Welcome back to Holy Grails, the Autopian series where you show off some of the coolest, most underrated cars that you love. Grails are coming in sizzling hot from you lovely readers, and most of these submissions legitimately rock in their own way. Today, a reader wants to remind you that in the 1990s you could buy a BMW 2002, only it didn’t come from BMW. Nissan shoehorned a SR20DE into the B13 Sentra, making a conservative compact that was faster and cheaper than an equivalent BMW. This car continues to be overlooked by enthusiasts, which means that the Sentra SE-R might be the 1990s Japanese enthusiast car bargain you’ve been waiting for.
Last week, reader James L took us across the Atlantic to tease us with sporty English sedans and wagons with American Ford V8 power. Developed out of the ashes of BMW’s sale of Rover Group, the MG ZT was meant to be a sportier version of the stately Rover 75 sedan. But Rover didn’t stop there; i5 decided to turn its front-wheel-drive Rover 75 and MG ZT sedan and wagon into a rear-wheel-drive hot rod using firepower from America. The result is the super rare MG ZT 260 and the Rover 75 V8, cars pumping out 260 HP thanks to a 4.6-liter V8 from a Mustang.
Today’s holy grail follows a similar idea of taking a regular car and making it faster. There is always something fascinating about when an automaker sees a vehicle and decides to see how big or how powerful of an engine it can fit. I’ve written about cars like these recently with the Volkswagen Passat W8 and Volkswagen Touareg W12, both vehicles with engines so huge that repair work often requires dropping an entire drivetrain. The South African BMW 745i is another example of big muscle in a package that doesn’t look the part.
In 1990, Nissan launched the third-generation Sentra, known as the B13. An evolution of the classic Sentra formula, the B13 took the square design of the 1980s Sentras and rounded it out. There were fewer body styles too. While you could get a B12 Sentra as a wagon, hatchback, or as a coupe, the B13 simplified things.
Now you had the choice of a two door or a four door, and that’s it. Depending upon whom you ask, a notable feature of the very first B13 Sentras is just the fact that they had fuel injection, when cars like the base model Honda Prelude, Subaru Justy, and a number of American land barges still had carburetors. While notable, the 1990s did eventually see carburetors taken off of the market, and quickly. The Prelude shook it off entirely in 1991 and even seriously cheap cars like the Hyundai Excel had fuel injection.
So the best part about the B13 Sentra is not the fuel injection in my eyes, or its conservative three-box design, but the fact that Nissan made a sporty version that evoked feelings of classic BMWs and Datsuns. Launched in 1991, the Sentra SE-R took what was otherwise a regular economy car and made it something awesome. And this is the one that reader Jason L says to get. From Jason:
I wanted to suggest a “holy grail” car that is well worth looking for, and that younger readers might not be aware of: The 1st generation (1991-1994) Nissan Sentra SE-R. It was possibly the closest thing the early 90s had to the classic BMW 2002 ideal — a small 2-door sedan that looked unassuming, but had great mechanicals and was amazingly fun to drive.
I owned a 1992 SE-R inbetween a 1989 Honda CRX Si and a 2000 Honda Civic Si, and while the Hondas have become legendary, the SE-R is nearly forgotten to history. It shouldn’t be, since it drove just as good, if not better, than the Hondas. Just a lovely balance of power, handling, and practicality.The stats: 2,600 pounds, 140 smooth horsepower, a great 5 speed manual, 4-wheel discs, a well-appointed interior with supportive seats, and an actual limited-slip differential…very unusual for the time.
Nissan has a long history of bargain performance. The Z is famous for delivering heart-pumping action for prices that won’t break the bank. Look back and performance highlights also include vehicles like the Datsun 510, too. So, hopping up regular cars is in Nissan’s blood.
For the Nissan SE-R, the automaker went into the parts bin, using the 2.0-liter SR20DE four meant for the Infiniti G20. Making 140 HP and 132 lb-ft torque, it’s a decent improvement over the base 1.6-liter four that made 110 HP and 108 lb-ft torque. That was coupled to a manual transmission and it had an honest limited-slip differential. An addition of 30 horses doesn’t sound like much, but the result, as well as the Sentra SE-R’s other attributes, made it a darling of automotive media.
