The new Nissan Sentra STRONGER and Smarter

The new Nissan Sentra entered the Philippine market recently with very little fanfare. Early this year, as other Japanese carmakers were launching their upgraded models in grand fashion amidst the post-excise tax brouhaha, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI) quietly slipped in the all-new, all-different Sentra into the mainstream market. No earth-shaking launch, just the sudden presence of the car in most major Nissan dealerships accompanied by the necessary advertising — albeit on a more conservative level. For a while, we (meaning Filipino motoring journalists) were baffled by the "soft-launch". Was NMPI hiding its ace from the competition? Did NMPI decide to let only a chosen few see the car first-hand because it was going to be positioned as a niche model? Whatever the reason, people are only now becoming aware of the presence of a new iteration of the once trend-setting Nissan model.

Maybe the people at NMPI are becoming more careful with unnecessary braggadocio. History could have taught them well. After a disastrous opening salvo wherein a majority of the first generation Sentras’ suspensions unraveled, for example, NMPI came back with an absolute winner in the Sentra STA Exalta (a variant of the Series III), the first 1600 compact sedan to carry all the luxurious amenities of more hallowed pedigrees. The STA Exalta had it all — leather seats, sunroof, 12-disc changers, woodgrain trimmings, you name it — so much so that every single automaker had to change with the times. Then came the upgraded Exalta, which had all the trimmings of its predecessor but not enough of what every other competitive model gained — more interior space. This scenario had the Sentra again playing the role of catch-up instead of trendsetter. This time, it was the Sentra that had to change with the times.

Then things changed a bit more. With every other automaker going a step further by providing larger-displacement models of erstwhile 1600 variants, a new market was created. Suddenly, the middle-management man became an important target segment because he felt the need to distinguish himself from every other employee. Suddenly, he came looking for Corollas, Civics and Lynxes which were distinct from the average compact sedan. Suddenly, Nissan fans also began clamoring for an upgraded displacement model. Enter the 2004 Sentra.

The new Sentra is noticeably stronger and bigger than its immediate predecessor. With an 1800 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve engine with VTC (Valve Timing Control — which makes it smarter, too), it has transformed into a much more responsive animal than it was not too long ago. And yes, the suspension is noticeably better than that of previous iterations, which had the tendency to — pardon the term — bump and grind in the long-term. It is also noticeably more spacious both inside and out. This is one Sentra that has indeed grown up. So if it is an improvement from the last model, why did NMPI shun a grand launch for the said car?

We posit a theory. The new Sentra, for all its improvements, has grown up in other ways as well. Gone are the sporty dynamics of the Series III. Gone is the car that looked like a pocket rocket on the outside and felt like an M-class sedan on the inside. In its place stands a car that is neither sporty nor out-and-out luxurious. It is a car that is neither boisterous nor meek. We wouldn’t use the word gorgeous to describe it, but it’s far from ugly. It doesn’t burn rubber like, say, the Ford Lynx RS, but it isn’t slow either. In short, the new Sentra is a car that doesn’t call attention to itself — at least not as much as its predecessors once did. Maybe that’s the rationale for the whole non-grand launch. Come to think of it, maybe that’s the kind of market this car will attract — they who are discreet yet with discerning tastes. After all, the car has indeed grown up. It could be that a more mature market is also ready for a car that makes no pretensions about being stronger, smarter and most important of all, more attuned to the bottomline — better performance.