The Nissan Sentra has been on the market for more than three decades, and is now on its seventh generation. Despite its long history in the U.S. (and the fact that my wife owned a '91 Sentra E, and I owned a '99 Sentra SE Limited), I've always viewed the Sentra as a vanilla vehicle (sans the SE-R versions). It was never at the ranks of the sophisticated Honda Civic, with its fully independent suspension and high-revving VTEC engines. It was generally more interesting than the Toyota Corolla, but didn't have the cred for running forever. I never found Sentras to be as enjoyable to drive as a Volkswagen Jetta or Mazda3/Protégé, again sans SE-R-spec models. They were better than most of the American compact sedans from the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s (freezer-burnt vanilla?), but I always felt them to be decidedly middle-of-the road; ideal for rental car fleets and those looking for a less-expensive alternative to Honda and Toyota. Nissan is trying to change that with the latest Sentra, and the good news is the car has been thoroughly updated, modernized, and made more competitive against a rabidly competitive compact segment. So has the car gone from store-brand vanilla to gourmet ice cream?
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