2020 Nissan Sentra Review
Nissan Sentra SR
Price as tested: $25,480
Specs: 2.0 Liter 4 Cylinder / 140 HP
MPG: 30
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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
Pictures: Manufacturer
This is the newly redesigned Nissan Sentra, a vehicle that competes in the highly competitive compact car segment. Yes, crossovers have stolen the compact car segment for years now and it will continue to do so. But there will always be a portion of the auto buying populace who just wants a ‘small cheap car’. Well that used to be the case. Let me explain.
In years past, a compact car was just that. Small, cheap and uhhh a car. There were no frills because there wasn’t an expectation for it. A compact car had to be cheap to own, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain…slightly fun-to-drive and that’s about it. Nowadays that paradigm has shifted…no longer can a compact car be considered ‘cheap’ anything except for price. Buyers now expect a certain level of refinement, civility, technology and efficiency for their hard earned dollars…and that is a good thing!
Automakers can no longer rest on their laurels and assume buyers will keep coming. If you are not competitive in technology, cabin quality, and drivetrain refinement…buyers will go elsewhere. So that brings us to the new Nissan Sentra.
Let’s go ahead and break it down:
The Great:
Wow. Just look at it! This has to be best looking compact car on sale today. It’s strong, muscular but yet elegant at the same time! Unlike some cars…there isn’t a bad angle on it! Tremendous job on the styling.
That goes for the interior styling as well. It’s a gigantic step up from the previous model year. The seats are comfortable (to a degree…more on that), plenty of space fore and aft and generally feels very nice on the inside.
The Good:
Hey Nissan finally fit an infotainment screen that isn’t size of a postage stamp! Neato!
The Bad:
So back to the seats again. So Nissan’s ‘Zero Gravity’ seats are indeed very comfortable and supportive…but ironically enough…they are bolted to seat mechanism that offers no adjustability whatsoever. Oh sure you can go up, down, tilt fore and aft etc. But the actual adjustments themselves are miniscule. So trying to find a comfortable driving position is an exercise in futility.
For a fully redesigned vehicle, the Sentra has a foot operated emergency brake from 1992.
The Ugly:
If you read the Rogue Sport review you know how much i love this engine and transmission combination. It’s just a delightful combination of noise, harshness and utter disregard for forward motion. The steering is vague and overall just a disappointing driving experience.
The Overall:
For a vehicle that looks this good, that performs this poorly…it breaks my damn heart.
