2017 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo

Although we find the Nissan Sentra distressingly mediocre and one of our least favorite compact cars, the model is nonetheless quite popular, with the company moving some 203,500 Sentras in the U.S. last year—enough to rank third among all Nissans behind the Altima and the Rogue. But for enthusiasts—especially those of us who can remember the awesome original Sentra SE-R—it has been a particular disappointment. Now, Nissan looks to be attempting to rectify that situation with the introduction of the new 2017 Sentra SR Turbo. The new Turbo is powered by the Juke’s 1.6-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces a robust 188 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 177 lb-ft of torque at 1600 rpm—64 more horsepower and 52 lb-ft more torque than the 1.8-liter powerplant in the non-turbo 2017 Sentra SR. Even better, as with the Juke, it’s available not only with a continuously variable automatic transmission but with a manual, too. That makes it the only Sentra model other than the stripper S trim level to offer a manual.

While it’s not being called SE-R, it does remind us of the original, B13-generation Sentra SE-R from the early 1990s, which was essentially a workaday Sentra coupe with a 140-hp engine and a sprinkling of performance upgrades that earned it four straight years on our 10Best Cars list (1991–1994) and turned it into a sleeper performance car and something of a cult classic. We expect zero-to-60-mph times to drop from the mid-nines to under seven seconds, but we won’t know for sure until we strap our test equipment to it, of course.