In a period Car and Driver review, the magazine’s testers found that the humble Nissan trounced the era’s BMW 318is in every test:
Yes, the Sentra SE-R is the dream of a brand-new $12,000 BMW come true. The Bavarian maker might be uncomfortable with that characterization. After all, the cheapest two-door that BMW currently offers—the $22,000 318is—doesn’t have a chance against the SE-R in the stoplight derby. The Nissan reaches 60 mph from rest in 7.4 seconds, more than a second quicker than the 318is. The SE-R covers the quarter-mile in 15.8 seconds at 87 mph, compared with the BMW’s 16.4 seconds at 82 mph. The Nissan even surpasses the autobahn-bred 318 in top speed: 125 mph to 123. In fact, a well-driven SE-R could probably get the drop on a BMW 325 if the latter’s driver were slow off the mark. Such performance at an 11 grand base price is the first automotive wonderment of the 1990s.
Car and Driver wasn’t alone in its wonder in just how good this car was for how little it cost to buy one. Road & Track was similarly impressed that the SE-R had all of the ingredients of a sports sedan at a bargain price.
Built in Smyrna, Tennessee, the SE-R has an exterior that belies its character. Mild aerodynamic aids, such as a front air dam and a trunk-mounted rear spoiler, give it the appearance of a spruced-up grocery-getter rather than the shark it really is. Drivers will find brisk acceleration without torque steer, and Nissan claims it’ll hit 60 mph in less than 8 seconds.
Standard SE-R fare reads like a sports-car inventory list: struts at each wheel and anti-roll bars front and rear, 14-inch alloy wheels with 185/60 Bridgestones, four-wheel disc brakes and optional ABS. These components work in conjunction with a rigid body that has a spacious interior and trunk to yield a vehicle that handles impressively, yet offers the utility needed for the next family outing. Everyday driving brings to light only slight understeer if too much speed is carried into corners.
Magazines went as far as to compare the little Nissan to the BMW 2002, with Car and Driver describing it as “[l]ike yesteryear’s 2002, the SE-R is an honest, upright two-door sedan with plenty of room for people and belongings.” It then went on to land on the magazine’s 10Best list for 1991, and Automobile Magazine put it on its list of All Stars, twice. Nissan itself notes that the car became a favorite of grassroots racers. Today, Autotrader goes as far as to call it the greatest Nissan Sentra ever. It appears no matter where you look, the raving doesn’t end about this car.
But today, it seems like the SE-R is largely forgotten. We’ve all seen the crazy high dollar auctions of contemporaries like the Acura Integra, Honda Prelude, and others. Yet, even on a site like Bring a Trailer, they struggle to sell for more than $12,345. The exception being the single SE-R that sold for $33,500 this year. Road & Track thinks a big reason why these have become obscure is because of the competition. Japanese automakers were just cranking out affordable performance cars in the 1990s, and the Sentra arguably looks the most conservative of all of them. Even with the spoiler treatment, the SE-R looks like a teenager’s first car.
Exact production numbers aren’t known, but enthusiast estimates place the number in the ballpark of 30,000 units. Whatever the number, it was enough for Nissan to keep the SE-R alive, and Nissan built SE-R versions of the Sentra until the launch of the seventh-generation in 2012. But, as those same aforementioned publications write, the newer ones don’t quite capture the magic that the original did.
[Editor’s Note: Here’s MotorWeek putting the SE-R to the test, scoring a 0-60 time in 7.5 seconds:
“The Sentra SE-R with its spirited engine and responsiveness is simply a lot of fun to drive. It’s a true sports sedan for an economy car price,” host John Davis concludes. -DT].
Unfortunately, about 30 years of time seems to have taken a number of these out of service. I found a handful of these first Nissan SE-Rs for sale around America, and all but one of them were rough. Here’s one for sale in Minnesota for $5,000, and even it will need some work. I’m not sure if these will ever be as valuable as the more popular Japanese cars from this era, but it seems that if you can find a good one, you will net yourself a proper performance car for not a whole lot of money.
Do you know of a holy grail of a car out there? If so, we want to read about it! Send us an email at tips@theautopian.com and give us a pitch for why you think your favorite car is a holy grail.
I’ve had a ’93 for almost 30 years and 230,000 miles. It’s the only new car I’ve owned and it took me all over the country, to dirt roads and the Great Salt Lake, to track days and to occasional autocrosses. I have long thought that if I sold it I’d always regret it, so I haven’t.
Had a ’91 SE-R that I’d purchased lightly used. Truly a blast to drive. The first car I’d ever owned that had me seeking out particularly fun roads to drive, with no thoughts at all about the destination. Made several trips up and down the west coast, from San Diego to Seattle and back again, just because I could.
Unfortunately, I had someone decide they had plenty of room to make a left turn in front of me when they most definitely did not. There was a barrier to my left, so I couldn’t avoid them, and my only option was to slam the brakes and hope they cleared my lane before I got there. They did not, and I hit them around the passenger rear tire. The person behind me didn’t hit me hard, but hard enough.
