2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V from North America - Comments

I had to recently replace my left front blinker.

This car will suprise any import or muscle car with a very quick blast off the line.

The looks are great, and the four doors make the cops look right past you.

How is a 4 door economy car from Nissan a "sports" car? Perhaps you should define sports car. There is more to it than simple power (I assume you have the V6, even so, it still has under 200 horsepower) BTW most true, bona fide sports cars are NOT front wheel drive (the Tiburon, most Acuras etc are not REAL sports cars) a real sports car has lots of power (300+) usually rear wheel drive (not a necessity, but makes for more fun driving) manual (no automatic will ever be a sports car) Sports car is over used now-a-days. Nothing that a teenage kid could afford is a sports car, cut and dry.

This car may not be a true sports car, but it is pretty quick and turns great. I don't know what is up with the last comment. Maybe a Mustang or Camaro would be a sports car to him, or maybe it has to cost $80k. If it is a mustang or camaro, then just find a course that turns and the little spec will probably beat either of those. It is no drag strip car, but real racing means turning.

In response to the first comment: First of all there is not a v-6 made for the Sentra SE-R spec-V, only a 2.5L 4 cylinder. Secondly, although I too feel that a sports car should have a manual transmission, there are plenty of "real sports cars" that have an automatic, unless you don't consider Jaguar, BMW, or Chevy (Corvette in specific) to be "real sports car" manufacturers. Nissan did a good thing by creating this stock road-ready sports compact. Great idea, however I really have to side with Motor Trend when they said "hot rod looking for a chassis". Great car all around though, would be interesting to see this engine in an early model 240sx (rear wheel drive), with stiffer shocks, springs, and aftermarket sway bar. I love my SE-R, and have yet to be beaten off the line in it!

I'm curious, what are you trying to race with your SE-R? You claim to not have been beaten off the line, then I ask again, what are you comparing it to? I spent $21K out the door after some serious haggling for a 2004 wrx wagon, and I've met up with a few SE-Rs and the ONLY time I get a good look at them is in my rear view mirror (and I can almost fit an SE-R in my back hatch), with all of the options the Spec V is about $22K out the door (If you're smart enough to get the airbags and upgraded brakes that a wrx comes standard with). How about a neon srt-4? One of my buddies just picked up an 04 with 500 miles on it for $18,500, and he's yet to have even a spec v stay anywhere near him.

Yes for an economy car the SE-R does pretty good, but you really need to get off your high horse with some of this. I now have about $2500 in mods in my rex wagon (bought a bunch of it used like my VF34, my cusco suspension parts, but they work just fine), would you care to race now (she runs mid 12s and corners on RAILS)? Gladly meet you at the local SCCA event or the strip.

Wrx and spec-v are 2 totally different animals with 2 different purposes. If I lived in USA I would have bought a rex as well, but in canada the difference was about $14,000. a lot of money for a turbo and allwheel drive.

Fit a spec in your hatch??? the two cars are almost exactly the same size. Getting a rex confused with a Forester???

Race a stock spec and stock rex without destroying the clutch and there sure ain't no $14,000cdn gap maybee a $500 gap.

Pay extra for ABS... who the hell actually wants ABS in a tuner car?

Resale... turbo cars SUCK in the used market. to get me to buy a used rex over new you would have to give it to me for almost 1/2 price. used spec... as long as it is not an 02 they do very well here, partially because the car is an excelent value for the dollar, is both new and rare at the same time. Currently in Alberta there is about 20 wrx advertised and only 2 spec-v's advertised. the wrx take about a $10,000cdn loss and the spec takes about a $4,000cdn loss.

I have read several different reviews on several different cars and in every review it always starts with the first review commenting about the style and performance of the car and always ends with someone criticizing them and saying that their muscle cars can kill imports. honestly, who cares? people come here to find out what others think about a car they may want to purchase. I haven't found a single review to be helpful because after the first one, if someone mentions that they like the car and think it is fast, someone chimes in and says they have a 500 hp trans am or whatever the hell they have that could kill the import. this site is about reviews on cars. not a type fight to see who has the better car. I could say that I have a Mclaren and I know its not true. so give car reviews, not comparisons.

The talk police have spoken. Two words: free country.

I agree with the person before this comment... i am looking to buy a used spec and I didn't get what I wanted out of any of the reviews. I was tyring to find out if the car will last long after 100,000 kmi and if it is a good running car in general, because I never bought a nissan before, but I test drove one and I was definately impressed.

I just bought a silver 03 spec-v with 56000 miles on it and it works perfectly fine except that the brake light on the dashboard won't go off. The brakes and the handbrake are in good condition. It's just a little problem the brake fluid is probably low. The car is better choice than any stock Honda Civic. Also I just installed an n1 cat-back muffler and it sounds great.

03 Spec, owned it since new.

No problems to date. I threw a nismo header on the car at 16,000 miles to avoid any precat failure and loctite the butterfly screws to avoid any problems there.

5 years later and no complaints, currently has 52000 miles on the clock.

If you have starting issues: wait for the fuel pump to cycle or about the time you count say one-one thousand.

I have a yellow 2003 Spec-V with 65k on it, and I love it. It is a great car if you drive a lot; really comfortable, and can seat 5 people, but preferably leave the rear seats for children or smaller adults.

Great gas mileage. I get around 25 city and 33 highway with a car full of people! Went to Yosemite and back with 5 people in the car, and used a tank of fuel and clocked 380 miles.

Does eat a little oil here and there, but not enough to worry.

Someone was saying that they hear a weird noise coming when they turn. They should check the exhaust straps. Nuts can get loose.

Sometimes take a couple of turns to start, but never let me down.

Also a sleeper. Good traction because of the LSD. also corners amazingly for such a low priced car. have some mods and it runs great. Not too rough and not too soft.

Would recommend to a teenager.

9 out of 10.