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Nissan Sentra vs Honda Civic

135

Comments

  • midnightcowboymidnightcowboy Member Posts: 1,978
    Hey Graduate,

    The Edmunds used car research is very good for finding specs on older car models. Try it you will like it.

    You would not belive how intimidatingly LOUD the Invidia exhaust is !! It is awesome, just awesome. Even with the optional baffles in, it is still loud.

    TTHota, The decibel level alone makes up for any lack of low-end torque

    Cheers,

    MidCow
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Let's give it a go, shall we?
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    Interesting discussion... if you like watching a lone Sentra defender getting owned en masse. I don't, actually.

    But honestly, who in their right mind would pick a Sentra over the current gen Civic, aka 2006 Car of the Year? I say this as someone who's actually slightly more interested in getting a Mazda 3 hatch when I spring for a new car next year.

    Protestations of its fans aside, the Sentra simply isn't even competitive right now (hence the major league incentives) and won't be until the next-gen one comes out early next year.

    Right now the compact class is ruled by the Civic and Mazda 3, period. Even the Corolla is getting very long in the tooth, and the re-design for it has been pushed back to calendar year 2008, after Toyota execs' collective jaws dropped when seeing the '06 Civic. They wanted to re-work the 'rolla's styling, reports say. I guess so, but does anyone really buy a Toyota for the styling? You can find exceptions, but Toyota really tends to cater to mainstream tastes here, i.e. bland. And it hasn't hurt their sales one bit.

    There are alternatives to these of course... Rabbit? A driver's car to be sure, but VW's reliability has been deep in the crapper the past few years, so only go there if you want to roll the dice. Impreza? Nice, competent, but a step behind the leaders. The Koreans? Catching up, but still not quite there yet, especially in long-term quality. The warranty's great and all but what's so much better is never having the car in the shop in the first place. Cobalt? Don't make me laugh. Focus? Don't make me fall off my dinosaur laughing. Re-design needed... STAT! Ion? Not even playing in the same league. PT Cruiser? Like the hot rod look, but slower than molasses and burns a lot of gas doing it. Caliber (which I'm not even sure is a compact)? Umm... no.

    Honestly, until the new Sentra arrives in early '07, and the new Corolla (finally) shows up in '08, this segment is so owned by the Civ and the 3 that's its not even funny. At least Nissan is competitive in the segment below this one (lower-priced compacts/quality subcompacts), with it's new Versa.

    But for premium compacts in the $15-20K range, I'm just astonished at how far everyone else has let Honda and Mazda run away from the pack. This simply shouldn't happen in a global industry this viciously competitive. What gives? :surprise:
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Interesting discussion... if you like watching a lone Sentra defender getting owned en masse. I don't, actually. :confuse:

    Sentra's and Civics are either owned or leased, what are you trying to say?

    Defender is a Land Rover model, there is no Sentra Defender model, what are you trying to say?
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Protestations of its fans aside, the Sentra simply isn't even competitive right now (hence the major league incentives) and won't be until the next-gen one comes out early next year.

    There have been no fan protests in either the minor or the major leagues of any sport concerning the Civic or Sentra?
    Not even NASCAR has leagues and Sentra and Civic are not raced in NASCAR.
    You are right, Sentra does NOT compete in leagues.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    This is the Civic vs. Sentra discussion, not the Mazda 3, Corolla, Rabbit or Elantra discussion.

    Your entire post contains absolutely zero content of substance for or against the Sentra or Civic.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    Well Johnny, why would anyone buy any vehicle other than the 2006 Motor Trend Car of the Year? If the Civic is Car of the Year it must be the best.

    After all, AMC/Renault Alliance, Chevrolet Citation, Ford Taurus, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chrysler Cirrus and Chevrolet Vega are all past Car of the Year winners. :P ;):blush:
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    >Interesting discussion... if you like watching a lone Sentra defender getting owned en masse. I don't, actually.

    >>Sentra's and Civics are either owned or leased, what are you trying to say?
    Defender is a Land Rover model, there is no Sentra Defender model, what are you trying to say?


    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=owned

    Sorry if that confused you.

