2020 Nissan Sentra – Keeping The Small Car Faith

While Detroit has all but completely given up on small cars, Japanese and Korean brands have moved to fill the vacuum with new and updated models. The latest is Nissan which completes the revamp of its mainstream car lineup with the launch of the 2020 Sentra. 

The new Sentra follows last year’s Altima midsizer and the subcompact Versa that launched this past summer. Like the Versa, the Sentra has replaced decidedly frumpy looks with a skin that is substantially more stylish. It adopts the same sharply creased design language that arrived on the latest Altima to cover new more aggressive proportions. 

A lot of that dowdy look on the last generation came from a tall, narrow stance. The 2020 edition has a roofline some two inches lower than before while the width has gone up by a similar amount. Like all Nissan sedans since the current Maxima debuted, the Sentra also gets the floating roof effect with a black trim bar slicing through the C-pillar. 

Slimmer, LED headlamps further accentuate the apparent visual width while the same deep V-motion grille found on the Altima gives it a more substantial looking face. 

The upgrades continue under the skin with an independent suspension system replacing the old torsion beam setup. The latest Versa and the Kicks crossover demonstrate that a torsion beam doesn’t have to be a terrible layout, but a good independant setup is definitely a step up in terms of managing wheel motions while keeping the body under control. The front end retains the classic strut suspension found on most small front drive cars. 

Under the hood, Nissan is continuing to use its Xtronic continuously variable transmission which is among the best of the type in the industry. The four-cylinder engine gets a bump from 1.8 to 2.0-liters with corresponding output going up to 149-hp and 145 lb-ft of torque, making it much more competitive in the class, although still well short of what you’ll get from the optional turbocharged engines in a Honda Civic or Hyundai Elantra. While fuel economy is expected to improve on the 2020, Nissan doesn’t have EPA certified numbers yet. 

The Sentra gets substantia

l upgrades inside as well with a new 7-inch central touchscreen standard and an 8-inch unit optional. Both support Android Auto and Apple Carplay and hopefully they are better quality displays than most of the ones found in current Nissan vehicles which tend to be dull and not very bright. 

Following the recent trend across the industry, the Sentra gets a standard suite of driver assist features, although it’s not quite as comprehensive in some respects as what you’ll get on some of the competition. Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist, Rear Automatic Braking and Rear Door Alert are standard. Some competitors add lane keeping assist as standard and the Civic and Corolla get adaptive cruise control as well, something available only on the Sentra SV. Still, any additional active safety features are an improvement. 

The new Sentra goes on sale in the US in late January with pricing still to come.