrange punch and not topend. I don't see any way for Nissan to get 200hp out of the MR20.
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PJ 2:44PM (7/19/2006)
Shure_f00t, you might be surprised with what Nissan achieved in the last couple years of the current Spec V. '05-onward models have much tighter shift action, and torque steer is significantly tamer than in the early cars.
I'm just not sure why Nissan didn't make the NISMO Type-S springs/shocks/sways standard. They only add a grand or two to the price of a new Spec V, and they transform the car--fantastic balance, good steering feel, very little torque steer. I did a few laps in one such SE-R at the Streets of Willow, and it just blew me away.
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puffpio 2:45PM (7/19/2006)
#10:
The 02 SE-R I own gets about 27-28 mpg in mixed city/highway.
And I share your concern with the increasing weight of vehicles!
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puffpio 2:48PM (7/19/2006)
#12: I've heard from the birdies it will get a 200 hp QR motor.
Basically the same engine as the new Altima QR motor (0.1 higher compression, revised wristpin location for better rod/stroke ratio and thus higher rev limit, slightly larger intake manifold, more aggressive cams), but not in the detuned Altima form. In SE-R form should reach 200 hp easily.
Which would make it compete against the Civic Si...except the Civic looks mountains better than this Sentra
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Araemo 2:59PM (7/19/2006)
Lots of sentra hate in this thread. :)
I can't tell if I like the styling, there is too much that can be changed/hidden easily under that disguise, but it looks like the previous(current?) altimas. That isn't exactly a plus, but isn't exactly a minus either, in my mind.
I own a 2005 SE-R Spec-v, and it is quite a fun car to drive, all its 'faults' and 'shortcomings' listed above don't detract that much(except the Mexican quality).
Sure the suspension could be better, but it doesn't make it any less fun to drive compared to its competition. I'm not getting bad gas mileage(almost always above 25 MPG for a full tank, if I'm really flogging it I can of course get that lower, but I average between 25 and 26 MPG). I have no complaints about the power delivery of the QR25DE. Plus, I actually like the way it looks, but I know I'm in the minority there. To tell the truth though, none of that is why I bought the car. The price is why I bought the car, nothing in its price range came close to its performance(When you added in the rebates anyways) and reliability(Despite the lower than Nissan-average quality). If I had had a few thousand extra burning a hole in my pocket, I would be driving something else For what I paid, I think I got my money's worth. Hopefully nissan either keeps the price down low, or signifigantly improves the value. It's a shame that they're sticking to the beam rear for the sentra(Unless they're really improving the SE-R), but hopefully they're not just relying on the new skin and new electronic features to sell this Sentra.
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Aki 4:29PM (7/19/2006)
New Sentra is horrendous. Ugly. The 91 Sentra was the best, and afterwards it kept going downhill. The new one looks really plasticky, and its contours are nowhere near as aggressive and sporty as the Civic. However it turns out I think a Scion Tc is a better ride--better reliability, better styling, decent bang for the buck.
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Fabulo 7:26PM (7/19/2006)
I'll reserve my opinion for when I can actually see it in the flesh. The press photo look good. The camo trash bag look makes it very Ion, indeed.
I'd rather have a lighter car than a car with more horse power. Improve both acceleration, mileage and handling.
But no, HP wins in the marketing department. So now we have overpowered fwd *compact* cars that tip the scale at over 3100 lbs.
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David Thompson 9:30PM (7/19/2006)
Sigh. The engine that *should* go in an SE-R would be a VQ20VD: direct injection 2-liter V6 with variable valve lift, 225hp without even thinking about it.
Oh, and from the window sticker for my '92 SE-R: 24/32 mpg, MSRP $11,850 + $300 destination.
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