Rare Rides: The 1988 Nissan Sunny Is Nearly a Sentra and Definitely All-wheel Drive

by Corey Lewis

Published: December 27th, 2017

rare rides the 1988 nissan sunny is nearly a sentra and definitely all wheel drive

Today’s Rare Ride comes to us — for the first time — from the nation’s capital. As we ponder what the owner was thinking, we’ll pore over a tidy Nissan Sunny imported from Japan. It’s rare, square, and almost exactly the same as the Nissan Sentra your aunt had in 1991. I’m really not sure.

Datsun first introduced vehicles wearing the Sunny nameplate back in 1966. Through four generations the car kept the Datsun name, only switching to Nissan for the fifth generation, which debuted in 1982. The Sunny/Tsuru replaced the Datsun 210 and was always called Sentra in North America. This B12 model was available in the United States from 1986 through 1990.

The only all-wheel-drive model the United States received was the wagon variant, and only early on. Nissan simplified model offerings over the years, and by 1990 there was only a coupe, sedan, wagon, and a two-door sedan — all in front-drive-only. Today’s Rare Ride is the Japanese domestic market version of the Sunny. It has all-wheel drive, low miles, and brougham pretensions.

A five-speed manual transmission puts the power down through all four wheels via one of seven different inline-four engines. I’m not sure which one powers this; perhaps one of the B&B is more enlightened?

The model-specific logos are a nice touch, and the front end is reminiscent of a Polish-manufactured FSO Polonez.

The claimed mileage of 30,000 would seem accurate given the pristine state of the interior. Five small persons fit in plum velour comfort, and will wonder once inside why you didn’t just buy a Sentra.

This 4WD Super Saloon E model came straight from the Sunny dealership chain in Tokyo.

Current ask is $4,950 on Craigslist. For the diehard Nissan collector, that might be the right kind of price to bring the Sunny home.

[Images via seller]

#1980s #Datsun #FSO #FsoPolonez #Imports #Japan #NewsBlog #Nissan #NissanSentra #NissanSunny #UsedCars #Sedans #RareRides

Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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9 of 30 comments

Namesakeone on Dec 28, 2017

I wonder how much that former Sentra and this one are related... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85OysZ_4lp0

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- Bumpy ii on Dec 29, 2017
  
  The Tsuru is a B13 platform, the model which succeeded this one.
  
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Gtem on Dec 29, 2017

I love this thing, it's a total nostalgia trip to the sea of boxy white JDM sedans that flooded the Russian Far East and Siberia in general in the mid 90s, many of them full-time 4wd models. Car runners in the 90s would ride trains from western Siberia into port cities with dollars in hand, and then drive these fresh-off-the-boat beauties back West, over a very harsh and sparsely inhabited landscape, often driving down frozen rivers (a lot of car running was done in the winter when the swampy unpaved roads were usable). Good money to be made, but at great risk. A break-down or mis-navigating and running out of gas could mean freezing to death. This was pre-import tariffs, with big profits for those that had the guts to partake in this gold-rush of used JDM vehicles. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrnOBl_qX0Q

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- See 5 previous
- Gtem on Dec 29, 2017
  
  In the video above, there is indeed a B12 Sunny, along with an EF Civic sedan, Corolla Sprinter "cargo" trim wagon, and a Subaru Loyale sedan. All in refrigerator white. All of them about 7 years old, when the dreaded "Shaken" inspection in Japan comes due.
  
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- JohnTaurus on Dec 29, 2017
  
  Is it difficult to import used cars into Russia now?
  
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- Gtem on Dec 29, 2017
  
  @JohnTaurus The tariffs on bringing in the used RHD stuff has cut the flow down to a small fraction of what it once was. One work-around has been to bring in cars that have literally been chopped in half so they can be imported under the guise of "parts" and then there are specialized shops that will weld them back together.
  
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- JohnTaurus on Dec 30, 2017
  
  @gtem What about LHD, say from the U.S.?
  
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- Gtem on Dec 30, 2017
  
  @JohnTaurus Same story, but plenty of stuff still gets brought in (higher end luxury cars and wrecked cars that get rebuilt especially). For a while there in the 90s people were bringing in a ton of Grand Cherokees, Explorers, Tahoes and just a random smattering of other mainstream domestics (aside from rust proofing they're better engineered for a harsh Russian climate and poor quality gas than many Euro imports). Used Japanese cars from the American market were also a big thing, American 1st gen Highlanders and 2nd gen Siennas are all over Siberia. The big thing too is imported American big rigs, Freightliner Centuries are especially well liked for their durability and twin driven rear axles vs typical Euro cab-over rigs with a single rear axle and finicky semi-automated transmissions and weaker suspensions.
  
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- JohnTaurus on Dec 30, 2017
  
  @JohnTaurus Very interesting, thanks for the info. I had thought about buying cars at auction and exporting them to places like Russia that seem to have a lack of used cars to fill the demand. Thinking about used rentals, trade ins, etc. My personal code of conduct would require a mechanical/safety inspection, etc., even if its being exported.
  
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