However, like all car manufacturers, Nissan had to come up with something new for the Sentra's next iteration: the Series III.  At first glance, the Nissan Sentra Series III is undoubtedly a handsomely shaped car.  Its low, almost hatchback like, short rear overhang contributes a sporty nature to this automobile.  Its trunk-mounted rear brake lamp and rear lamp cluster instills a sporty characteristic as well.  The only let down to this car is its front-end styling, which is rather mundane, and lacks the sportiness of say, the Mazda 323 or the Honda Civic.

The Sentra Series III WAS a good-looking car until Nissan found the opportunity to introduce a face-lift in 1998.  Now, it turns out to be a very ugly car.  Why?  Well, I can summarize them in three words: grille, wheels and rear lamp clusters.  The vertical chrome grille does look a bit classier than the original horizontal one, but it doesn't fit the sporty image of the Sentra at all!  It's like giving Ben Johnson a pair of wooden clogs to run in the Olympics.  The wheels on the other hand are a bad attempt to copy a common BBS design.  But, once again it doesn't jive with the car, unlike the original five-spoke design that our test car had.  The rear lamp cluster lost the original sporty magic of the Series III, this one is a bit more conservative, and looking a bit older because of its configuration and design.

Going away from Nissan's failure to hype the Nissan Sentra, let's go to its good points.  There are a lot of reasons for you to buy the Nissan Sentra Series III, despite the fact that the design is about four years old.  However, for the sake of this magazine, I would rather limit them to four reasons: interior, handling, ride and package design. 

The Series III interior is quite simple to look at, but the quality and feel of the materials are a cut above the rest in the 1.6-liter class.  In fact, I would like to name the Nissan Sentra as a sort of Mini Cefiro.  Just like the Nissan Cefiro, the Nissan Sentra is an ergonomic delight.  All the switchgear and stalks are where they should belong.  There are no more problems when it comes to looking for aircon controls and such, because they are all in easy reach of the driver.

Moreover, the plastic feels better than some 1.6-liter cars such as the Mazda 323 and the Mitsubishi Lancer, both of which are actually later model cars.  The switchgear, though being shared with the Nissan Cefiro, lacks the same well-damped feel as its bigger brother.  The Sentra switches are more of crisp and unobtrusive, rather than luxurious and soft in feel.  The aircon switches are the only let down in this whole system of buttons and stalks, because its rotary switches do not have the same snappy feel as that of other cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer. 

As a sidebar, I would like to note that this Nissan Sentra also sports the same stereo and speaker system found in the Honda City LXi and the Mazda 323 GLX.  Thus, it is no surprise that the stereo is flimsy to use and the speakers are as good as those found in telephones.  People should stop using systems like this Clarion.  I know that it is manufactured locally and we should promote our own products, but this isn't a valid excuse for producing this kind of stereo system!

Small, spoty dimensions is a break from the typical design of the 1.6-liter car class.
Front-end looks are a bit bland. The Sentra doesn't make a dramatic entrance, unlike say, the Honda Civic.
Our test Sentra was equipped with the old five-spoke mags, which contribute to the sporty look of the car. Nissan got it so right, but when it came to the facelift, got it so wrong.
1.6-liter DOHC inline-4 engine is perky and fun to drive. It's fun all the way to its 6,500 rpm redline. Unfortunately, it becomes boomy at 4,000 rpm.