Everything was repaired, and seemed mostly normal afterwards. Problem was I lived in sunny and dry Southern California at the time. When I moved somewhere it rained, I would find puddles in the passenger footwell and in the trunk that couldn’t be explained. After one particularly nasty Texas rainstorm, I probably had to bail what seemed like 5 gallons of water from the spare tire well. I dried everything as best I could, kept the car covered, waited for a stretch of dry weather, and traded it in.
It wasn’t just 1991 that C/D put the SE-R on its 10 Best list, it was on there three more times (’92, ’93, ’94). They absolutely loved the SE-R, its performance, practicality, value, and reliability. I wasn’t ever a Nissan guy, but I had to admit being smitten as well. I loved the boring styling too, a genuine “Q-ship.”
I remember really wanting one of these when I was 13 or 14.
Back in the early 90’s I was a Navy Chief assigned to a fast attack submarine in Charleston, SC. One of my sailors drove a ’90 Pontiac Firebird Formula, 305 TPI/5MT equipped- a fun enough car, but he couldn’t resist trying to mod it to make it faster, unfortunately he was not very mechanically inclined and I had to bail him out of several situations- one particular was when he decided to add long-tube headers and a new exhaust. Poor kid had no idea how to snake the headers in, so I loaded up my floor jack and tools and headed to his apartment parking lot to install the damn headers- in the rain.
One day shortly after, he showed up to the boat and announced to me he had traded his ‘Bird on a new Nissan Sentra. Ok, decent econobox, but significantly more boring than the Firebird. He took me out to take a look- ok, looks kinda sporty, then he handed me the keys and we went for a ride- damn, but that little sucker was FUN. Of course he had bought the SE-R, and although I never did buy one of my own, I’ve always admired the lil’ pocket rocket. If one came available at a reasonable price around me, I’d jump on it.
My first car was a ’93 NX2000, which was an SE-R in an egg-shaped body. I loved that car. Wish I had never sold it.
To this very day, it still hurts my heart to see these things. When I was 16, my dad gave me a handful of $20k-ish cars to choose from. The SE-R was among them. What did I choose? A fucking Saturn SC2. I’m still ashamed of that decision.
I had a ‘96 200SX SE-R, which was the same drivetrain stuck into the next generation Sentra. Still a great car, but this was the beginning of Nissan’s cost cutting, so not quite as good as the original. The great thing about SE-Rs is that mostly enginerds bought them, and the wealth of knowledge available on the SE-R mailing list (look up what a mailing list is, kids) was phenomenal. I learned so much about working on cars from those people.
I remember how much the press loved the SE-R, and I also remember the TV ad campaign when they launched this generation of Sentra. It was a typically classy commercial from the legendary ad agency Chiat/Day, but sadly I can’t find it on YouTube. Fun memories, though.
(My mom had a previous-gen Sentra 5-door as a company car, and while it was well-made and gave her no problems, it did have the most uncomfortable rear seat I’ve ever been in.)
A friend was going to sell me his SE-R back in ’98 or so. He backed out at the last minute because it needed some work. Bearings IIRC. I was fine doing the work. I still think that he changed his mind because he liked it more than he let on.
From a quick search this car wasn’t even included in any of the Gran Turismo titles, only a couple later gen models found in Forza and NFS. The B13 SE-R truely does seem to be a forgotten gem.
I’m pretty sure I saw a few around when I was a teenager, but then (~90s) I was more of a Evo/WRX/GT-R/RX-7 guy so didn’t think too much of if…
Speaking of Holy Grails, I am about to take possession of one of the last four-wheel-drive, manual transmission wagons offered for sale in the US. I’ll be picking up a very clean and well cared-for example of a 2017 Golf Alltrack this weekend, and folks, I am pumped.
It’s an SE with every option available (the SEL wasn’t offered as a wagon until the final 2019 year) and one that wasn’t (bi-xenon headlights, retrofitted by the previous owner), in Tornado Red. 54,000 miles, all maintenance done ahead of schedule (PO is an engineer) comes with a set of Blizzaks already mounted on Rial Kodiak wheels, and Thule crossbars with kayak racks. Panoramic sunroof, with the relevant recall already addressed. Currently wearing brand new all-seasons on top of brand new brakes and rotors.
I showed up to look at it with a Mk7 Golf-specific checklist of things to watch out for, went through every bit of it, could not find a damn thing wrong with the car except for a bit of minor curb rash and some light scuffing around the rockers. The transmission is so easy to operate, you wonder why automatics even exist. Took a good 30-minute test drive, brought it through the city, out onto the highway, and back—not a rattle, not a squeak, not a single mechanical complaint of any kind. Drives like a brand new car.
