Nissan Tsuru (Sentra) production reaches the end of the road... after 25 years!

[MetroMPG]

A 25 year model run sounds just about right, eh?

Nissan has been building its B13 chassis since 1991, known here as the Sentra. While our Sentras that looked like this were only around for 5 years, they've soldiered on in Mexico ever since, and are hugely popular because they're super inexpensive, parts are cheap and found everywhere.

Apparently they're a favourite of the taxi companies.

The nail in the coffin is Mexico is updating its safety regs, including airbags, ABS and crash standards that this car just doesn't offer.

My first Nissan was an 80's era Sentra wagon, manual trans of course. It was awesome -- yellow paint, limo soft suspension, manual everything, about 60 hp.

But I also spent some seat time in a B13 Sentra at Shannonville. I spent a day driving one at the Nissan School of Performance Driving. It was good fun -- they put a racing seat + harness in it, and low profile tires to try to entice people out of the 240's and 300's.

RIP SENTRA!

Article:
It’s Been A Good Run: Nissan Tsuru Production Likely To End Soon

[Ajijic]

I was going to purchase the Tsuru instead of the March (Micra) but it was more expensive and had antiquated technology vs the March.

[MetroMPG]

More expensive than the March?

I thought the whole reason to keep selling the Tsuru was that it could be sold very inexpensively. I would have guessed it was less than the March.

Is the 1.6L engine different than the HR16DE in the March/Micra too?

[Ajijic]

The 1.6L engine HR16DE is in the March/Micra too.

March Price

Tsuru Price

The service intervals for the Tsuru are more costly and more frequent as well.

[Daox]

I was in Mexico just last year and there are swarms of these cars still running about. It was quite interesting to see. My cousin had one probably 10 years back, he loves the 40 mpg his wife got with it.

[Ajijic]

I was in Mexico just last year and there are swarms of these cars still running about. It was quite interesting to see. My cousin had one probably 10 years back, he loves the 40 mpg his wife got with it.

They are extremely popular, so much so that the insurance rates for this car are higher than the Macrh. It is one of the most widely used by the Taxis in the area (Jalisco). Also one of the most stolen for parts. The irony is that the March gets better gas mileage and cost less with better performance.

[MetroMPG]

Published on Oct 31, 2016

A car-to-car test between a 2015 Nissan Tsuru, the least expensive sedan sold by Nissan in Mexico, and a 2016 Nissan Versa, the least expensive sedan sold by Nissan in the United States.

With a 50% overlap and a combined closing speed of 80 mph (129 km/h) the test highlights the significant differences in safety standards between these two baseline models sold by the same manufacturer in different markets.

From: Horrifying Crash Test Against A Modern Car Shows Why Mexico's Nissan Tsuru Is No More

---

Worth thinking about after watching that crash: the Canadian Micra and the US Versa sedan are built on the same platform and have the same built-in safety features (active & passive).