Sirbox 2 of 12: 1993 Nissan Sentra SE-R
I can’t believe we are down to the penultimate entry in our celebration of terrible economy cars from 1992. It all started from this vintage Car and Driver article from July 1992 came across my desk the other day. The 12 compact economy cars in the comparison article were sub $10k crapboxes that were ranked from best to worst by a group of college kids. Today’s next feature is number 2, which should have been a base model penalty box Nissan Sentra with a 110 horsepower 1.6 liter 16-valve (the only DOHC engine in the group of 12), but we found a 2.0 liter SR20DE 140 horsepower equipped SE-R model. Yeah. That’ll show them. I don’t think those college kids would pick the Civic over this beast. Find this 1993 Nissan Sentra SE-R offered for $6,950 in Cumming, GA via autotrader.com.
From the seller:
Seller Comments (VIN: 1N4GB32H0PC791237, Stock #: 1N4GB32H0PC791237)
1993 Nissan Sentra SE-R. One owner. The car has been in an accident (rear-ended), but drivable. There are imperfections in the paint. (scratches, nicks, etc.. see pictures for details). 190000 Miles. Mechanically the car is in a good shape, with no known issues.
190,132 miles Red Exterior
 Black Interior
2.0L 4-Cylinder Gas Engine
See a better way to drive something red? tips@dailyturismo.com
“which should have been a base model penalty box Nissan Sentra with a 110 horsepower 1.6 liter 16-valve (the only DOHC engine in the group of 12)”
I can see the Toyota Tercel DX DOHC right there in the photo.
The Ford Escort has a Mazda BP DOHC 16-valve variant of the B8.
The 1990-1992 Saturn SC uses a DOHC 1.9-litre LL0 engine.
Of note, I thought the Mazda 323 had a DOHC but it has that wild 16-valve SOHC B6. Must be quite the forest of rockers arms in there.
Yes, you are correct, but I was referring to the original crapbox C&D article from 1992 — I think that the base model Tercel, Escort, and Saturn from the all had 8-valve or 12-valve (or 6 valve for the 3-cyl) engines. Some of the cars I couldn’t find an appropriately base model, so I went for the fancier ones. “In gunning for this award, the Nissan arrived with real ammunition. Its double overhead-cam 1.6-liter four, the only sixÂteen-valve engine in this test, produces a healthy 110 horsepower”
Well, I suppose the C&D folks popped the hoods so I’ll defer to them but the base Mazda 323 had a16-valve SOHC B6 not that you could tell from looking.
On the other hand, did all the college girls in Ann Arbor really wear turtlenecks?
Out of all of the cars in this series, this is one that I seriously considered buying. It actually felt bigger than it was when behind the wheel, which was a good thing to me. When I was at the dealership, I spotted a Maxima SE with a manual transmission. I was able to swing a deal on that car where they weren’t budging on the SE-R. Maximas were their volume leader in the mid-90’s.
I dated a girl who owned a red SE-R identical to this. Prior to driving it I thought their styling was far too humdrum. Then I drove it. Absolutely riveting experience – and I’d paid for a couple semesters of college as a valet at a 5 star restaurant in Irvine and been in every exotic car made at the beginning of the 90s.
Luckily her recent ex never figured out which car in the apartment complex parking lot was mine as I’m sure he would’ve set it on fire. He scratched some choice words into her paint job, a dick move I would’ve been thrilled to catch him doing.