I’m picking it up Saturday, and it’s kind of all I can think about right now. This year has been a year of car trouble for me, and moving over to something that is not just newer and better, but that also just feels so right for my tastes and lifestyle is such a pleasure. I’m excited!
Congrats on your Alltrack. I love that VW offered sticks on base models all the way to Autobahn/SEL models. I’ve got a 2017 GTI SE PP 6M (APR tuned) that will have to pried out of my cold dead hands. These VWs just do so much so well-mileage, cargo capacity, HP, and fun!
I tried to get one of my cousins to buy a new Alltrack, and she loved it during the test drive. Unfortunately, her Lurch-sized husband thought the front seat didn’t have enough room (6’4″), and they ended up with a beige Highlander. Sigh!
Don’t have time to write in on an email, but a couple of classic Audis come to mind, the 1984 Audi 4000 quattro (three locking differentials in a small sedan!), the Audi B3 Coupe quattro, which was pretty ahead of its time in terms of styling, and the 1991 200 quattro 20v, possibly the genesis of the modern high performance station wagon. Just some food for thought!
Beat the living snot out of tons of these as a NISSAN test driver then. Much more rewarding than the BMW, even with torque steer. YMMV. Thank you Mercedes! (good times)
My roomate had a black ’91 5-speed SE-R he bought new. This was around 1993 or 1994. Amazing car. I sold cars at the time and was blown away by how competent the car was in all aspects.
Silly guy traded it in on a used ’91 Infiniti Q45 we had (my demo) and we sold the SE-R. Sadly, 6 months later it was wrecked way beyond repair (minor injuries), so I know it’s not still around. But every time I see one, I remember riding in it and how smooth it was at 110+ MPH on the back roads of probably Mexico.
I had one of these, ’94, black, replaced my first generation RX7 (uh-huh, I was Liv Ng the dream back then). They were amazing cars. Light, sporty fun in a practical package. I have urged Mazda to stretch the Miata chassis out a little, out a boxy body on top, and, well, probably watch them stack up on the docks as everybody wants SUVs and lifted hatches.
Anyway, back to the SE-R. The engine was amazing, back then there were torquey old big fours, and peakey high revving little fours, the SE-R gave you torque and revs and power on demand, and a 7500 rpm readline, 500 more twists per minute than the seemingly unburstable RX rotary. I test drove a contemporary Civic SI, no torque. The Nissan handled well too, and was just the right sized package for a daily commute.
I sold mine wanting four doors and ended up buying a very rode hard and put up wet Mazda Millennia S, it didn’t last, and almost ended up buying a red ’91 SE-R with as I recall under 40,000 miles and mint condition, but ended up with a Maxima SE with a five speed instead. The Maxima was like an SE-R all grown up. And they were also very good cars for their day (I had a ’99).
Nissan was at the top of their game in the early to mid nineties.
I had a ’97 Maxima SE 5-speed in college and it was getting tired out, and almost replaced it with a 2000 G20t 5-speed, same SR20 motor. IIRC it weighed as much as the Maxima did and thus much more than the Sentra SE-R, but it was still fun and made up for it in refinement too. The second-gen G was mostly an also-ran when new, but a bargain used.
…or would have been in my case. Did all the due diligence in getting it checked out, and when I went to make an offer, the owner changed his mind because his truck was in an accident or something. Still a little annoyed about that over a decade later, but was par for the course for my car shopping back then, since I missed out on 2-3 better condition 5-speed Maximas before the ’97 I did buy which presented better than it was.
A friend of mine in college had one of these before I met him. He absolutely loved it but fell more in love with the Eagle Talon TSi AWD that he had when I met him. He lamented getting rid of the SE-R until he was driving his Talon.
I looked at the Talon TSi (and the GMC Cyclone for a bit, LOL) as alternates to the SE-R, but between the higher MSRP (I remember it as at least $5k more expensive) and the fact that the AWD ate up most of the cargo space (the SE-R trunk had a ton of room, relatively) sealed the deal.
Going on 90s FWD performance cars, the Beretta GTZ is one to do an article on.
I like your thinking. Lunatic.
The Beretta GTZ. 2,900 lb curb weight, 180 horsepower 2.3L inline-4, 0-60 mph in 7.8 seconds, 131 mph top speed. It was quick for its time period. Get it with the 3.1L V6, its 0-60 time increased to 9 seconds because this option only came with the 3-speed automatic.
I’d prefer the Nissan Sentra SE-R if given a choice between the two.
Fully agree, because that’s the exact choice I made in 1991.
