The ESi is a decent car, but it's smaller than the Sentra FE in terms of room, and at its age, it's kind of overpriced. If you can get one for under 150k, okay, as long as it doesn't have rust.

Possible problems with the ESi include cracked radiators and radiator hoses (due primarily to age) and rear fender rust and roof rust, as well as paint problems. This is because Civics of this era had poor rustproofing (same problem with the Honda City Type Z). As long as the body is okay, it's a decent buy, but there might be other less common problems that can crop up in a car that old.

The Sentra FE lacks top end power, but it has short gearing, so it's quick in city traffic. There are no stock power accessories, so it's bare, but that means that there are few things that can break.

Common problems include:
-poor fuel consumption if the carburator is dirty. You have to clean it every 10,000 kilometers or so, or whenever it feels like it's losing power.
-an expensive airconditioner compressor. Expensive to replace if it breaks, but compressors generally are. The upside is the aircon is very cold. Poor fuel consumption can also be traced to aircon use/problems.

Other than that, it's a relatively painless car to own, and driven right, should be very fuel efficient and practical.

I prefer the Sentra FE, personally, it's a much better commuter car (this is from experience, I used to own one, and my cousin had a 95 Civic LXi).