I spent most of my life growing up in a place where my family’s household income was well below the average. My friends lived in houses while we lived in a series of apartments built so that the suburb’s developers would qualify for an affordable housing tax credit. My classmates would spend Spring Break in Aspen or Telluride, whereas I wouldn’t see a real mountain until I was in my 20s.
There was always an awareness that I did not have the resources of most of my peers, but I rarely felt bad about it. The fun trick about kids who get everything they want is that they don’t want whatever it is for long, so I regularly got to play with that season’s hot toy before its first set of batteries had to be replaced. My parents also did the best they could to provide me with attention, which isn’t something all of my rich friends could really say.
I had a great childhood and got to take advantage of incredible schools, mostly paid for by property taxes on the McMansions owned by someone else’s mom and dad. This isn’t to say I think there’s any particular dignity in penury. I’ve had money and I’ve not had money, and between the two outcomes, I think I’d rather have it.
At the beginning of this year, I decided I wanted to drive cheaper cars, if I could find them in the press fleets. Vehicles have gotten so expensive. According to Cox Automotive, it now takes the average family more than 37 weeks of their entire income to afford the average new car. That’s not good. The average transaction price for a new car approached $50,000 during the pandemic and has barely come down since.
One of our readers, Crank Shaft, sent me a window sticker and a quote for a Nissan Sentra that was just sold to one of his employees. The total price was under $23,000 out the door. The carmaker has had its share of woes lately, and this has resulted in impressively low prices. But a low price doesn’t make a great deal. It’s only a great deal if the car is good.
Around this same time, Consumer Reports named the Sentra to its yearly 10 Best list, citing the car’s “exceptional value.” This made me even more curious, so I asked Nissan if they could send me one, and they quickly obliged.
Cheap Cars Used To Suck
With the benefit of hindsight, you can go back to almost any era and find a reasonably nice, cheap new car for sale. For the last three decades, most of those cars have been Japanese appliances like the Civic or Corolla. No-frills vehicles that would outlast the next two popes.
Those were largely the exception, though. For every Civic, there’s a Kia Rio or Ford Aspire or godforsaken K-Car. Vehicles that let everyone know that your credit score was subpar. My parents couldn’t afford a new car until they were in their 30s, and that was just a base model Ford Escort three-door hatch. Other than A/C (this ain’t Quebec), the Escort lacked a passenger-side mirror, painted bumpers, and cruise control. It didn’t even come with a radio.
I learned to drive stick on that car and have fond memories of it, but it was a regular reminder that you did not qualify for the nicer things in life. Not that the underlying, Mazda-based car was bad. It’s a solid platform, but to hit a price point, it had to make you feel just a little bad.
Again, ascetism is only laudable when it’s a choice and it’s not a choice most people want to make (Piper, no!)
I believe this has shifted a bit. The cheapest Chevy Trax is still a good car, with a decent number of features. A base Mitsubishi Mirage, though? I don’t have the Mirage hate that many do, but it’s not a car most people purchase because it’s their favorite. It’s cheap and, next to any other car, looks like a Cozy Coupe. Actually, a Cozy Coupe might have bigger wheels.
When the Nissan Versa and Mitsubishi Mirage finally disappear from lots this year, the Sentra is likely the cheapest car you can buy. Does it suck?
The Nissan Sentra Very Much Does Not Suck
There was a lot of wind-up to this particular review, so if you don’t want to get to the end of it I’ll just tell you that the Nissan Sentra SR that I reviewed is legitimately a good car. It’s the “sporty” trim, and it is not at all sporty, really, and that’s ok. I’m willing to give the Sentra an awful lot of grace because there are many cars that cost twice as much that are not twice as good.
As the man once famously said, money isn’t everything, but not having it is. There are better cars in this class, and all of them cost more money. If you have that coin to spare, perhaps buy the Civic or the Envista or whatever. Maybe an extra $3-$4k is a lot of money to you. That’s ok! A Sentra does what needs doing and with suspiciously few penalties.
