In a world where subcompacts are effectively dead, inflation is through the roof, subcompact crossovers are knocking on the door of $30,000, and people need reliable wheels to get around, the dream of new car ownership feels like it’s falling rapidly out of reach. Thankfully, we still have options. This is the 2024 Nissan Sentra and although Nissan hasn’t released pricing, don’t be surprised if the base model comes in at under $25,000.
Nissan has recently gone to town facelifting its Altima midsize and Versa subcompact sedans, so it’s not surprising to see the Sentra get the same treatment. Up front, we see a front grille wider and flatter than a chicken-fried steak flanked by revised headlamps. Chuck in simplified air curtains, reduced-width chrome trim, and a deletion of bumper lighting, and the 2024 Sentra’s front end looks much cleaner than the outgoing car’s.
A facelift typically also includes new wheel designs, so top-spec Sentras get complex new twisted-spoke alloy wheels that feature diamond-cut faces, as is the style of the time. Around back, plastic slab faux-diffuser makes way for fluted faux-grillework on the SR trim level, and character lines on the bumper cover have been reduced. The result? A better-looking Sentra.
Mechanically, the Sentra is largely carryover, but with one major exception — automatic stop-start cuts the engine at traffic lights to reduce idling. While many find this feature annoying in other applications, it makes a great deal of sense in an economy car. After all, cars achieve zero MPG when idling because they usually aren’t going anywhere. The outgoing car’s CVT couldn’t accommodate this fuel-saving measure, so the 2024 Sentra gets a new CVT. Otherwise, this compact sedan’s mechanically-unchanged.
So what does that mean? Well, the 2024 Sentra’s two-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine cranks out 149 horsepower and 146 lb.-ft. of torque, good enough to move a 3,036-pound sedan, if not with particular gusto. On the hopeful side, recent Nissan CVT tuning seems to prioritize riding the torque band and keeping NVH low, so fingers crossed the engineers kept that up with the facelifted car.
The base S trim doesn’t come with anything unexpected, but it still gets air conditioning, a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four speakers, two cupholders, power mirrors, power door locks, and power windows. That’s basically fully-loaded by mid-aughts standards. Oh, and every Sentra comes with a spare tire. A compact spare tire, but still. In an era of inflation kits, a proper spare is a valuable safety feature. Alright, so the S trim isn’t exactly the paragon of luxury, but what do you expect from a base model compact sedan?
Step up to the mid-range SV trim and Nissan will start throwing features at you left, right, and center. How about a damper on the glovebox door? Yeah, now that’s premium. In all seriousness, this midrange trim gets some nice toys, from proximity keys to an eight-inch infotainment system to three USB ports including two USB-C ports, and that’s before you delve into options. There’s an all-weather package on offer that bundles heated seats with a heated steering wheel, remote start, and dual-zone climate control, and seems worth whatever upcharge it may come with. Likely to be less popular is the SV Premium Package, which bundles 17-inch alloy wheels with leather seats, a sunroof, rear cupholders, a 360-degree camera system, and a Bose stereo. Somehow, I doubt most people are looking for luxury in mid-range Sentras.
As for the shiny blue Sentra used in these press pictures, that would be the sporty SR trim. Aside from 18-inch wheels with low-profile tires, it features precisely zero performance upgrades over the SV model, but it does get dashing trim. A spoiler here, a dash of orange there, a little more black trim, and presto: Sportiness in 2023’s compact car sector. Look, Kia’s doing the whole warm performance thing with the reasonably quick turbocharged Forte GT and nobody seems to care, so blame your fellow humans for Nissan not offering a Sentra SE-R or whatnot.
However, the Sentra SR does come with the rear cupholders, dual-zone climate control, and remote start from the SV Premium, so it’s properly-equipped for the range-topping trim. As expected, you can get an SR Premium Package with Bose audio, heated leatherette seats and a heated steering wheel, a 360-degree camera, a sunroof, in-car Wi-Fi, upgraded LED headlamps, and a partridge in a damn pear tree, just don’t go underwater if you want all the bells and whistles.
The outgoing Sentra took Nissan’s popular compact car from worst-in-class to competitive with one redesign, in some cases doing things better than segment leaders. It’s far more spacious than a Mazda 3, I like its steering better than that in the Toyota Corolla, it has faster infotainment than the Honda Civic, and the dashboard feels better-built than that in the Hyundai Elantra. Sure, Nissan cheaped out in a handful of areas like omitting a pull-down tab for the trunk and failing to illuminate most window controls, but cars in this segment need to be built cheaply in order to sell cheaply. While Nissan hasn’t yet released pricing for the 2024 Sentra, the current car starts at $21,145 including a $1,095 freight charge, so that gives us a ballpark.
The truth is, compact cars are the new midsizers, with the space and toys to match. The current Sentra is about the same length as a 1999 Altima, but it rides on a 3.5-inch longer wheelbase. Add in all the gadgets most drivers could realistically want, and the compact segment has never been better from a consumer standpoint. More importantly, it’s the last unwavering bastion of affordability. With such a cost of living squeeze going on, that’s something we can all get behind.
