Future Classic: 1991-94 Nissan Sentra SE-R
Wants some desktop wallpaper images of the 91-94 Sentra SE-R? Click above
Nissan has a history of giving BMWs a run for their money. Back when they were going by Datsun, the 510 was a capable facsimile of a BMW 1600/2002, but cheaper. Performance cred attained, Nissan continued to pump out various capable performers over the years. In 1991, the Sentra was due for a makeover, and Nissan managed to splice some 510 DNA into the SE-R. Car and Driver admonished 12-year olds to save the review so they'd know what to buy in 1998 for a screaming bargain and a hell of a good time. I saved the review, but failed to heed the stellar advice about picking one of these little screamers up in the late '90s. They're a lot more rare now, and finding one that's either inexpensive or unmolested is tough. It's the darndest thing – people know what these cars are.
Read on for more.
Gallery: 1991 - 1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R
The 1991-94 Sentra is the B13 evolution of Nissan's compact line, and the SE-R was more interesting than the Clarence Thomas hearings when it debuted in 1991. Previous generations of the Sentra had been available in a wide range of body configurations, from a 2-door coupe that shared very little bodywork with other Sentras, to wagons. For the B13, choices were limited to two doors or four. If you wanted a coupe, the same basic platform underpinned the NX2000, a Japanese egg with moves from Weissach.The Sentra's platform was solid for the time, and weighed in around 2,500 pounds – a good basis for the flingable two-door SE-R. Underhood was Nissan's SR20DE two-liter DOHC four cylinder, providing 140 horsepower and always happy to rev out to the 7500 RPM redline. Backing up the zingy powerplant was a five-speed manual transaxle with an acceleration-friendly 4.18:1 final drive ratio. Performance was sprightly – quarter miles were dispatched in the high 15's and the SE-R attained 60mph in the mid-seven second range, all the while returning 24/32 miles per gallon city/highway.
click for high-res version
The SE-Rs were not just about the engine. These days, those power numbers are eclipsed by all but the lowliest of penalty boxes, anyway. The SE-R was a sweet handler. In fact, even though it has a horespower advantage over the lesser Sentras, the most endearing aspect of the SE-R was the way the chassis performed, not the meager horsepower bump. There was nothing fancy about the underpinnings, struts all around, but the tuning made it special. Stiffer springs and anti-roll bars kept the wheels buttoned down, and rolling stock was upgraded to 185-60-14s for extra stick. Prices started around $13,000, and even when optioned up a bit, they were still in the teens. Unfortunately, Nissan lost its way with the SE-R when they rolled out the B14 Sentra in 1995. Oh, there were SE-Rs, but they didn't have the mojo. The latest SE-R Spec-V is getting close to what it once was, but emissions and safety standards ensure it will never be the same.
Nowadays, good SE-Rs are increasingly difficult to find. People knew what these cars were when they bought them, unlike some of our other Future Classics. The Sentra SE-Rs were lauded in their time, making everyone's best lists and channeling the attitude that made the 510 so much fun. There was plenty of mention of the SE-R and the BMW 2002 in the same sentence, as well. Because they were so widely praised, SE-Rs have been sought out on the used market. It's also worth remembering that the newest B13 is 13 years old. Subcompacts tend not to age gracefully, and the SE-R will have the added likelihood of mods, two factors that will confound you on your quest. When all is said and done, the SE-R is an early '90s economy car, with all the good and bad that goes with it. The upside is that the Sentras were pretty good in their day. The trunk was accommodating, the seats were decent, and the passenger volume was respectable, if a little tight on legroom.
click for high-res version
There are still good ones out there, and even a modded one can be a worthwhile purchase provided the upgrades are well executed. It's the same thing you run into when looking at used ponycars; some are hack jobs, others are beautifully turned out. The NX2000 had an upgraded braking system that's a popular swap over to the SE-R, along with the NX's wider wheels. The SR20DE was in several Nissan and Infiniti models, and it's well regarded by enthusiasts. There are swaps-a-plenty documented on the Internets, our favorite is the fitment of the turbocharged SR20 variant. The cylinders can collect an overabundance of carbon, and the '91s had cranky electric fuel pumps, but you were going to pull the engine, add that turbo and upgrade the fuel delivery system anyway, right?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Tong Yang 2:29PM (1/22/2009)
"Unfortunately, Nissan lost its way with the SE-R when they rolled out the B14 Sentra in 1995. Oh, there were SE-Rs, but they didn't have the mojo. The latest SE-R Spec-V is getting close to what it once was, but emissions and safety standards ensure it will never be the same."
I quoted this because its true, the B13 Classic is and will always be the best of all Sentra SE-R, the B13 SE-R is my favorite car of all times, it was the first car I ever bought with my own money, (first car: 93 Honda Civic Cx), next to the Sentra is the EG Hatch as my favorite cars, i've always been a FF person, like i always tell my friends and people i talk to about cars "You'll never know how much you love FF cars until you drive a B13 Sentra SE-R"
Sad to say my Sentra SE-R was stolen from me after about 7 months of ownership, i'm still mad up to this day that it was stolen from me(bought it in 2007, was stolen two days before Christmas) what reminds me most the sentra is the rain...cause i bought it on a raining day, we just got home my brother wanted to go for a test drive, i was sitting on the passenger and brother punched it and the tire just starts spinning he popped into second and i hear a click a little red light came on the cluster, my seat belt had clipped off from the tire spinning and hopping. By then i was amazed by the power the SE-R, few days later the sun comes out and it was dry, tooked it around coners and that baby handle like a god...in my mind i told myself go faster go faster, and it was able to hold its ground...this was just a completely stock car and it handle better than my civic with moded suspension...(not to bad mouth the civic, civic handles pretty good) but for a stock car and it held its grounds going into corners...