It has its shortcomings, and I’ll discuss those below, but nothing is really a dealbreaker for me. If your local neighborhood Nissan dealer has a Sentra on the lot and is willing to deal, it’s worth your time to consider it if what you want is something safe and efficient.
The Basics
Engine: 2.0-liter DOHC inline-four naturally aspirated
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Output: 149 horsepower, 145 lb-ft of torque
Fuel economy: 30 city, 38 highway, 33 combined
Body style: Compact four-door sedan.
Base price: $22,370 base, delivered. ($28,320 as tested with the $2,590 Premium Package)
How Does It Look?
I’m a sucker for weird cars, which is why the somewhat similarly-priced Kia K4 is more my style. Maybe you don’t want a weird car. Maybe you just want a car. Presenting the Nissan Sentra. It’s a car.
In some ways, the Sentra is the most car-looking automobile on the market right now. At least in the United States. You want headlights that go where headlights should? It has those. What about a grill in the front, a greenhouse you can see out of, and a trunk that just opens like a trunk? It has those, too.
Even in the nicer SR trim, the Sentra is just a car, albeit one garnished with a little brightwork along the lower edge of the window and the thin strip of black on the C-Pillar that’s one of Nissan’s design signatures. Under the skin, all the Sentras are mechanically identical. This means that any aesthetic additions you want and can afford, you can get, but it won’t change the performance in any significant way.
In fact, the biggest aesthetic and performance difference comes in the wheels, ranging from 16-inch steelies with nice covers in the base S up to black 18-inch wheels on the SR Midnight Edition. From my perspective, the 18-inch alloy wheels on the SR look the best. Given a choice, I’d go with the 16-inch aluminum alloys on the SV for the improved fuel economy.
When my daughter saw it, she said, “It’s blue. It looks fast. I like it!”
What’s The Interior Like?
Congrats, you bought a car. It looks like a car on the inside, too.
From the driver’s seat, you stare at two real mechanical gauges with a small screen in between. There’s an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen attractively floating above real vents and real buttons (on the cheapest version, there’s a 7-inch screen). I even took a picture of myself using the HVAC controls because it’s rarer and rarer these days to have real dials.
The fake leather seats can be a tad squeaky, but are otherwise comfortable and nicer than the seats found in some more expensive crossovers I’ve driven. The plastics aren’t the best on offer, nor are they the worst. Everything feels durable.
Because it’s an SR, you have the optional red stitching and hilariously fake carbon fiber. It’s fun, though. If you’re 20 and this is your first car maybe you convince yourself it’s real carbon fiber. I won’t tell anyone. Live your life.
Do you want rear legroom? In the ’90s, your best way to be comfortable in the backseat of a compact car was to pray you yelled “shotgun” first. Did you know that this supposedly compact car has more rear legroom than my supposedly midsize luxury BMW sedan? Indeed, it does. It’s nice back there.
The trunk, too, has a ton of room. Enough for me to stuff all my sports gear, groceries, a wagon, and all the crap of modern life without having to readjust anything.
How Does It Drive?
Did I mention you can probably get one of these for under $25,000 out the door, depending on your local taxes? It’s a naturally aspirated motor connected to a mediocre continuously variable transmission, so adjust your expectations a little bit. Just because it doesn’t make you feel bad for buying it, doesn’t mean that it’ll give you a shave and a haircut.
It’s not powerful. It’s not particularly fast. The best I can say for it is that the CVT isn’t as noticeably bad as previous Nissan CVTs. If all you’re looking for is a nice car to get you to where you’re going, you might find the Sentra pleasingly forgettable.
Can it turn? Of course. The four round wheels on the edges of the car are connected to the slightly smaller wheel on the inside, and given a reasonable amount of force applied to the small wheel, the two slightly larger front wheels will move in a corresponding direction. It does this neither enthusiastically nor begrudgingly. It just does it.
It’ll predictably thrust you onto a highway and, once there, the actual car will mostly disappear into the background.
