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
I rented one a couple of months ago. I loved it. Buttons and dials, comfortable, quick from a stop, no issues. If I was in the market for a new car, it’d be on the list.
The Sentra is one of my favorite rental cars. I usually get an SV and they’re comfortable, fun to drive (yes, fun), great visibility, good on gas, no nonsense and straightforward controls and my tools hide in the generous trunk. And the transmission works just fine, I have learned to love CVT’s.
Most hated rental car: Toyota RAV4. Loud, uncomfortable, disconnected steering, handles like a grocery cart, busy ride, horrendous transmission calibration. Overall miserable experience. Turning it back in is the only joy.
Honesty, I do not get the hate for Nissan’s CVT. We are on our 4th Nissan, all had CVT’s. Close to 40k a year on all these, and due to the speed the millage racks up, my ability to keep up with maintainance is suspect at best. And have had no issues. And that is rural driving, not highway.
Add to that, I kinda like the smoothness of a CVT for normal driving. Especially on the set it and forget it highway family trips. No down shifts for hills, just smooth constant speed.
As modern cars go it’s *fine*. It’s a car, it’s not really any different than anything else in it’s class. It will have new car smell for a couple months, and a new car warranty for a while.
But for me, the problem is all the myriad better and more interesting things I can buy for $28K. For example the top of the market $17K 40K miles on it 2011 BMW 128i convertible that has given me five years of nearly faultless service so far. And that car is more like $14K today with the same 40K miles mine had on it then. And even if it hadn’t been all but flawless, the $14K difference buys a LOT of repairs. And I could have bought a gold-plated Doug Duhmuro-style warranty on the thing for $3500 if I was paranoid and stupid. I guarantee a Sentra will not put the smile on your face the way my BMW will when you drive it. For the more practical minded, a 2011 328i sedan is lots cheaper than a 128i convertible in the same condition and miles. If you like appliances, $28K buys a VERY nice used Camry. THAT is the problem with cheap new cars. Look at this for about the same price – 2yrs old, one owner, 12K miles and a loaded XLE:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicle/749435347?allListingType=all-cars&city=Cape%20Coral&makeCode=TOYOTA&modelCode=CAMRY&state=FL&zip=33904&clickType=listing
Or how about a 2yo Camry Hybrid with 5K on it for less? Only LE spec, but that’s still probably as well equipped as this car:
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicle/744859700?city=Cape%20Coral&listingType=USED&makeCode=TOYOTA&maxPrice=28000&minPrice=25000&modelCode=CAMRY&searchRadius=100&state=FL&zip=33904&clickType=listing
In what universe would this Sentra be a better choice than either used Camry? You’d have to REALLY be huffing that new car smell. And of course, a comparable used Corolla is even cheaper.
I’ve got a 2022 pre-facelift Sentra SR almost exactly like this of this generation (2020-2025) that I bought in December when I, unfortunately, totaled my beloved 2009 Hyundai Accent hatchback on some black ice. Mine is even the same color as the one Matt drove in his review (‘Electric Blue Metallic’).
I’ve driven the CVT version and I agree Matt…it was fine. I am not a CVT guy at all, but it seemed acceptable for Point A to Point B and newer Nissan CVTs are more durable than the old ones. The 2024-2025 Sentra refresh actually gets an even NEWER CVT than the 2020-2024 Sentra of this same generation, so I imagine it’s even better and yet more durable.
Luckily for me, I am in Canada so was able to get mine with a 6-speed manual! That was one of the main reasons I got mine…manuals are just impossible to find these days on newer cars and I got a great deal on mine as it was sitting on a dealer lot for months because nobody else wanted it (score!) As a plus, you can still get the base ‘S’ trim and the ‘SR’ trim here in Canada with a manual option!!! Yay! The 6-speed manual makes it so much better than the CVT though. It’s obviously not an AMAZING gearbox because cheap car and there’s a bit of rev hang on shifts as with any modern manual (because emissions), but the manual does make it more pleasant to drive.
I’ll agree that it does seem a bit underpowered…the manual helps though as you have a lot more control over things. That being said…you’re not going to win any traffic light grand prix, but it is 100% completely and utterly perfectly FINE. I dare say I LIKE driving mine. The clutch is light and easy to modulate, the throttle response is OK, though a bit laggy (again, mostly that emissions thing…).
Matt pokes at the interior a bit regarding things like fake carbon fiber…I feel that’s a bit unfair as faux carbon fiber is pretty common in everything these days, I feel. I think the plastics are just as good as other modern cars, cheap or not. I’ve been in other newer cars that I thought the plastics were worse in than the Sentra. I’ve not got any squeaks or rattles in mine at it’s current 56,000kms and the interior pieces all fit together well with no odd shutlines or warped edges. I really love the fact it still has physical buttons for most things interior-control wise and I actually love the design and style of the dash with the three central air vents and all the orange stitching everywhere. ‘Faux’ sporty, yes, but it does look really nice in my opinion and at least looks a lot ‘higher tier’ than one would think of a car this cheap in my opinion. The seats, especially the fronts (to me anyway) are REALLY good for cheap seats. I’d heard a lot of good things about Nissan’s ‘Zero Gravity’ seat designs even before I bought this car and I think these are some of the most comfy factory seats I’ve sat in in a non-luxury ride in a long time. There are honestly not a lot of adjustments (and they are all manual adjustments on my car…which I prefer anyway), but they hug you a bit more than you would think and the materials are comfortable and seem fairly hard-wearing. There are some nice little orange inserts and stitching on the seats to match the dash as well, which is a nice touch.