    Producer's note to moparbad: Be 20% more 'street'. ;)
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    > Protestations of its fans aside, the Sentra simply isn't even competitive right now (hence the major league incentives) and won't be until the next-gen one comes out early next year.

    >>There have been no fan protests in either the minor or the major leagues of any sport concerning the Civic or Sentra?
    Not even NASCAR has leagues and Sentra and Civic are not raced in NASCAR.
    You are right, Sentra does NOT compete in leagues.


    Oh, now you're just being a tad pissy, mopar. You understand exactly what I'm saying, and are just trying to have some fun. I get that. :D
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    This is the Civic vs. Sentra discussion, not the Mazda 3, Corolla, Rabbit or Elantra discussion.

    Your entire post contains absolutely zero content of substance for or against the Sentra or Civic.


    Well, on the second point, that's a matter of opinion, actually. I believe I did say that the current-gen Civic is a class-leader, and the current Sentra isn't, but that a Sentra re-design is arriving early next year, which holds the promise of making the Sentra a class leader. That IS info, actually.

    And I guess it brings up the larger point that Civic vs Sentra, as it stands, isn't even a fair debate, and won't be until the Sentra's redesign arrives.

    The first point was tied into the 'class leader' discussion of the Civic and Sentra. You may not agree, but I have no regrets about including it, especially since the point of my post was primarily about the Civic and Sentra and their current relative standing in the segment. :shades:
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    Well Johnny, why would anyone buy any vehicle other than the 2006 Motor Trend Car of the Year? If the Civic is Car of the Year it must be the best.

    Well, you usually don't win MT Car of the Year for being awful, now do you? :D

    I'd say that looking at a CotY winner is a smart place to start when shopping for a new car, assuming that the winner is in the segment that you're shopping in. Given that the discussion is about Sentra and Civic, two compacts, and the CotY winner for '06 was also a compact, its not too much of a reach for you, is it? ;)

    After all, AMC/Renault Alliance, Chevrolet Citation, Ford Taurus, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chrysler Cirrus and Chevrolet Vega are all past Car of the Year

    Certainly. But most of those cars are decades old. Call me crazy, but I don't think most of us are shopping for a Chevy Vega currently. I'm sure we could also list a lot more (and lot more recent) examples where MT got it right. And I think its fair to say that Nissan would be tickled pink and then some if their Sentra redesign wins Car of the Year. It ain't exactly a negative. :)

    I do understand that you're just playing devil's advocate here, mopar, and I get that CotY is not the 'be all end all' arbiter of car comparisons. But hey, it sure don't hurt.

    On a side note: What's interesting to me is that you found my initial post so objectionable that you felt the need to fire off not one, not two, not three, but four posts mocking and/or attacking it. Come now mopar, its just a discussion board. No need to go on the warpath, my good sir.

    I hope I've addressed all your points adequately. I suspect that you still won't agree with what I've said, but I hope that you'll at least understand where I'm coming from and can respect that I took the time out to respond to your (many) comments, even as flippant as some of them were.

    That's ok though... I can be a bit flippant myself at times. Nothing wrong with it so long as one keeps it in moderation. :shades:
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    back to your corners!!

    Firstly, let's not make this personal - we're comparing cars and not challenging each other as individuals, okay?

    Secondly, this is indeed about the Sentra and the Civic, so let's stick to those two cars in this specific topic.

    We do have a much broader comparo where a lot of these recent comments would be most appropriate: Economy Sedans (~$16k-$20k). And there are others which can be located using the Browse by Vehicle search function on the left.

    Okay, now you can come out of your corners and play nice. :)
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    Hee hee... thanks Pat. As you say, let's not turn this into a pirate's den. :D
  • lonewaldenlonewalden Member Posts: 26
    There are alternatives to these of course... Rabbit? A driver's car to be sure, but VW's reliability has been deep in the crapper the past few years, so only go there if you want to roll the dice. Impreza? Nice, competent, but a step behind the leaders. The Koreans? Catching up, but still not quite there yet, especially in long-term quality. The warranty's great and all but what's so much better is never having the car in the shop in the first place.

