2020 Nissan Sentra review: Super commuter

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Your eyes do not deceive you, this sharp very little sedan is a Nissan Sentra.


Emme Hall/Roadshow

Nissan’s been on a bit of a little-motor vehicle tear recently, acquiring impressed me with the Kicks crossover and Versa sedan. The future commuter-cell to get a glow-up is the Sentra. As soon as destined for rental motor vehicle stardom, with advancements in the appears, powertrain and know-how departments, the Sentra is now a truly reliable contender.

Like

  • A lot far more beautiful than before
  • Completely loaded for $twenty five,000
  • Suspension advancements signify far better experience high-quality
  • Tons of standard protection machines

You should not Like

  • Infotainment tech is sluggish
  • No embedded navigation alternative

The 2020 product 12 months marks the commencing of the Sentra’s eighth generation, and it delivers with it a simplified product lineup. With the new motor vehicle, only S, SV and SR trims are provided — no Turbo, no Nismo.

The Sentra receives a full new style and design, as effectively. It really is about two inches reduce and wider than its predecessor, and receives a skosh for a longer period, as effectively. The grille, surrounded by out there LED headlamps, receives larger, echoing the “v-motion” style and design of its greater siblings, the Maxima and Altima. Like the subcompact Kicks crossover, the Sentra has the alternative of a “floating” black roof more than orange, grey or white paint, in addition to some total-body color strategies.



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Examining the Nissan Hook up tech in the 2020 Sentra sedan



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What’s even far more remarkable, having said that, is the new interior. It really is in fact trendy, with out there quilted leather-based seats, contrasting orange stitching and a flat-base steering wheel. I wouldn’t say the interior is lavish — there are way too many tricky plastics and not nearly adequate characteristics — but it is relaxed adequate for a commuter motor vehicle. Nissan’s “Zero-Gravity” seats are standard and they are surely the most relaxed chairs for this price tag. My SR trim receives heated entrance seats, a heated steering wheel and a sunroof as part of its premium deal. Storage is abundant, primarily in the center console, which is deep adequate to hold Roadshow’s (Okay, my) favorite treats: Cheez-Its and Diet regime Dr. Pepper.

I am not let down when the rubber hits the highway, possibly. The Sentra is just not automatically a fun motor vehicle to generate, but it is proficient. A new two.-liter 4-cylinder engine replaces last year’s one.8-liter I4 and it ekes out 149 horsepower and 146 pound-toes of torque. A new multilink independent rear suspension stands in lieu of the outdated torsion-beam setup, so the experience is considerably smoother. When it comes to back again streets, the Sentra exhibits a surprising deficiency of body roll, and while the steering is just not chatty, it is properly weighted and has a great on-center experience.

The Sentra’s interior is properly outfitted, but the infotainment tech could use some aid.


Emme Hall/Roadshow

The electrical power receives down to the pavement by Nissan’s now-ubiquitous continuously variable transmission the outdated 6-speed manual alternative has been nixed. The great news is that the CVT in the Sentra does a moderately great career at mimicking a standard stepped automatic. There is an unmarked button on the gear change that places the Sentra into Activity method, but it will not look to do considerably other than remap the transmission to “change” at a better rpm.

The Nissan Security Defend 360 suite of driver-help characteristics is standard on all Sentra trims, featuring automatic unexpected emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-place warning, rear cross-website traffic warn, lane-departure warning, high beam assist and rear automatic braking. If you want adaptive cruise command you are going to have to bump up to the SV or SR trim while the SR offers drivers the alternative of a 360-degree digital camera. The adaptive cruise will work fantastic, bringing me to a total stop in significant website traffic, but the automatic unexpected emergency braking panicked after, slamming on the brakes when I was fully in command and in no threat of rear-ending the motor vehicle in entrance of me. The encompass-check out digital camera has area for improvement, offering up a blurry check out of what is about the motor vehicle.

The in-dash Nissan Hook up infotainment technique on an out there 8-inch display is only fantastic. It really is unquestionably far better than the Entune technique in the Toyota Corolla, but it is no improvement more than what you find in a Honda Civic. Apple CarPlay and Android Automobile are both equally right here, which is great, as embedded navigation is just not out there. The display by itself can be unresponsive and drivers are frequently compelled to tap the display multiple moments for actions that really should be uncomplicated. For case in point, when I push the audio shortcut button, it will not go to the source that I am previously listening to (be it satellite, FM, Bluetooth or whatever) but as an alternative to the source alternative website page by itself. The far more I am tapping buttons, the far more my eyes are off the highway.

What’s genuinely interesting about the 2020 Sentra is its price tag. You could get a properly outfitted SR with no the premium deal (heated seats and steering wheel, LED headlights, sunroof) for less than $23,000, which includes $925 for spot. Even fully loaded, the Sentra will not crest $twenty five,000. That’s rather darn great.

Of system, the competitors in this class is genuinely fierce. The Mazda3 and Honda Civic are unquestionably the greatest driver’s cars and trucks, the latter currently being provided in sporty Si trim for about $26,000 all in. The Toyota Corolla is a perennial favorite and it is all new for 2020, as effectively. You should not price reduction the Hyundai Elantra, possibly, which commences at a rock-base $seventeen,900, in addition spot.

If your hottest expertise with a Sentra has been in the back again seat of a Lyft, I feel you are going to be stunned by this upgraded 2020 product. The appears are considerably improved, as are the engine and experience high-quality. Whilst the infotainment could use some tweaking, the driver-help characteristics are all there as standard. It may possibly not set a grin on your deal with each time you generate it, but it unquestionably is a great value, and that can make some people just as delighted.