Also…one thing I loved to see when I first opened the hood….there’s no giant stupid plastic engine cover trim! When is the last time you saw a modern new car with no giant stupid plastic engine trim on top covering everything!? Everything is right there in plain sight and pretty easy to access. The 2.0L MR20DD engine is known to be a pretty reliable mill (also called the Renault M5R engine) and is used globally in cars like the Nissan Serena in Japan, the Sentra, the X-Trail/Rogue, the Kicks and also in Renaults like the Koleos. Oil changes are a bit annoying as there is a large plastic engine undertray for aerodynamic efficiency and some protection that needs to be dropped to access the oil drain plug / filter. It’s not HARD to do, just tedious because there are a fair number of clips.
I also personally find it amusing – as a peasant North American Canadian colonial and not a European – that I can see Renault logos on a lot of things in my engine bay ;). We don’t get Renaults sold here, so it’s just a neat little thing to see to my sensibilities, haha.
One cool bonus with this car is that the Sentra is built in Mexico for the North American and South American market…but it is ALSO built in China for the Chinese market and sold as the Nissan Sylphy there. They get some different engines than we do and few other changes, but the aforementioned bonus is that there is a surprising number of cheap mods and things available for these cars on places like AliExpress, etc. Everything from seat cover sets, trim, replacement parts, headlights and taillights, etc. Of course, the quality isn’t always going to be amazing on this stuff, but I was able to find a perfect phone holder for this car there that actually mounts over the top of the infotainment screen and puts the phone within finger reach of the steering wheel without blocking any controls…it’s decently well-made too.
It’s been a good car so far…not amazing, but definitely very good, especially for the price point. Mine is slowly growing on me more and more as I go through more experiences with it. I think nowadays we are all big on taking reviews for things, especially cars, at face value, but I truly believe people need to experience things for themselves to really form a good opinion on them. I’ve come to a very similar conclusion as Matt. This is not a truly GREAT car, but it is by far and away 100% a GOOD one, even for the cheap end of the market. If you’re lucky enough to live in Canada and can still get one with a manual, that makes it even better. 🙂
These seem decent and it’s good to have affordable options, but as someone who comes from the repair industry I can’t trust a Nissan CVT as far as I can throw it. SO many failures…
I just had a Versa rental car and I was surprised by how little it sucked. It fit my golf travel bag sideways in the truck which is something my SQ5 can’t do without putting the seats down. Only complaint is it was painfully slow.
It’s nice to see the Sentra having its moment. I’ve noticed them lately because I think they’re quite good looking, especially in two tone. I don’t think Nisan stresses enough that CVT fluid needs to be changed more often. A lot of failures could have been avoided. If your parents gave you the gift of attention, you grew up rich.
I actually think this is an excellent value. I think Nissan’s sedan styling ( Versa, Sentra, Altima) is very cohesive and their interiors pinch above their price. Nissan’s newest CVTs are generally inoffensive. But one caveat, change the transmission fluid at every 30k and the fluid is outrageously expensive. Seriously, I think only horseshoe crab blood is more expensive. (If you don’t know, look it up)
I know Nissan would only sells dozens of them in manual in the States. But our friends in Canada have manual versions of these so it couldn’t be stretch to offer this option.
(
I actually like the Versa a lot for what it is. If they had a hatchback I’d have considered one. The 2nd generation was strange, but I’ve had respect for Versa since day one, and what do you know it was the last guy standing after all its contemporaries left the US market.
I like this car. Nissans are better than H K .
The only thing I really ding the Sentra for is not having modern headlights outside the top SR trim.
I believe, at least here in Canada, ALL Sentra trims now come with LED lights as standard. Most are LED reflector style lenses though, but (not sure on the current new facelift models) on at least the older top trims, there was a projector LED headlight option…that option is SUPER rare and uncommon so heaven forbid you were ever to own one and have one fail because finding a replacement would be SO difficult and VERY expensive.
Thanks for reviewing the lower end of the market, I think they did a nice job on the styling on this Sentra. It doesn’t look cheap. I haven’t rented one yet, but there are a ton in the rental fleets out there, so I’ll probably experience them at some point.
I had a rental K4 last year and it was enjoyable for the most part. It also didn’t feel cheap and had some features that I don’t see on other cars, like it would basically self drive on the interstate. It kept the car centered in the lane, even through turns, and sped up and slowed down with adaptive cruise control. It made a long, boring drive much easier. I had to keep an eye out, and put my hand on the wheel every mile or so, but I didn’t really intervene for the hundreds of miles of interstate driving. It got amazing gas mileage too.
We rented one two years ago and legitimately enjoyed the car. If I was in the market for a replacement for my Mazda3, I’d absolutely consider one.
Seconded on reviewing the lower end of the market. Supercars and performance/luxury cars are cool and I like to read about them! But very few people I know, especially those around my age (32), can afford one, or even want one. Reviews like this keep me informed when the people in my life ask for advice about the cars they want and can afford.
That interior is great! Physical gauges with a digital element for the whiz-bang modern stuff. Buttons for climate control. Knobs for climate and volume. Easy to use vents. About the only nit I could pick is that console shifters are dumb and the start button is in a spot where I feel like I would inevitably drop something on it while trying to put that something in the storage bin. But in this day and age of dystopian digital dashes those complaints don’t even register on the whinger scale.
No more stick shifts on these?
Sadly not for a few years stateside. The Versa was the holdout, offering one until I think this model year.
You can still get them in Canada with a manual on the base ‘S’ and higher ‘SR’ trims!
I think the manual is no longer offered in the US though.