    I could not agree with you more on your breakdown of the current compact market with one exception. I think that the 2007 Hyundai Elantra will rival the Civic and Mazda 3 (and the 2007 Sentra if it measures up). As far as long term quality, well Hyundai did just win all those JD Powers initial quality awards. I think that initial quality is goes a long way towards long term quality. The Koreans have made some outstanding progress in the last few years.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Wrong topic - some off-topic messages were indeed posted, but we need to get back to focusing on the Civic and the Sentra. Thanks!
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    I could not agree with you more on your breakdown of the current compact market with one exception. I think that the 2007 Hyundai Elantra will rival the Civic and Mazda 3 (and the 2007 Sentra if it measures up). As far as long term quality, well Hyundai did just win all those JD Powers initial quality awards. I think that initial quality is goes a long way towards long term quality. The Koreans have made some outstanding progress in the last few years.

    Thanks lone. :)

    Trying to keep this to one post (since we do need to get back on the Sentra-Civic track, as Pat says)- I do agree with you that the Koreans have improved. I do not agree that you can equate initial quality with long-term quality.

    Its great if initial quality is high, but that's not the tough part. Even two to three years into the life of a car, its not super-difficult to avoid having a lot of problems (unless you're VW, haha). GM and Ford vehicles, for instance, are still reasonably reliable on average going 2-3 years out, according to Consumer Reports figures.

    But the REAL quality challenge is the vehicle holding up long-term, i.e. eight years or so. Again, according to CR, makers like GM and Ford, who have decent quality short-term... well, the reliability figures show their quality dropping off a fairly steep cliff long-term. VW is even worse.

    So who does do well eight years out? You guessed it, Honda and Toyota, by a pretty large margin over the other makers listed.

    So, its not the hardest task to have good quality early on. The difficult part is having good reliability through the ENTIRE life of the vehicle. And in that regard, the Koreans still lag Honda, Toyota, and likely some of the other Japanese makes.

    That's likely a big part of why the Koreans continue to trail in depreciation/holding their value long-term, which in turn is a lot of why I'm not really looking at the Korean makes when putting together my short list, as improved as they are.

    And the Elantra specifically? The latest figures show its reliability as average. Not bad at all. But no Civic or Corolla.

    Again, they've improved. But its entirely fair to say they still have a-ways to go. Look forward to them getting there, as more competition is always good for we the consumer. :)

    ps- Pat, thanks for your patience, I will not be continuing any further discussion of this point in this topic - I simply wanted to address lone's (interesting) point and move on.
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    Thats what it says in large Orange Letters!
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    It sure looks like the "Sentra vs. Civic" forum in big orange letters on my screen. I think Edmunds must've had a little "bug." Haha, it reminds me of our Electrical system in our Chrysler we once had! :lemon:
  • rorrrorr Member Posts: 3,630
    That's odd.

    Try going into the "Hatchbacks" forum - select "Mazda3". Under the list of threads available is one titled "Honda Civic vs Mazda3. Select it and BINGO - here is where you land.

    Strange thing is, I see zero discussions regarding the Mazda3? :confuse:
  • johnnyvjjohnnyvj Member Posts: 112
    Hee hee, sorry for my above impertinence guys (too much coffee). Obviously there was a linking issue (seems to have been fixed now), that's how I got here myself. :)
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    It wasn't fixed when you thought it was fixed, but it's fixed now!!

    Sorry, not sure what happened, but it has been un-happened now. Thanks, rorr, for posting how you got here. That led me straight to the problem.
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Member Posts: 3,159
    As far as long term quality, well Hyundai did just win all those JD Powers initial quality awards

    JD Powers initial quality test is only based on the first 90 days of ownership. Not a very telling award.