Are There Enough Gadgets To Make Me Feel Like I’m Not Being Penalized?
Even in its most poverty-spec form, the Nissan Sentra gets Apple CarPlay integration, a touch-screen display, remote keyless entry, and Nissan Safety Shield 360 (lane departure warning, high beam assist, emergency braking, blind spot warning, and cross traffic alert). Step up just one level to the SV or SR, and there’s the optional Around View monitor with full camera coverage around the entire car (something I wish my nicer Honda had).
My tester had the optional Premium Package with the eight-speaker Bose premium audio system, which wasn’t half bad. It also offered a heated steering wheel, power sliding glass moonroof, and a six-way power adjustable driver’s seat. These are all nice to have items, but nothing that’s absolutely required.
This is why I think the cheapest SV you can find with the dual zone climate control package, which is almost bang-on $24,000 delivered in most places, is the best deal.
Does It Have One Annoying Foible?
While I think most auto stop-start on modern vehicles is fine, there are still cars with the older/bad style of the technology. This is what the Trump Administration is complaining about and I have to admit it is crappy. This isn’t because the car is cheap, it’s just because Nissan doesn’t offer a 48-volt or hybrid system here in America.
Most annoyingly, the system isn’t always sure when the car should shut off, and if you start to roll away from a stop and then change your mind, you might lose a little brake pressure. This happened to me more than once and, while it’s not a huge issue at the low speeds I was driving, it does feel a bit disconcerting.
This is bad calibration, and I’ve spoken with at least one other person who had the same experience in a different Sentra, so I don’t think it’s just this car. Overall, the brakes on this car are dynamically the weakest part. The SR weighs just a hare (a small, furry one) over 3,100 pounds, so 11 inches up front and 10.2 inches in the back should be sufficient and they are, but the brake feel is notably memorable in a way the rest of the car thankfully isn’t.
Does It Fulfil Its Purpose?
Hell yeah, it does. A Civic Hybrid is more efficient. The Kia K4 is more pleasingly strange. And a Chevy Trax is a crossover, which is a body style that’s popular right now. You might be able to get a good deal on any of those cars. Neville Chamberlain should be able to negotiate a great price on a Sentra.
There are currently more than 10,000 of them listed for sale on Cars.com, and some of the prices are truly silly. Adjusted for inflation, many of these Sentras are a lot cheaper than the Escort my parents bought, and all of them appear to have passenger-side mirrors.
If that’s not luxury, I don’t know what is!
All photos by the author
Well Matt, you lost me at “mediocre continuously variable transmission”. That marvelous transmission, so continuous in its variability, does it not impress you? Does it not remind you of humanity’s progress in engineering and manufacturing? Or are you just a fraud?
He didn’t mean that mediocre part, he’s just upset that there’s no stick.
It’s a shame that Nissan doesn’t deign to offer any version of the Sentra with a manual transmission like they did for the Versa. I can (and do) put up with a lot of unpleasant things in my life, but a Nissan CVT probably isn’t one of them. I gather that if you give them a full service every 30K they might last over 100Kmiles, but it’s a hassle and a risk, as well as a drain on fun/pleasure.
I think the SV is the sweet spot too. I’d rather have the 16″ wheels for cheaper tire replacement and a more comfortable ride. I actually LIKE the interior with all its analog gauges and physical knobs and buttons… for the price, it looks more than just good enough. And I’ve yet to enjoy a 360 degree camera on any car I own: it’s probably the single item of modern car tech that I most envy.
A wagon/hatch version of the Sentra would be great. Don’t give it a lift or pointless plastic body cladding, so that nobody mistakes it for a crossover, and it probably won’t cannibalize Rogue sales. A serviceable little wagon or hatch with a NA four and a manual trans? That’s actually buyable in the low twenties? Yes, please!
Who’s Piper? Is that your daughter or maybe your dog? 😉
White Lotus S3 reference.
Ah, thanks! No wonder I didn’t get it. 😉
I got a 2025 Sentra SV as a rental car last week.
