The Nissan Sentra is one of the Japanese company's longest running nameplates still in use in America, premiering stateside in 1982. Eight generations later the sedan now falls into the compact segment competing with some of the most popular non-SUVs like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
The Sentra was redesigned in 2019 and was refreshed for the 2024 model year. Its features and capabilities continue to be excellent, and its size is right for families of four or less. But what really sells the Sentra, besides its new angular look, is its base price just over $20,000.
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Visual updates for 2024 begin with a reshaped front fascia with a new bright chrome grille. The lower fascia has its vents moved to the outer edges of the car and all 2024 Sentras receive updated headlights with black interior bezel elements.
New wheel choices are available as well. The Sentra SR trim tested here comes with new 18-inch wheels, dark chrome trim on the grille and fascia and a body-colored lower trim strip below the grill. Those SR models get red badges to set them apart from the rest, along with a black roof.
From the side the 2024 Sentra looks low to the ground and after getting out of a Nissan Rogue SUV test drive, it felt downright quick.
All Sentras come with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine making 149 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque. That's a little bit less than both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, but none of these vehicles will be showing up at a dragstrip anytime soon. With its continuously variable transmission the Sentra was peppy from a stop sign, though noisy as the rpms climbed.
The gear selector strangely doesn't stop at Drive like most, it slips into Low, which the driver will notice as the engine starts screaming at the end of the block. They usually need another button push to get to L.
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Sentra S and SV are Environmental Protection Agenc—rated for 30 mpg city, 40 mpg highway and 34 mpg combined, while Sentra SR is rated 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined.
The 2024 Nissan Sentra is small and light enough to zip through traffic and quick cornering is stable and predictable. It does have electric power steering, but it's tuned better than most to transmit what the car is doing to the driver. It's not sprung stiffly like a sports car, though, meaning it soaks up normal road imperfections without a hard jolt to the body or a complaint from the chassis.
The cabin feels spacious for its class, plenty for the average family, even with kids. The Sentra features a D-shaped steering wheel, round air vents like the Nissan Z and tons of storage in the doors and center.
Nissan's Zero Gravity front seats are comfortable and supportive over a few hours' drive, though there's only one adjustment for the seat bottom, but the contrasting stitching on the SR livens things up a bit on the black seats.
The rear seats fold down to add to the Sentra's trunk space of 14.3 cubic feet, and the rear seatbelts are easy to latch for kids in booster seats, something most vehicles can't say.
The base Sentra comes with a standard 7-inch touchscreen infotainment screen with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Google Assistant. Sentra SV and SR models get an 8-inch screen with an additional USB-C port and a charge-only USB-A port. Base models get a 4-inch digital driver information cluster, SV and SR get a 7-inch display.
Dual-zone climate control is optional along with an around view monitor, six-way power seats and a few other features. Unfortunately, wireless smartphone integration and wireless charging aren't available on the Sentra, but that's to be expected with such a low base price.
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Adaptive cruise control comes standard on SV models and above, but all Nissans now come with the company's Nissan Safety Shield 360, which includes emergency braking, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning and rear automatic braking. Forward collision warning is also standard on all models, which works with the haptic steering wheel and audio cues to alert and inform drivers of safety risks.
The Toyota Corolla ($23,145) and Honda Civic ($23,950) have been the top-selling compact sedans for decades, though the Tesla Model Y compact crossover beat both in 2023. The Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Elantra ($21,625) and Kia Forte ($19,990) have been dueling for the third spot for about the same amount of time.
The Corolla has the most horsepower, though the Civic or this Nissan may handle the sportiest. Hyundai's new design on the Elantra is very aggressive, though so is this Sentra. Those that want a little more exterior flair might gravitate to them. The Civic is hard to pass up with the second-most horsepower and a legendary reputation for longevity.
There are still cheap cars around, and they're all better, safer and faster than ever before. For all the "sedans are dead" talk, this may be the most exciting group of offerings for the average, real world buyer than any other today, even with its low price point.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jake Lingeman is the Managing Editor for the Autos team at Newsweek. He has previously worked for Autoweek, The Detroit ... Read more