And thank you for the correction on the Beretta GTZ, not GTS. I knew that didn’t sound right…
This is a great call. I was low grade searching for one for years but eventually gave up, as they were all beat to death.
On the other hand, those C&D and R&T comments remind me of why I always disliked American car magazines. 0-60 and top speed isn’t everything. The urge to reduce everything to quantifiable numbers is wrecking everything here, including schools (standardized testing nearly every week for my poor kids, but not much actual education since that can’t be put into spreadsheets).
I agree, especially when they excluded roll-out in the numbers so there was no possible way you would get times like that on the street.
One thing I respected about Wheels, the Australian magazine is that they would do acceleration tests for actually important metrics such as 80kmh to 120kmh to represent overtaking on a highway and other tests so you could work out if 4th or 3rd gear was the best choice for that overtake.
My first new car was a ’91 SE-R, white, with a sunroof. I put 76,000 miles on it in ~4 years, and loved almost all of them. I picked it over the Chevy Beretta GTS because it had anti-lock brakes (active safety), while the Chevy had an airbag (passive safety) and no ABS. It could have used cruise control, though. My right ankle got sore over long interstate drives.
Even with FWD, they were surprisingly neutral. My then-girlfriend and I test-drove one when she was trying to decide what car she’d get once she graduated. The salesman showed us a twisty, relatively quiet road where you could “stretch it out”, and she ended up spinning it into someone’s (very large, rural) front yard with me in the passenger seat and the salesman in back. We left the dealer before anyone could ask about the grass caught in the tire beads. [Her Dad ended up buying her and her older sister each a Neon, so it didn’t matter anyway.]
Thanks for the memories, Mercedes!
I worked with a researcher in the 90s who was the just the nerdiest, uncool guy I ever met. He bought one of these (in red) and instantly was seen as one of the coolest guys on campus. I think that says it all on the “Holy Grail” status of this car.
I knew a couple people who had these. They were SE-Rs too. This was in that special period for Japanese cars where they moved on from gimmicky styling to something simple and clean, only to eventually go all ugly stick again a few years later.
I’m not sure if BMW 2002 is the perfect comparison. Not arguing, but these definitely had the spirit of the Datsun 510 in them. That’s not something to be ashamed of either.
Nobody knew what these were when they came out either. Back in the 90s I was punkass street racer in my AWD DSM and remember an SE-R trying to pull on me once and I wasn’t even going to waste my time on a Sentra but punched it anyways and that damn thing hung right by my passenger side mirror and I couldn’t pull away. It earned my respect and I was telling my friends about how fast the Sentra SE-R was and they all assumed I was crazy as soon as I said “Sentra”.
The SE-R was indeed a fun little 3-box but I can’t believe you didn’t mention the elephant in the room – Front Wheel Drive. I’m pretty sure the Nissan can’t hang its tail and drift all the way around a cloverleaf like the trailing arm RWD Bimmer.
RWD, FWD, AWD. I think we need to stop thinking one is inherently better than another. It’s like Chocolate, Vanilla, Rocky Road. Each has its fans and detractors. All can satisfy.
A great FWD (like the Sentra SE-R) can indeed be lovely, but even a cruddy RWD is fun, whereas a crappy or even an acceptable FWD car isn’t really pleasurable. IMO 4WD is only fun if you can afford expensive repairs and driving waaaaaayyyy over the speed limit.
I mean, depends on your definition of pleasurable. Pushing the limits of understeer and flooring the CVT just to hear it scream are pretty fun in a late-generation Fit, especially if it’s a rental.
I have owned and raced FWD cars and they can be very good. I owned and tracked an AWD Audi S4 and I liked it a lot. That said, I currently have 8 cars, all RWD. I guess my preference is clear.
While I feel like I should disagree, and then argue that RWD is undeniably more fun than the rest, I should note that in the 60s, most F1 drivers chose a Mini Cooper as their daily.
They could have driven Ferraris, Porches and the like, but they chose the FWD Mini because it was more fun.
Beat the living snot out of tons of these as a NISSAN test driver then. Much more rewarding than the BMW, even with torque steer. YMMV. Thank you Mercedes! (good times)
the 3 valve Sentra with a stick was not a terrible ride either. probably why you could still buy Mexican versions for sale in Monterrey well into the 2010’s. The Tsuru would likely still be sold there if not for pesky ABS and Air bag requirements.
I drove a Tsuru 4DR as a rental in Cabo in ~2008. Both for the nostalgia factor (my first new car was an SE-R, see separate post), and because it was already beat up enough that I didn’t worry about it in traffic. Not the same, though.