Nissan: Please Ensure The New Sentra Looks Exactly Like Its Chinese Sibling

Small sedans aren’t quite dead in the United States, but they occupy just a small fraction of their former market share. Every year, it seems like there are fewer and fewer on the road. That’s a shame. Small sedans deliver that perfect mix of affordability, maneuverability, and fuel economy that’s hard to find anywhere else. Yet, more and more buyers continue to turn to compact crossovers instead.

While many brands turn their backs on small sedans, there are a few brands keeping the faith, and one of them is Nissan. The troubled Japanese automaker is planning to introduce a new Sentra later this year, and it’s going to stay small. We know this because MIIT—China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—reportedly just published a few images and dimensions of its sister car, the Sylphy, before its official debut.

The current Sylphy and the current Sentra share a unibody and interior, but their front bumpers are markedly different. The Sentra uses an all-black, slatted grille, while the Sylphy employs a U-shaped chrome grille piece, similar to the pre-facelift Altima we got here in the States.

It’s unclear right now how much of the Sylphy’s face will show up on the U.S.-market Sentra. The shape shown in these photos seems similar to what was shown in spy photos of the new Sentra published elsewhere online, while the lights match up with teasers that Nissan released earlier this year.

Say what you will about Nissan’s current financial situation, but its design department is killing it right now. I think this thing looks great. The fascia is sharp and modern, without going too overboard on trying to look overly techy or futuristic. The rear, meanwhile, is doing the singular brake light bar thing that virtually every other new car has these days. But it doesn’t look bad. I really hope Nissan doesn’t change much in the transition from Slyphy to Sentra.

New cars are famously always bigger than outgoing models, and that’ll be true for the new Sylphy—but not by much. Measurements published by MIIT indicate the car will only be half an inch longer and 0.3 inches wider than the current car, with an identical wheelbase and height. The wheelbase being the same—as well as the near identical shape of the hood’s shut line and the roofline—suggests this might just be a very heavy update, rather than an entirely new car. There’s no reason to believe it’ll be any different for the Sentra. Not that I mind. If the Sentra’s only way of surviving is to keep the same unibody, then so be it. That’s better than having it die off.

There’s no official word on powertrain for the U.S. yet, though places like MotorTrend and Motor1 say that the new Sentra will get a version of the same 149-horsepower 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder found in the current car. Car and Driver, meanwhile, reports that the upcoming Sentra will receive a turbocharged three-cylinder engine, likely the 201-hp unit from the Rogue. Both engines are paired with a CVT, which will probably be the case for 2026, despite my twice-daily pleas to Nissan to bring back the five-speed manual (it was killed off earlier this year, reportedly due to tariffs).

The new Sentra could become an even more important car in Nissan’s lineup going forward. Rumors of the Versa and the Altima dying off mean that the Sentra might soon be the company’s last-remaining sedan. And, provided Nissan doesn’t go crazy with unnecessary tech upgrades, it would also eclipse the Versa to become the cheapest new car in America (the 2025 Sentra starts at $22,785 including destination).

Long live the small sedan.

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