To the people who hasn't try out a B13 SE-R i highly recommed to do so...
I'm on the verge of looking for a B13 SE-R again...but i just can't find one in good/ ok condition...ones i've found lately been molested and raped...and it sad to see people do that to the sentra...its a Classic take care of it....
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Avinash machado 9:46AM (4/26/2007)
Here is a good picture of one.
http://www.dragtimes.com/Nissan-Sentra-Timeslip-1002...
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Jason 9:56AM (4/26/2007)
As much as I love the SE-R, i love my Infiniti G20 better (the earlier P10 model from 91-96). Same engine, similar suspension design (independent rear) and much better looking. Sure, it's a 4 door and not a coupe, but the styling was always a bit more mature and I think still looks great by today's design standards.
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sr20de 9:57AM (4/26/2007)
Nice to see the SE-R get some love! It's near and dear to our hearts at www.sr20forum.com :) Hurray for shameless plugs!
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Bill 10:05AM (4/26/2007)
Of all the Sentras of the past 20 years, I like this one best. The simple body is sort of ageless and timeless in it's own way. It is still being made in Mexico ("Tsuru") and probably other places.
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Keith M 10:12AM (4/26/2007)
It really diminishes the writer's authority when the word "classic" is used to describe a car that clearly isn't. While this is a nice car; future collectable - perhaps, future classic - no.
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Nils 10:37AM (4/26/2007)
Don't you mean Nissan E30? :)
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/7476/vilkenbil8ggbz9.jpg
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retsel 10:53AM (4/26/2007)
my cousin had one in Trinidad... there was called these cars the "beast"
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RanMac 10:58AM (4/26/2007)
I got one of these back in 8/91 new... sold it 12/96 with 80k miles... aside from maintenance the car didn't need a thing. Terrific automobile!!!
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freckles 11:04AM (4/26/2007)
#6 good pic!
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Len 10:57AM (4/26/2007)
Nice writeup - however, the second paragraph starts off saying "The 1991-1995 Sentra..." when it should be 1991-1994.
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Dandy 11:31AM (4/26/2007)
These are great cars, I have the next generation SE-R and I like it a lot. These are even better since they weigh less and have independent rear suspensions. Great autox cars!
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emulous1974 11:40AM (4/26/2007)
I went through everything to get the last year NX2000 in 93, flying from Miami, FL to Ohio to get one in electronic blue. It was worth every penny of the 17K paid for it new (yes the best gift my parents ever gave me). The car was amazing for the price and at 19 I didn't wish for anything more. The handling was amazing in the NX2000 which had the limited slip diff as standard (it was only an option on the SE-R), only 3.5 inches off the ground from the factory it was included in Motor Trends 10 best handling cars ever and won as #7. Not bad for a cheap car. It always caught looks with the t-tops off and it's still the car I always miss. Too bad that it went through rotors every 5K miles and the abs electronics never worked correctly which brought me into the dealerships every two weeks. They could never fix it and after a call with a Nissan VP who was rude as hell with me. I traded in the car.
The only car I've owned that I liked driving as much was my '03 EVO. Yes two totally different cars, but both very rewarding in their own ways.
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Mike 11:34AM (4/26/2007)
#5, the meaning of 'Classic' changes every generation, as well as among different groups of enthusiasts. A 1969 Chevelle SS is a classic to a guy who rolls in late model Camero or Mustang, but a 1992 SE-R is not.
I drive a 350Z, as far as *I'm* concerned, the B13 SE-R is a classic and should be on the same list as the 510 and 240Z
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Oscar 11:35AM (4/26/2007)
This IS a classic, #5 you know jack about this car. I still remember the TV commercial, "Bob" driving this car all over town and getting special treatment even from 5-O's. Funny...
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Russell 11:46AM (4/26/2007)
Though I wasn't a subscriber when I was twelve, I bought a 2nd hand '92 SE-R in 1999 as my first car. Even with 92k miles on it and a variety of other minor issues, the car was an absolute blast to drive. I really, really wish I still had it.
One thing that the article doesn't mention is the fact that the 2.0 liter produces considerably more torque than the smaller displacement Civic Si's of the '90s (In fact, hp/torque output was quite similar to the current base Civic engine, a testiment to how advanced this powerplant really was in the early '90s) This, compared with the fact that it didn't look much different from a garden variety Sentra SE coupe (save for the wheels & foglights), made the SE-R quite a sleeper. You could surprise quite a few drivers at stoplight drag races with the SE-R.
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racer_41 12:02PM (4/26/2007)
RanMac, you must have got a good one. I owned one for three years and loved the car. It was very solid and well built but it developed a fifth gear problem that 70% of them had. Would pop out of gear at random, dealer quoted $1100 repair. Pics were posted on SE-R.com with the replacement gear. It was clearly a better design, but Nissan would not help me at all with the repair cost even though it was only three months out of warranty. Those kind of things make you sour on the brand.
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Nick 12:15PM (4/26/2007)
I like my 1993 G20- it handles unbelievably well and makes many more modern cars feel like clods in a turn. Still going strong, I'm keeping it until it dies.
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Viv 12:56PM (4/26/2007)
I got a 91 Maxima and it still runs like a dream after 220K. The only thing lacking in the car is a cupholder. Other than that it has everything you ever need in a car.
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Jesda 1:00PM (4/26/2007)
My first car was a Sentra. Miserable little box.
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