It’s a sharp looking car. A far cry from what Nissans used to look like. My rental had Rosewood Metallic paint, which is a nice dark red.
The interior was nice, with charcoal cloth. I liked the look of the vents, which did such a great job putting out cold air that I didn’t have to run the A/C the whole time even in Georgia. I did not like the bare steering wheel texture so I would recommend a cover.
Acceleration and handling were good for its class and mileage was phenomenal, roughly 480 miles of range on a full tank.
I had whatever the poverty level 2024 Sentra is as a rental and thought it was great for its price range.I would buy whatever version had heated seats and probably an extended warranty for the CVT but would have no problem owning one. I had a 1988 base model Sentra and that was stripped of anything resembling comfort other than an AM/FM radio.It ran great but was an absolute tin can.
@Jatco Xtronic CVT, are you going to stand for this slander????
Absolutely not. I’m not sure Matt is properly qualified for his job, if “mediocre” or “not as noticeably bad” is how he describes the ultimate transmission ever. Honestly, I’d like an apology. I am hurt by such words.
The Auto start/stop feature on this one, it sounds QUITE annoying.
FYI: Google says you can disable it with a button on/near the dash.
Yeah but I assume you have to do it every time you drive. Sounds like a perfectly cromulent car otherwise!
Great review Matt. People who dismiss it are missing an excellent value on a perfectly cromulent car. And it is indeed very good at just being a car. It’s well built and reliable to boot. For those not rolling in cash, it’s a pretty ideal choice.
I laughed so fucking hard at the Chamberlain joke. Genius.
Ditto on the Chamberlain joke.
While, in America, the Sentra is available with only a CVT.
Canada lets you get both the base-model Sentra S and the higher-spec Sentra SR with a 6MT.
Unfortunately, both paths still lead to Nissan ownership.
I could live with a manual Sentra. I only wish it was a hatchback.
It used to be that a small car with the base engine with the manual was the cheapest car to own overall.. or close to it
But that’s not necessarily the case anymore.
For someone who drives a lot like an Uber driver or even me (I do around 25,000km/year), a Prius would make more sense with savings coming in the form of lower fuel costs and less maintenance.
A Sentra still makes sense for someone who doesn’t drive a lot and needs a cheap car.
I’m impressed that it has a heated steering wheel, for being so inexpensive. I wish I had a heated steering wheel. Actually I wish I had a ventilated steering wheel, but I don’t think they make those yet.
I’d settle for one on my car, but so far, no.
“How exactly is a rainbow made? How exactly does the sun set? How exactly does the posi-trac rear end on a plymouth work? Nobody knows, it just does!”
+1 Dang
I use this logic to keep daily driving a 1998 BMW 318i. It looks okay, runs okay, gets great MPG, and has cold a/c. I do it as a personal choice. I could afford a car like this, but is it 10x better than the BMW I got for $2700? Objectively, not really, not to me anyway.
Ditto. Driving an ’09 Outback. Works as it should. Don’t feel bad hauling stuff it. It’s the designated dog car. My insurance on it is ridiculously cheap. When it finally gives up the ghost, any new car is going to feel luxurious.
I’ve got a first-gen Volvo XC90, purchased for $3,100. from the original owner about 5 years ago. It had been keyed before I bought it, so when my buddy dropped his end of a 4’x10′ solar hot water panel as we were unloading it from the roof, making a sharp ding in the door, it barely even registered. It’s a 20+ year old car that’s comfortable, safe (compared to contemporaries), and even sort of nice to drive. It holds a metric butt-load of stuff inside: I can’t find the photo, but I had five dogs in the back once. 🙂
Nissan (or similar) would have to offer the Sentra without the CVT for me to even consider buying one to replace my older/less efficient/less tech-laden daily. If they did (and in a wagon/hatch body style) I’d be willing to give them my hard-earned dollars and put up with the Nissan stigma too.
