August 2026 – The Carmax Unicorn Blog

Portmanteau – blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others. I learned this from my review of the 2016 Cadillac CT6….with the “Panaray sound system“, a combination of panoramic and array. In this case, NISMO is a portmanteau of Nissan and Motorsports. Not terribly exciting. Is this 2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO exciting? Yes and no. It’s a 6MT and low-production car, so perhaps it’s a unicorn after all?

For starters, I didn’t even know there was a Sentra NISMO, so I was a little surprised to see it on the CarMax website while searching for interesting manual-transmission cars. The web tells me there aren’t firm numbers on Sentra NISMO’s, just that of the 200,000 Sentras sold that year, maybe 1% were NISMO’s, and of those, very few were 6MT models. And the Sentra NISMO was only imported for three years. That, and all the red trim, won’t get you much gawkin at cars and coffee.

Is the Sentra just an appearance package, like Chevy’s RS and Ford’s Pony trim? Nope. Well, yes, the engine is unchanged and pumps a piddlin’ 188 hp through the front wheels. “Sprints” to 60 mph take an even seven seconds, and top speed is a governed 131 mph. But Nissan beefed up the Sentra’s handling and braking considerably. Car and Driver suggested…”Instead, focus on the NISMO’s reinforced cowl, floorpan, and rear bulkhead. Notice the new rear dampers, and the revised tuning of the front struts and electrically assisted power steering. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires, in size 215/45ZR-18, are an inch larger and 10 millimeters wider than what’s available on any other Sentra.” The Sentra NISMO also braked from 70 mph in 156 feet for Car and Driver, which put it at the top of its class. So I’m on board that it’s more than an appearance package. You won’t see them at Barrett-Jackson auto auction, and there are maybe 15 for sale nationwide on Cars.com and Autotrader.

(CarMax has a second Sentra 6MT listed as a NISMO, but it is not – just a vanilla Sentra.)

Inside, we got red trim and some carbon-fiber accents to set the NISMO apart from regular Sentras. Car and Driver notes the seats are impressively comfortable and supportive, and “the NISMO’s ride is well controlled and comfortable, tauter than that of a Volkswagen GTI but without punishing the occupants.” That said, their summary included: “LOWS: The styling of 2017 wrapped around a 1980s GM interior, it’s not a VW GTI.” For comparison, a 2017-2019 GTI with about the same mileage will run you a $ 3,000 – $5,000 premium.

In addition to the 6MT, you get seat heaters, a rearview camera, Bluetooth, and a CD player. And unlike the GTI, a trunk. With fold-down seats, so kinda hatchy, except for the wheel wells.

Again, the engine is a turbocharged and intercooled 1.6-liter four-banger good for 188 hp. If you’re into it, chipping this stock turbo, injectors, and intercooler, people are realistically landing in the 240–250 hp range. Now that would make this a hoot to drive.

This 2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO sold for maybe $26,000 new nine years ago. It’s not as discounted as I would like at $20,998, and yet there’s only one with lower mileage on the major websites, from a private owner, and it’s selling for less. I’d keep an eye on this one and see if it lingers here at the Dulles, Virginia CarMax. It’s a one-owner, accident-free southern Virginia car, and if it drops in price into the teens, it could be fun. I’d skip MaxCare on this mostly analog car. Enjoy.

Stock No: 70075877 VIN: 3N1CB7AP2HY300042

My hobby includes thinking up new and interesting ways to harvest the CarMax app for unicorns. As you probably know, in the phone app you can only sort by two-year pairs (2014-2015, and not 2014 only), but on a desktop more flexibility. On the desktop, mileage range is 0-130,000. On my phone, the sliding bar sometimes shows 939,999 as an “Under” filter. They don’t have any cars above 130k. Dumb.

CarMax has 94,000 cars in the fleet as of today. I saw a neat Mercedes diesel on Marketplace and wondered what diesels CarMax has, and there are over 700 of them. I also look for manual transmission cars, and of the 94,000, only 1,800 are manuals. I’m also curious: with 2014 being the oldest year carried, how many are European? There are 29 of the 1,500 2014 cars left. And overall, CarMax has just under 1,200 convertibles of the 94,000. Combining all of that, the unicorn popped out as interesting to me. (As an aside, there are only three 2014 manual transmission convertibles at CarMax – a Mustang, a Miata, and this VW – and of course, this is the only diesel!)

