2020 Nissan Sentra review: Super commuter

Nissan’s been on a bit of a compact-car tear these days, getting amazed me with the Kicks crossover and Versa sedan. The future commuter-cell to get a glow-up is the Sentra. After destined for rental car stardom, with advancements in the looks, powertrain and technology departments, the Sentra is now a genuinely strong contender.

The 2020 product yr marks the beginning of the Sentra’s eighth era, and it delivers with it a simplified product lineup. With the new car, only S, SV and SR trims are presented — no Turbo, no Nismo.

The Sentra will get a full new design and style, as well. It can be about two inches decreased and wider than its predecessor, and will get a skosh more time, as well. The grille, surrounded by available LED headlamps, will get larger, echoing the “v-motion” design and style of its much larger siblings, the Maxima and Altima. Like the subcompact Kicks crossover, the Sentra has the solution of a “floating” black roof about orange, grey or white paint, in addition to some entire-human body colour schemes.

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Examining the Nissan Join tech in the 2020 Sentra sedan

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What’s even a lot more outstanding, however, is the new inside. It can be essentially trendy, with available quilted leather seats, contrasting orange stitching and a flat-base steering wheel. I wouldn’t say the inside is lavish — there are far too numerous tough plastics and not virtually enough attributes — but it truly is at ease enough for a commuter car. Nissan’s “Zero-Gravity” seats are normal and they’re undoubtedly the most at ease chairs for this price tag. My SR trim will get heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a sunroof as component of its premium package deal. Storage is abundant, especially in the center console, which is deep enough to maintain Roadshow’s (Alright, my) favorite treats: Cheez-Its and Food plan Dr. Pepper.

I am not let down when the rubber hits the road, possibly. The Sentra isn’t really always a exciting car to push, but it truly is knowledgeable. A new 2.-liter 4-cylinder engine replaces last year’s 1.8-liter I4 and it ekes out 149 horsepower and 146 pound-ft of torque. A new multilink independent rear suspension stands in lieu of the previous torsion-beam set up, so the trip is a great deal smoother. When it arrives to back streets, the Sentra exhibits a shocking absence of human body roll, and although the steering isn’t really chatty, it truly is properly weighted and has a superior on-center really feel.

The power will get down to the pavement by way of Nissan’s now-ubiquitous constantly variable transmission the previous 6-pace manual solution has been nixed. The superior news is that the CVT in the Sentra does a fairly superior career at mimicking a normal stepped automated. There is an unmarked button on the equipment change that places the Sentra into Sport manner, but it won’t appear to be to do a great deal except remap the transmission to “change” at a bigger rpm.

The Nissan Basic safety Shield 360 suite of driver-aid attributes is normal on all Sentra trims, showcasing automated crisis braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot warning, rear cross-site visitors notify, lane-departure warning, higher beam guide and rear automated braking. If you want adaptive cruise command you’ll have to bump up to the SV or SR trim although the SR gives drivers the solution of a 360-diploma digital camera. The adaptive cruise performs terrific, bringing me to a entire stop in significant site visitors, but the automated crisis braking panicked the moment, slamming on the brakes when I was totally in command and in no threat of rear-ending the car in front of me. The surround-check out digital camera has room for enhancement, supplying up a blurry check out of what’s all over the car.

The in-sprint Nissan Join infotainment program on an available 8-inch display is only great. It can be definitely much better than the Entune program in the Toyota Corolla, but it truly is no enhancement about what you uncover in a Honda Civic. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are the two right here, which is superior, as embedded navigation isn’t really available. The display itself can be unresponsive and drivers are usually compelled to tap the display a number of moments for actions that should really be uncomplicated. For example, when I force the audio shortcut button, it won’t go to the resource that I am already listening to (be it satellite, FM, Bluetooth or regardless of what) but instead to the resource solution site itself. The a lot more I am tapping buttons, the a lot more my eyes are off the road.

What’s genuinely interesting about the 2020 Sentra is its price tag. You could get a properly equipped SR without the need of the premium package deal (heated seats and steering wheel, LED headlights, sunroof) for below $23,000, together with $925 for location. Even totally loaded, the Sentra won’t crest $25,000. Which is fairly darn superior.

Of program, the opposition in this class is genuinely fierce. The Mazda3 and Honda Civic are definitely the finest driver’s cars and trucks, the latter getting presented in sporty Si trim for about $26,000 all in. The Toyota Corolla is a perennial favorite and it truly is all new for 2020, as well. Never price cut the Hyundai Elantra, possibly, which commences at a rock-base $17,900, furthermore location.

If your most up-to-date experience with a Sentra has been in the back seat of a Lyft, I imagine you’ll be amazed by this upgraded 2020 product. The looks are a great deal improved, as are the engine and trip good quality. When the infotainment could use some tweaking, the driver-aid attributes are all there as normal. It may perhaps not place a grin on your confront just about every time you push it, but it definitely is a superior price, and that can make some folks just as joyful.