I have a hard time trusting Nissan engineering ever since Ghosn took his chainsaw and flamethrower cost cutting approach to how they design and build cars. As a lease this could make a lot of sense if I just needed “a car” for the next few years. My preference would still be to pay a little more for something that I trust to last for at least a decade, but the Sentra would do the trick if I didn’t have Toyota/Honda money available. Once you get past the base models though I would rather put the extra money towards a better car.
I recently spent almost 3 weeks driving around the Detroit area in a rental Chevy Trailblazer LS FWD. That is the base trim of their 2nd cheapest car – and it was a good car. Roomy, all the base features like carplay and auto everything. I averaged 33 mpg in mostly city driving and it got 36 mpg at a steady 75 mph on the highway.
Stop/Start took a bit to get used to. Basically I had to break my habit of creeping when stopped. Ease off the brake a bit and the engine fired up. It also made a real difference in city fuel economy. I turned it off for a day and only managed 26 mpg.
This is the problem – it requires a change in habits. You need to pay attention at stop lights and let off the brake half a second before you’re ready to start moving so the engine restarts and you don’t end up stumbling off the line with the engine at only 500 RPM. It’s not that hard to do if you’re paying attention, but 1) people don’t like change that is forced on them and 2) so, so many people aren’t paying attention when they drive.
It took me about a day to adapt. Well worth the difference between 26 mpg and 32 mpg.
Of course it would be better if every car had 48V tech but the 12V tech has improved greatly over the last decade. The biggest downside with the 12V systems is they cannot run the A/C with the engine stopped.
It is without a doubt An Car.
That is not a negative, btw. I like that they [as a category] are available, and they are so much nicer and safer than their predecessors, even with a CVT.
I grew up solidly middle class, and our main family car was first-gen Camry that my parents bought new in 1983. Unpainted bumpers and mirror (singular), manual windows and door locks. AM/FM radio with antenna. Small wheels with plastic wheel covers. No tachometer. Compared to the Corollas and Escorts of the day this was actually a pretty nice car, a whole class up from the Datsun equivalent to today’s Sentra, but it was pretty average transportation for a family like ours of the time.
This Sentra, which costs *less* in inflation-adjusted money and can be had with zero percent financing, is a bigger car with auto everything, a sunroof, satellite radio and Apple Carplay, blind spot monitoring, cruise control, dual zone climate control(!), heated steering wheel, 100 airbags, you name it. It’s bigger, faster, quieter, way safer….its a freaking luxury spaceship by comparison. And yet most middle class families of four today would never lower themselves to drive this vehicle because it isn’t big enough, doesn’t have AWD, won’t impress the neighbors, whatever.
The truth is, in spite of what we tell ourselves (and our media tells us) we’ve become a very rich nation and we expect a ridiculous amount of luxury and capability from our cars, and that’s the real reason they cost so much. It’s not because the automakers are duping us into bigger cars. Hedonic adaptation is real.
This. A 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid is larger, more powerful, safer, more fuel efficient, and much better equipped than a 1995 Honda Accord LX. All for $29,000 while the 1995 Accord cost the equivalent of $38,000 in 2025 dollars.
People complain that cars are too expensive but the reality is that the average new car buyer has moved several levels upmarket.
While people have certainly gotten used to having more, it’s worth considering it relative to the best-selling vehicles too, because the cars they have taken the place of aren’t necessarily more expensive either.
The CR-V is now the top-selling Honda, and that $38k gets a nearly loaded one. A base one starts $6-7k less. The Civic is Honda’s 2nd best seller overall, so it’s not like people are fleeing the model.
The ’83 Camry like First Last mentioned started around $8k, or $26k today, where a Civic starts. Best-selling car that year was the Cutlass Supreme, which wasn’t exactly a modestly sized car or free of design frills, for $9k – or $29.5k now, the same base price as a RAV4, the current best-seller shy of the full-size pickups, and just a bit more than the Camry, still the best-selling car today if behind the RAV4 and CR-V.
