Styling The Sentra's tall stance and short hood and trunklid make the car look a bit stubby in profile. As in many compact cars, if you plan on carrying adults in the backseat you'll have to make sure front-seat occupants are willing to share their legroom. Check out the for a full list of safety features. Its drivetrain performance and suspension tuning are praiseworthy, and its configurable cargo area enhances its utility. The Corolla isolates you but doesn't encourage you to push it on a winding road. This design cue was a fad a few years ago, and it's time for Nissan to d.
It takes an extra step to fold the seats — you have to flip forward the seat cushion first — but once the backrest is down the opening's extra size is clearly evident. It's a nice balance that delivers the benefits of both approaches in one car. This design cue was a fad a few years ago, and it's time for Nissan to ditch the look. Like many other cars with smaller engines — the Civic and Corolla included — the Sentra's four-cylinder doesn't have a lot of power in reserve for highway passing. I was able to get fairly comfortable in the driver's seat, but I wish Nissan would add a telescoping adjustment to the steering wheel it only tilts. Shopping for a new car can be a time-consuming process, but if you make an effort to test-drive a Sentra I think you'll find that it's time well-spent. Alloy wheels always dress up a car's exterior, and 2.
Show full review Some cars get all the attention, and the Nissan Sentra isn't one of them. There's adequate space between two adults sitting in the outboard rear seats, but adding a third in the middle makes for a tight squeeze. To get leather in a Corolla, you'd have to pay more than twice that, though Toyota includes front seat heaters in the package. The Civic handles well but makes occupants pay with a noisy cabin. I noticed some noise over big bumps, but the suspension craftily blended good damping abilities without sacrificing steering response and overall nimbleness. While you probably wouldn't regret getting a Civic or Corolla, the Sentra outdoes those cars in some areas and offers a number of upscale features for exceptionally affordable prices. There are two large, backlit analog gauges that are easy to read, but between them is an orange-lit digital readout for fuel level, engine temperature and the trip computer.
Even then, the Sentra's backseat is snug but workable for taller adults. I like the Sentra's design more than the Corolla's, which is about as bland and nondescript a car as you'll find these days. In the world of everyday, economy transportation, the Sentra is a pleasant surprise — a hidden gem for those willing to give it a try. Not everything's right with the Sentra's design. Standard safety features include side-impact airbags for the front seats, side curtain airbags for both rows and active front head restraints. Antilock brakes and an electronic stability system are optional.
It's not nearly as sleek as the Civic, which is still futuristic looking even though it's been around in its current form since the 2006 model year — an incredible feat. If you do stab it, you're more likely to get just a slight bump in speed and more engine noise. On the whole, however, the clean-looking cabin utilizes nice materials and has some upscale controls, like the manual air-conditioning knobs, which wouldn't be out of place in a much more expensive car. It accelerates up to highway speeds confidently and cruises easily with fast traffic, but don't expect a burst of power if you stab the gas pedal. The Sentra's 5-inch screen isn't as large as some other built-in ones, but its graphics are crisp and it features easy-to-use touch-screen operation.
A couple of our editors, myself included, weren't fond of the car's clear-lens taillights. Some cars get all the attention, and the Nissan Sentra isn't one of them. The Sentra, meanwhile, falls somewhere between the two. I like the Sentra's design more than the Corolla's, which is about as bland and nondescript a car as you'll find these days. Still, it's an awful lot of work to fold the second row. It's not nearly as sleek as the Civic, which is still futuristic looking even though it's been around in its current form since the 2006 model year — an incredible feat. For a side-by-side comparison of the Sentra, Civic and Corolla,.
Styling The Sentra's tall stance and short hood and trunklid make the car look a bit stubby in profile. A couple of our editors, myself included, weren't fond of the car's clear-lens taillights. You can fold the seatbacks without flipping the bottom cushions forward, but if you do you're left with highly angled backrests that aren't flat with the cargo floor. The Sentra comes standard with steel wheels, but our 2. . I also have a problem with the Sentra's instrument panel, or more specifically, one of its gauges. The Sentra's optional continuously variable automatic transmission, which my car had, provides an infinite number of gear ratios, and that allows engine speed to remain more constant, and usually quieter.
The rear head restraints don't have to be removed before folding the seats; they simply flip forward. Overall, the Sentra feels like it has a larger engine under its hood than it does, but not at the expense of fuel economy. The Inside Certain elements of the Sentra's cabin drew criticism from staff members, including the loud, cheap-sounding noise emanating from the gear selector when moved from Park to Drive, the appearance of the faux-silver trim bordering the selector itself, and the feel of the radio buttons. I tested an uplevel Sentra 2. I like the Sentra's ride quality, though some Cars.
Its name isn't always uttered in the same sentences as models like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, but after driving one it's clear that it should be; this car deserves to be on compact-car buyers' shopping lists. In the world of everyday, economy transportation, the Sentra is a pleasant surprise — a hidden gem for those willing to give it a try. This is an uncommon seat-folding design — many compact cars simply have backrests that fold down — and it may mean you'll have to move the front seats forward a little so the cushions can flip forward far enough for the backrests to clear them on the way down. It's not like the Sentra uses cheapo leather, either; staffers commented positively on its high-quality feel. Driving It The Sentra's off-the-line performance is good, with acceleration that's much more effortless than the Civic or Corolla, both of which are offered with traditional automatic transmissions with fixed gears. Its name isn't always uttered in the same sentences as models like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, but after driving one it's clear that it should be; this car deserves to be on compact-car buyers' shopping lists. Safety The Sentra received a Good overall rating — the highest possible score — in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's frontal-offset and side-impact crash tests.