I would have her test drive both of them. My wife chose the Sentra SE over the Focus and Protege, and this is when the sporty version still had the 2.0 liter. The 2.5 liter is icing on the cake especially with the auto trans. The extra power in the Sentra shouldn?t be overlooked but either choice would be a sound one. Good luck.
Let me add, the Mazda has the more sophisticated suspension and after driving the Sentra I can see that. Although the Sentra handles good, it can sometimes feel sloppy/disconnected when it gets bumpy, for lack of a better description.