A 2014 Volkswagen Beetle TDI convertible with a six-speed manual transmission. It’s rare for a bunch of reasons, not all of them good. The most public, the 2015 VW diesel scam. This engine was part of the roughly 475,000-vehicle EA189/EA288 emissions cheating scandal. The cars could detect when they were hooked up to emissions testing equipment. During testing, the software activated full emissions controls so the car passed. On the road, in normal driving, it dialed those controls back — which boosted fuel economy and performance but let the cars emit nitrogen oxide (NOx) at up to 40 times the legal limit.

The EPA caught it in September 2015 after West Virginia University researchers noticed real-world emissions didn’t match lab results. VW admitted to it, and it became known as “Dieselgate.” (My son pointed out the silliness of adding “gate” to scandals – Watergate, the hotel break-in political scandal of 1972 that started this, was not a scandal about water.) VW’s settlement gave owners a choice — sell it back, or get the free, regulator-approved two-part fix (done 2017–2019) plus cash restitution. Same for Porsche and Audi diesel owners – maybe 585,000 cars overall and a $2.7 billion restitution program. (EPA and DOJ are the sources for much of this.)

Let’s presume this car was fixed. (Many weren’t – bought back, scrapped, and crushed). My best bud had an Audi A6 diesel, took the payout and the fix, and loved driving it until a deer ate the front end. What makes this car rare is that it’s the only DIESEL CONVERTIBLE ever to be sold in the USA! How cool is that? I really don’t know. Maybe it’s notable, rare like the scam, but not great? Maybe it allows you to drive with the top down and accumulate diesel fumes in your hair?

I don’t have any reliable numbers. The VW Beetle TDI convertible was only sold in the USA 2013-2015. VW sold about 94,000 Beetles of all kinds over those three years. Maybe 10-15% were convertibles and diesels. Most people wanted the DSG snap-shifting automatic, so no idea how many convertible diesel manual transmission cars are out there. Autrotrader has six, Cars.com three, and CarMax one.

Is the car any good? The 140 hp / 236 lb-ft, 2.0L turbodiesel was noted for low-end grunt, as turbodiesels are, but 0-60 mph was a sluggish nine seconds. Mileage was a decent 28/41, although gas and hybrids get that. And diesel, at the moment, ain’t cheap. Reviews say it doesn’t handle badly, and it is on the same platform as the GTI and Golf, but higher center of gravity and bracing for the drop top gives it more of a comfortable sedan feel than a nimble German hatchback. It’s got seat heaters….and a CD player, and Bluetooth, and not much else. Diesels are better for road trips than for stop-and-go errands. The rear trunk holds more than you think – it’s twice the size of my former 911’s front boot, and that held a full-size suitcase. For what it’s worth.

This 2014 VW Beetle TDI has only 43,000 miles on it. Single owner, accident-free. Colorado car always. My guess is it was well loved – someone bought it the year before the scandal and stuck with it even though they could have bailed. Didn’t drive it much but maintained it and owned it for a dozen years. Nothing wrong with that.

The car sold new for perhaps $ 29,000 and has retained much of its value at $19k now. It’s by far the lowest mileage one compared to Autotrader and Cars.com, and for $19k the best you could do there is 66,000 miles. Not sure about a collectible, but you probably won’t see another at Cars and Coffee. It’s “On Hold” at the moment here in CarMax El Paso, Texas. I understand TDI-specific parts (injectors, DPF/emissions hardware post-fix) aren’t cheap, so spring for the MaxCare.

Stock No: 70077288 VIN: 3VW6L7AT1EM805610

Month: August 2026

Quick Hit – 2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO 6MT (Another Portmanteau Car!)

Quick Hit – Rare Quirky Survivor: 2014 VW Beetle TDI 6MT. Nothing Else Like It Exists in the USA?