    Nissan and Honda have proven reliability over the long haul. I would give Honda the edge a bit.
  • 1blackcivic1blackcivic Member Posts: 5
    i prefer the Honda Civic over the Nissan Sentra.if i get a Nissan Sentra i just want to drive fast. since i have my honda civic i have been driving real slow. no tickets since 2001. thanks to my honda. :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    this is kinda weird. What is it about the sentra that makes you want to go fast, but in the civic makes you want to go slow? Although both these cars have been slammed for thier styling, i'm pretty sure most people would agree that the new civic looks sportier and sleeker than the new sentra (i like the way they both look.) Wouldn't that make you want to go faster? Its not really fair to compare the new sentra to the civic you have now....the new civic is a compeletely different car!
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    The new Sentra is tuned much more for comfort, taking away any real handling abilities. In a recent comparison test, the brand new Sentra came in dead last. The editors kept calling it the "mini-Town Car." Not good for speed or sport.
  • punkr77punkr77 Member Posts: 183
    The Civic is a better car IMHO for a few reasons:

    Safety: Civic has award winning safety, Sentra has 2 star side impact (there are no 1 star currently sold).

    Styling: a matter of opinion, but I think the Civic is a much more attractive car inside and out.

    Reliability/Resale: the two go hand in hand. Honda has a better reputation for reliability (though after 6 or so years the difference is negligible) and higher resale.
  • lostwrenchlostwrench Member Posts: 288
    Let's stay with facts and not make up fiction.

    The Civic has 5 star ratings for both driver and passenger in frontal impacts. It has only a 4 star rating for front driver and passenger side impacts.

    The Sentra has 5 star ratings for both driver and passenger in frontal impacts. It has a FIVE STAR rating for front driver and passenger side impacts.

    The Buick LaCrosse has a 1 star side impact rating.
  • punkr77punkr77 Member Posts: 183
    I stand corrected. I was looking at the 06 Sentra, not 07. The 06 Sentra did have a 2 front-side rating. The 07 does indeed have 5 stars. (hangs head in shame)
  • lostwrenchlostwrench Member Posts: 288
    Let us all not forget that comparisons of vehicle's star ratings must contain the important factor that each vehicle must be within 250 pounds of each other. A five star pick-up truck vs a five star Civic or Sentra results in the passengers of the pick-up being safer even though both vehicles are five star rated.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    A five star pick-up truck vs a five star Civic or Sentra results in the passengers of the pick-up being safer even though both vehicles are five star rated.

    Can't seem to find the logic in that.
  • lostwrenchlostwrench Member Posts: 288
    Mass. The heavier the vehicle, the more mass. The more mass, the greater the resistance. Star rating comparisons are only for vehicles within 250 pounds of each other.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    so does that mean that my rabbit weighing in a lot more than either of those two is not in the same safety class? Your post would insinuate that its even better.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    See Edmunds test of Sentra SE-R Spec V.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    I read it, but couldn't really figure out where it 'smoked' the si. In fact, they seemed to point that the si is still the better car! :confuse:
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    I read it, but couldn't really figure out where it 'smoked' the si.

    At the track is where the Sentra smoked the Civic.
  • lostwrenchlostwrench Member Posts: 288
    The 2007 Rabbit has only a 4 star frontal crash rating. If its weight was within 250 pounds of the Sentra or Civic, which have 5 star frontal crash ratings,the Sentra or Civic would be safer. If the Rabbit weighs 251 pounds or more than the Sentra or Civic, then it is not in the same weight class and cannot be compared with the Sentra or Civic. Any car within 250 pounds of your Rabbit and having a 5 star frontal crash rating, would be safer than your 4 star frontal crash rating Rabbit.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    its not by much. Besides, with 225 w rated tires, it should at least put up some decent numbers.

    Don't get me wrong, i actually like the se-r alot! (has an engine with enough torque to justify an auto) but i don't thinkt the numbers were so amazing that it merited a 'smoked' on the si's part. :blush:
  • james31278james31278 Member Posts: 78
    That is odd considering previous Spec V 0-60 tests put it 6-7 secs.
  • ezpilzeezpilze Member Posts: 29
    Inside Line Executive Editor Michael Jordan says:
    All the performance numbers look pretty good, and Nissan has shown us plenty of compelling video of the SE-R Spec V being tested at the Nürburgring. We've driven the Spec V at a racetrack ourselves, and can report that it's terrifically stable in long, sweeping bends. But like the Renault Mégane from which it's derived, the Sentra always feels a little too big for what it's trying to be.