Smaller, cheaper volume-selling cars like Escorts and Cavaliers started around $6k in ’83 or just under $20k now. Add in just A/C to that price, ~$600 then is almost $2k now, so the price of a base Sentra/K4/Trax/etc.
Yes, the Civic is Honda’s 2nd best selling car but it has grown from a subcompact in 1985 to a midsize car today – 2 class sizes large. It is also basically the same size as the Cutlass Supreme you mentioned.
A 1985 Cutlass 4 door has 101 cu ft of passenger volume and 15 cu ft of cargo room in the trunk. The 2025 Civic Hybrid is 99 cu ft / 15 cu ft.
The cars sized like an old Civic or Escort are gone. They are gone because they had poor sales and people didn’t buy them. We are buying cars a couple class sizes larger – for the same price – and still complaining about the cost.
“ we’ve become a very rich nation and we expect a ridiculous amount of luxury and capability from our cars, “
…because we’ve gone soft. Well the majority have. I personally haven’t.
I just had a new Altima as a rental for 700 miles and overall so much better than they used to be. I had no problem with passing when needed and the 8 speed transmission gave me about 38.6 mpg mostly highway around 70 mph
Have they ever been bad? I owned an ’06, rented an ’07 (first year with the CVT), and have driven a ’14 and a ’21. Ignoring the obvious CVT problems with the earlier ones, as a car they were all pretty darned good. I certainly liked them more than some of the others I’ve driven.
New Altima.. 8 speed? Don’t all trims/engines have the CVT?
It has a CVT according to the Nissan Canada site.
Yup mine was as well just tricked me by showing 8 gears in the sport mode. With paddle shifters and all.
Ahh they did the electronic shifting then with the paddle shifters so it shows 8 speed. Either way I like the CVT system they have it is the doing it right.
I’m 48 and grew up solidly middle class. We had a modest home that dad renovated over the decades. Always a single reliable, but not new car. We went on camping trips and modest vacations annually, my parents always found the money for Scout Camps and school trips. We never, ever went hungry and were surrounded by love and support. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
For some people in the lower income levels, it depends on their credit score.And what type of financing they can get. The zero percent financing may require a FICO score of 720 or above.
To afford this car requires an income of $50,000 a year household income. That is department manager at Walmart money. This is a luxury for a working class person.
Nissan must drop all CVT’s, they have gotten such a bad rap that buying one from that brand is a non-starter.
I learned to drive on a 91 Nissan Sentra, I believe it only had 4 gears even. the little thing was pretty peppy for the era and dead nuts reliable. I suppose a new sentra with a manual trans would be of some interest to me. But it is telling when you go to mexico these days and see fewer Tsuro’s on the road. back around 2005 the 91 ish sentra was what looked to be the Bug Replacement in Monterrey. They were everywhere, then the newer styled units came in and either the tides changed, or more likely the Jatco failed too many and the repair of them was too difficult.
I think most people buying cars have no idea what a CVT is.
except the people asking the people that do about what they think of a particular car are getting the warning. I know a relative that asked, did not heed the warning and had a 5k used lump of a sentra inside of 6 months. I am sure the issue on the thing was already coming up and they managed to hide it long enough to sell it, but honestly it just is what it is. Have a similar issue on a Murano. Friend bought it a year later his Jatco has bricked it in his driveway. 5 to 7 thousand dollars seems to be the magic number to replace. repair just does not seem to be an option.
Strangely, I rarely hear a single peep about Corolla CVT’s I even had one as a rental this winter and it seems adequate, but I still worry about longevity of them based upon the nissan issues.
I think part of that is how Nissan was such an early adopter of the CVT, across the entire lineup. They started putting CVTs in Sentras and Altimas and Rogues ~7 years before the Corolla or the equivalent Hondas did, that’s a full generation cycle where the others could improve how they felt and test for durability. Plus Nissan paired them with some heavy/high powered applications – V6 cars, Murano, Pathfinder – that others didn’t even touch.
