We can thank the misguided infatuation with truck-based SUVs for everyday driving…

Also, great point about the Cobalt SS… “literally and figuratively” indeed!

– Kman.

But time moves on, and those rose-tinted glasses have to go somewhere. Sentras since the “classic” have gotten heavier but stiffer, with more lateral grip, more stability, more etcetera… despite having a torsion beam rear end, the current SE-R Spec V would kick the IRS-equipped “classic” SE-R’s butt eight ways to tuesday on the track.

But it would probably be nowhere near as fun. Which is why I finally gave up on Sentras a few years ago and went for the Protege. It was the closest I could get to that ol’ school feeling.

Better: Mazdaspeed3, Honda Civic Si, Mini Cooper / S, VW GTi (though I no longer consider the GTi to be in this category, considering its “optimistic” pricing that approaches $30K)

You have a point. Ford almost had a great one with the last Mercury Cougar as well. But the optional V6 only put out 172hp and the chassis needed some tweaking. I saw a 200hp performance version on the Mercury stand at an auto show. But Ford gave up on the model before putting that version out. Too bad. Ford comes oh-so-close with many of its models. But instead of fixing them and improving them with the relatively minor improvements these near-miss models require, they let them languish and evenually discontinue them when the sales fall to a trickle. I just can’t figure out why.

Unfortunately, I later had an 05 Frontier that seemed to develop a new problem every week. Nissan completely shafted me on customer service, from the local dealership level to customer affairs. You can bet I won’t be stepping foot on their lot now.

Nissan is a 2nd rate Japanese automaker for a reason, hit-and-miss reliability. Like some other manufacturers (VW anyone?) their dealership network ain’t helping. What good is building a decent vehicle if you have slimy salespeople and a worthless warranty?

I do feel that this car could be made into a racecar, by the right team manager. Back when the Sixties turned into the Seventies, industrial designer extraordinaire and race team manager (and racer himself) Peter Brock took the dowdy little Datsun 510 – known as the “poor man’s BMW” since it copied so much from BMW’s 1600 and 2002 series cars – and made it into a racecar. John Morton then took that sucker and ran it in the 2.5 liter series against the hallowed Alfa-Romeo GTV and made history by besting that famed Italian marque and establishing a big beach-head for what was then called Datsun in the states (and Nissan in the home country). Brock Racing Enterprises did similar magic with the 240Z.

Nissan needs to let loose some privateers with the Spec V and maybe they could learn a thing or two about how to engineer the suspension; and they might want to reconsider the wheelbase, right now.

Nice Top Gear Reference!

I honestly look at the SE-R Spec V and I shake my head in disappointment. Not at Nissan but at Ford. Hear me out.
About 8 years ago Ford’s SVT division put out a 200 HP, 170 LB Torque 2.5L Duratec V6 and placed it in the SVT Contour. Most of us know this. Now in 2007 Nissan puts a similarly powered engine of roughly the same displacement, minus a couple cylinders and +10 LB of Torque. What the hell happened at Ford during those 8 years? That’s a lot of time to perfect a product and make improvements every couple of years in order to stay ahead of the competition. Over the past few years Ford has put out some competitive engines: 2L 170HP Ford Focus SVT, in 1996 Ford introduced the 3L duratec with 200HP. Just imagine reliability, efficiency, and power if Ford had followed up with continuous improvements to their products. Ford’s cardinal sin is neglect.
I’ve been waiting 7 years for Ford to make a suitable replacement for my SVT Contour. I’m through waiting and looks like Nissan got themselve’s a new customer.

brownie: I also owned a 98 Honda Prelude SH. Great handling car possibly one of the best I have driven. Main problem, no torque and too peaky when the power came on. I have considered an S2000 but again after having lived with VTEC motors for over 15yrs (Integra, Accord) you have to drive them near redline to get any power out of them. Once you have torque you cant go back. Also I want a 4 seater as well.

autonerd: That’s an interesting point. My only CVT experience was as a teenager in my family’s Subaru Justy (with the famed 3 cylinder engine). It got ungodly mileage and made it physically impossible for me to drive at dangerous speeds, so I guess it was appropriate, but fun? Not so much. Maybe it’s better when mated with more oomph under the hood.

I agree, but show me a suitably equipped 4 seat RWD performance car under $23,000*. The name ‘hot hatch’ refers to a performance version of a small inexpensive cargo-carrying daily driver.

Echoing the idea of a SE-R Versa (or even a performance Honda Fit). The Versa is 2,500 pounds, which is heavy compared to the original GTI, but is light by today’s standards.

*The Mustang doesn’t count, as good of a deal(?) as its base model is, we’re talking corner carvers, not cruisers. Feel free to tell me if I’m wrong.

However, the balance of handling is a good move that will help them to sell more of these than the old SE-R models. By making the vehicle more user friendly as a daily driver they will find more buyers for it than for a track-only spine-crunching weekend racer. Lets face it, we all like race inspired motoring but most of us use our cars for commuting and household errands so a bit more emphasis on civility is not such a bad thing.

A transmission like this may indeed prove to give you better acceleration than a manual, but it also sucks the soul out of a car. But then again it’s not like this SE-R has any to begin with.