    I'm not a real big fan of numbers myself, but just looking at the 07 SE-R you can tell that it won't exit a corner as well as the si. Maybe on a relatively straight track the sentra will "smoke" the civic, but I can't see any reason why the si would not be able to out run the sentra in an actual course.

    Besides, the si was not really meant for true performance; I find driving Si's(98, 02, 06) to be much more enjoyable if you ever find a place to go all out. otherwise the SE-R (04 and probably 07) is a much funner car to drive in the city since it has that goody-goody torque that most of us crave.

    I like the styling of the SE-R, its very... non-overly modern, unlike the si or tC, I guess I must be getting old... not much to look forward to after you're 21, except retirement and senior citizen benefits. However, its that UGLY gear box that appeared on the last gen si's. Personal preference, but it looks like a rod went through the bottom the car... The back reminds me of a tC/prius mix.

    Overall, the SE-R (I think) shares the same problem as the last gen si, its height to bottom width ratio is too high. Makes the car look like it'll turn over under heavy steering, AND makes it look awkward, or in this case, ugly. Notice how ALL/perhaps most super cars are short and VERY wide?
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    i thought the biggest problem with the last gen si was its wimpy tires and high weight to low horsepower. But yeah it was a bit high huh? Although i think it to be a bit lower than even the new ser.

    What did you mean about the ugly gear box? you mean how its right on the middle?
  • james31278james31278 Member Posts: 78
    The 02-06 Spec V's are also much lighter. They didn't need to tweak the engine all they needed was to develop a more direct air intake and automatically install the catback exhaust.
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    much lighter than what? The old si? When i mentioned weight it was in reference to comparing the 02-05 si to the previous generations which, well, weighed nothing.
  • james31278james31278 Member Posts: 78
    Lighter than the current Spec V. I wasn't even referring to the Si.
  • ezpilzeezpilze Member Posts: 29
    Yeah to the gear box placement. If it was awkward I wouldn't mind too much, it'd probably take a little getting used to, but each time I looked at it just disgusted me even more.

    Well, number of lack of power can be fixed and tires can be made slightly wider via after market parts, but the overall height of the car, even w/ lowering can't be changed much... unless if you chop off the top. =P
  • carfanatic007carfanatic007 Member Posts: 267
    The current edition of Car and Driver did not review the new Sentra SER Spec V well. Rated it 4 out of 5. "The Sentra starts off with one foot in a hole: None of us likes its looks. The lamentably shaped body gets an SE-R go-fast costume consisting of the shovel nose, spoilered tail, special headlights and tail lights, and rocker-panel furbelows....." "The problem here, really, is not just looks. The SE-R Spec V lacks spirit. Competence, sure, it has plenty of that, but there's no eagerness, no fire, no gotta-go. Power toys like to play around. The SE-R is well-behaved to the point of ---yawn--lets go home. So it finished in fourth place, just five points up on the veteran WRX." It goes on to mention "Steering response is soft. Brakes are gradual." "cushions have a cheap feel, as if commodity-grade stuffing had been overlaid with a thin layer of plush."
  • james31278james31278 Member Posts: 78
    There is no denying that the new Sentra is uglier than sin I passed one the other day and again noticed the ghetto taillights since when have we become a society of bad taste.
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    Having gone from one to the other last June, all I can say is there's really no comparison between the two. Old technology versus new basically. The Sentra was just an economy car without much economy in my case. Mileage in the lower 20's city and not even 28 highway was unacceptable. Lousy brakes and an uncomfortable ride only made the car feel worse. And the check engine light that the dealer could never really fix pushed me to buy the Civic. Luckily, the light did eventually go out a week after the warranty was up.
    Two weeks later the car was history and have been a happy camper ever since. Civic does everything an economy car should do without any drama and lots of fun. When I really want to "zoom zoom", I just get behind the wheel of the wife's Mazda 3s and I'm gone!

    The Sandman :)
  • eldainoeldaino Member Posts: 1,618
    i actually don't minde the way the new sentra looks; def much nicer than the older versions.
  • james31278james31278 Member Posts: 78
    So this is nicer than this?

    image

    image
This discussion has been closed.