Seems also like the Honda V6/5AT after those got the rep for failure, have to be vigilant in maintenance with regular fluid changes. Which wasn’t Nissan’s recommendation for a long time and not something owners are necessarily good about to begin with.
This right here. I don’t know a single non-enthusiast (nearly everyone I’m friends with) who has the slightest idea what a CVT is. Unless I’ve just explained it to them, that is.
BUT there sure are a lot of Corollas for sale, for about the same money. Even if you have to spend a few grand more, it’s worth it for Toyota-ness.
I think Nissan continues to stay semi-competitive thanks to its generous financing arm. So in theory, better approval terms mean that someone will still pay the same total amount for a Sentra vs a Corolla, but if they can spread those Nissan payments over 1-2 additional years, it’s much more affordable.
Not my mantra anymore, but I’m privileged to be able to look at total asset price and financing cost…not just monthly payments.
The big difference where I am, Nissan will sell me a $26k sentra with 0% financing.
Toyota will also sell me a $26k Corolla, but at 5.99% financing.
Considering this is the “can we even afford a car?” end of the budget, that’s a HUGE difference in cost.
It also sounds like you can get a $26k sentra for $23k with 0% financing
Another challenge with Corollas is that they’re in such high demand, that it can take legwork to find one that’s even available
Yeah, comparatively there’s gonna be some not-insignificant cash on the hood for a Sentra, compared to a Corolla.
A few grand can be a lot when talking cheap cars. But this also offers a good bit more room inside than a Corolla.
The interiors are nicer, too. When we rented a ’24 Sentra, the other we looked into was a ’23 Corolla. The seats were fucking rocks and everything looked and felt cheap. The Sentra was far nicer inside, and much more comfortable.
As far as more affordable cars go, these are a well designed sedan.
Nissan seems to be improving on styling/design in general (even with their financial troubles). For instance, the new Kicks design I think is really cool looking, for something more affordable.
I’ve seen a few Kicks(‘s??) around and I’ve been surprised how much I like the way it looks. The sentra is blah, but it’s also been around a while and will probably benefit from the new design language soon.
Yeah I agree, the new Kicks in person looks a lot more interesting vs. others and what you see in photos.
I like their new styling almost across the board, but get nervous about the CVT (no offense, Jatco), and wish it had more power. They know how to do it. Make a car that’s competitive price-wise, give it more oomph, and it will sell.
Honestly, it looks like a perfectly cromulent car. If there was any motive unit other than a CVT available, I’d give one a try.
Same. I know most of the market is said to no longer care, but a car like this with an available real manual pulls in a small but real set of enthusiasts on a budget. That helps give the model a little more street cred among the general buying population who couldn’t care less about owning that version but likes that they have some vague cool vibe.
It would go a long way toward getting me to believe it really was a good new-car purchase. Aside from the performance drawbacks of the CVT, I’m deeply skeptical of their long-term reliability vs a modern manual which I don’t have any reliability concerns with at all.
I don’t know about the states but up here in Canada the S is available with a manual. One of my local dealers has 3 in stock. If I were in the market for something new it would warrant a look although I’d really prefer a hatch to replace my Soul.
Seeing as I’m also in Canada, I may have to find one and give it a go!
This with a stick would be even better!
I’ll report back if I end up driving one!
Yeah, American Sentras don’t offer the manual. Your SR offers a manual too, which is nice to see a non-base manual offering still out there. It and the Mazda 3 (which we do still get the manual) might be the only such small manual offerings left now, that the Civic and Jetta dropped the mild/warm manual choices.
Let’s talk about embiggining. Without going into actual facts, I’d venture to guess that the interior space is probably the same (if not bigger) than that of a Maxima from the early aughts. Granted, this is the same across this class of vehicle, but it’s noticeable that most of the lower tier cars have far more space than their nameplates suggest.
“My classmates would spend their spring breaks in Aspen or Telluride”
I don’t think sleeping in a large SUV for a week is enviable, but maybe that’s just me.
