1996 Nissan Sentra

Pros: Smooth ride. Great pick-up. 28-35 MPG.Reliable starting.Great cornering and breaking. Very good in snow.
Cons: No Tachometer. No ABS.

When I drove of the lot with my 1996 Sentra GXE, in 1998, it did not have much pickup. But as I drove it and maintained it, the car began to come to life. A car fax report showed it had failed emission inspections twice. It only had 16K on it so it was probably kept in a garage, while the owned took the subway to work. I now have 189k and the only thing that I had to replace is the wiper motor. It's in top running condition. The engine is very accessible. I noticed better pick-up after installing a Tornado in the air intake. 9% better gas mileage too.
The handing in snow is great, up to 7".

Pros: Reasonably priced used vehicle, inexpensive to drive, Nissan dependability, looks good too...
Cons: A little challenging to fit 5 full size adults?

I have always been a Toyota buyer, until I recently purchased my first used Nissan Sentra. Gas mileage has been 35+ MPG on the highway. The cost was 1K to 2K less than a comparably equipped Toyota Corolla, WOW. It had 75K miles when I picked it up, and it still drives as if it were new?

Pros: Eats very little gas!
Cons: Weak engine.

The 1996 Nissan Sentra is a cool car. The reason that I bought one was because it was all I could find in my price range but I bought mine in 1997 so it was only one years old. My experience using this car was nice I enjoyed driving this car in my city. Which is not really big. On the highway it could use a bigger engine because getting a lot of speed is very difficult for a 115 horsepower engine. The only thing I hate about this car is the weak engine.

Pros: Dependable; low maintenance; good sightlines.
Cons: Not much different from driving a small metal can with wheels.

I bought a 96 Sentra in 1998 with 45,000, now has 158,000. Would definitely do it again. It went through a phase of 2-3 years where if you started it in cold weather and turned it off before the engine had warmed entirely, it would flood, it would not start, would have to be towed and the case drained. It healed itself and no longer does this. I try to have it maintained as regularly as I can; other than that I beat the crap out of it, and still it ticks along. I will miss it when it goes.