2009 Nissan Sentra

Nissan doesn't seem to be making much progress in its quest to eliminate overlap within its car lineup. In 2007, the company's new "entry-level" Versa was born as a bigger car than the outgoing Sentra, while the latest Altima had shrunk. That left a very narrow space for the middle-child Sentra to slot through.

As a result, the Sentra emerged with one outstanding feature: tons of interior room. Its long, wide, tall body towers nearly every other compact sedan (officially, the Sentra is a mid-size), leaving it with NBA-grade headroom and toe-tapping footroom rarely found in cars of this class. The seats themselves feel pretty good too, and they're just one fine element in the Sentra's attractive interior. All of this is good news for tall guys with tight budgets.

Changes to the Sentra's mechanical components were just as extensive -- it now shares engineering with a French car called the Renault Megane -- though they didn't result in a great-driving car. The main engine is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with decent performance and good gas mileage, thanks in part to Nissan's smooth CVT automatic transmission, but it sounds worse than most Nissan engines. The steering feels unnatural, and the brakes are grabby and don't do a good job stopping the car. At least the Sentra rides fairly well, despite its lack of an independent rear suspension.

Things get faster in the Sentra SE-R, though hardly more exciting. Even with a 200-horsepower engine (177 with automatic), a sport suspension and performance tires, everything about it feels either too numb or too unnatural to get the blood flowing.

Generally, what we're left with is an average car with above-average space -- though at least Nissan's modest pricing means that extra space is free.