Yes, small cars used to suck. I’ve read theories about the marketing here, and the prevailing wisdom was “If they can’t afford better, just get them a cheap car until they come back to buy a nicer, larger one.”
There are two problems with this, IMO:
First, it’s condescending to your customers and destructive to a long-term relationship with them. The idea that you should give them something “just good enough” doesn’t encourage them to come back except in cases of illogical brand loyalty (and there was once a time where that was a really big thing).
Second, the mantra of “Small cars should suck; big cars are nice” is also very shortsighted. From a manufacturing POV, I can understand why that’s taking the easy way out: Small cars require less material, so let’s make them even cheaper by equipping them poorly. This is mostly an American phenomenon, but not exclusively.
I give a lot of credit to two brands over the past ~25 years for changing these two attitudes: VW and Mazda. I can’t think of any other brands who launched small cars with good features and at a reasonable price, which I think changed the game for small cars. Their attitudes were openly geared towards getting customers hooked on the small cars so they would come back for the nicer ones eventually. Seems obvious today.
I support the argument that a brand does well when they can keep customers across a price range. There should be no shame in being at a stage of life that you want/need/can-afford an inexpensive vehicle, and at a later stage with a favourable opinion of the brand to come back for something more luxurious.
But the American self-fueling culture has done a lot of work to actively punish people for wanting small, and making them believe they need larger/expensive.
It’s self-serving for the manufacturers, as it helps them encourage people to buy vehicles with higher margins.
I’d argue Honda and Toyota had a good run when they offered the Fit & Yaris in the American market – but have since fallen back to the Civic/Corolla, both of which we well contented & reliable daily vehicles (excepting the launch version of the Gen9 Civic). Rather sad, imho.
Curious to hear your arguments on VW. I only see the Golf bring dropped (excepting GTI/R trims) – with the Jetta historically being slightly less refined than the Golf. And the further separation of the US/ROW Passat riding on older bones.
Sure — VW and Mazda were the poster children in the early 2000s for selling cars that punched above their weight classes in materials and features.
IIRC, the base model Golf/Jetta washeld at $17k for several years, and a nicely equipped model with all the features was still in the low $20s. Similarly, Mazda rolled out the 3 with HID headlights, heated seat, and nav systems for around $20k. Up to that point, those features were unheard of until you were approaching twice that price.
And with the MS3 and GTI/GLI options, you always had a sporty version that was still affordable if you wanted to go that route. Of course, this was before the crossover boom…
I don’t see why anyone would choose the Sentra over the Kia K4 or even Seltos. To those that respond “but Kia”, I counter with “but Nissan”
I live where Nissan and Kia are represented roughly equally, but your average consumer barely thinks of K4 or Seltos, and my anecdotal carspotting confirms that (I still haven’t seen a K4 and it’s starting to bug me, I semi-want the wagon version).
Sentra definitely has a longstanding nameplate and recognition at a level that Kia still doesn’t. It’s not cachet, it’s just awareness.
Pick your poison. Do you want to replace engines or transmissions?
^^THIS^^
Or drive a Ford and do both!
I’d counter with: Do you want it to be under warranty or not?
Kia/Hyundai warranty here in Canada is only 5yr/100k km (60k miles). So you’re not getting any extra warranty.
Nissan is the traditional 3/36, so I’m confused…Kiundai warranties are among the longest, on par with some luxury brands. I think that’s part of the appeal.
Huh. They USED to do 5 years/100k. I wonder when they dialed it back.
Oh interesting. Yeah in the US it’s 10yr/100k miles on engine and transmission.
What if Nissan offered 0% financing and a few thousand dollars off sticker, while the Kia dealership wouldn’t budge?
“The New 2025 Nissan Sentra….it beats walking…….barely”
I believe that you are referring to the Mirage.
I’d trust, more, the Mirage
Having rented one, NOPE! The Mirage was the worst newer car I’ve driven by a landslide.
Under 100hp. CVT. Sounded like a tractor on startup. AC couldn’t keep up on full blast.