(Photo credits: Nissan)
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It is inoffensive, it has all the features that people these days care about, good paper mileage, CarPlay/ Android, LED lights, larger than the Mirage.. it will sell well at least as fleet. Size wise it is the new Altima?
As a guy on Youtube called Rainman Ray say.. Nissan is the Chrysler of Japan. It is an appliance mobile nothing more nothing less.
Yet Japan gets a lot of the good ones we never see. It’s Nintendo console releases all over again.
We get (or used to get) them in the form of Infiniti for North America. Basically anything that doesn’t have large displacement and get high marks for short overlap tests won’t get to these shores.
The 1991 Nissan Sentra SER made 140hp from its 2.0 4cyl. After 30+ years of research and development the new 2024 models makes… 149.
Now go look up the fuel economy of that old SE-R (in a car that crumples like a used napkin) against the new car’s fuel economy.
I believe the Canadian versions of this Sentra have been available with a manual. Too bad the US versions aren’t.
I’ll keep my ‘93 SE-R.
And they are raced professionally without many changes to the powertrain. It a very solid car when the automatic isn’t in it’s way.
Why is it still down 11 hp from a 11 year old Focus with the same size engine? OK, the DCTs sucked, but the engines were bulletproof and it could be had with a manual instead. Nissan’s CVTs are never anything but suspect, either.
I often think the same thing about other cars – like a current Jetta has about as much hp as my decade-plus old Focus, and is certainly heavier.
This is so true. My first car was a 2013 Focus with the 5-speed manual (so no DCT problems for me). The 160 hp 2 liter was very decent and I was able to gain a dyno-proven 10 whp by taking the cover off the airbox and sawing off the rear muffler … all for the cost of $0.
You know what the hillarious thing was? There were so many resonators on that car (california version) that cutting off the muffler made little difference in how loud the car was. It idled a bit louder, but at WOT the intake sound was so loud that you couldn’t hear the exhaust at all.
I drove that car hard constantly, hitting redline as often as I could and I still averaged 35 mpg. For 22k out the door brand new, it was a very solid little car. With some poly engine mounts and a few suspension tweaks, it was a sleeper back road canyon-carver.
I have issues with Nissan and their cvt, but this looks suspiciously like a cheerfully cheap car. I love those. An 87 Sentra at 137k miles just needs a vicegrip as window crank and a toggle switch to run the cooling fan: good to go. But I’m thinking that people pushing this 3000lb car with 150hp will heat that cvt up and they’ll be short-lived. Too bad: could’ve been a contender will a stick
Kia Forte GT can be had with a manual and a turbo, hoss.
And the auto option is a really good DCT
A manual might be the only thing that keeps a snot-nose with a usb drive and a Ticktok account from being gone in 60 seconds.
Big old bag of nope with Nissan and any CVT. Cheapo versions especially.
(old man beats dead horse)
Boy, this would be the perfect car to have a manual transmission.
Why can’t we have economy cars in manual anymore? They’re literally the perfect application for a stick. You will have 0 fun with a 150 horsepower and a CVT but with a stick? You can rev that shit out all day every day and feel like you’re racing at Le Mans while you’re doing 30 mid commute.
Other than small, lightweight sports cars I can’t think of a better application for a manual transmission than an appliance. Seriously. It’s an instant fun injection.
It’s funny how back in the day, “penalty box” economy cars were called that b/c they lacked comforts and amenities, focusing on bare bones driving. Now, “penalty box” refers to economy cars that are the exact opposite.
If not having to deal with a button-less, screen-ridden dashboard is a penalty than but me in the box, ref.
If I had to guess, some manuals hung around to keep the advertised MPG lower. Now, with CVTs, the automatic MPG is a tad lower than stick. Couple that with how few people bought manuals when they could and it was bound to happen.
I would like to add that a JATCO CVT made in Mexico with as much care as a meth-head brushing his teeth costs far less than a manual trans made elsewhere, so cost is also a factor.
Source: I’ve been in that plant a handful of times and had some interactions with the people who run it.
I had a 2022 rental Sentra and the fake shift CVT felt as if it was run by a student driver. Wallowed through the corners and a cheap interior. I have no idea why you wouldn’t buy a Mazda 3 for the same amount of money. Just as practical but with a good 6 speed automatic, great interior and fun handling.
Sure, if you’re paying cash with an honest dealer you are right.
When I was shopping for cars in this class I found that Mazda dealers have been getting a little cute with their move upmarket.
Two of my local Mazda dealers were $100 a month over any other comparable brand. The rest have Yelp reviews that read like something on “Help Me Howard”.
You know whats better than a new Nissan CVT?
No Nissan CVT
I don’t understand these things. I can understand how a small car would be cheaper to make as it’s lighter so it doesn’t need as big of an engine to move it and overall that means less material used per car and the cost per car shipped is lower.
But a “cheap” car that is big? It’s heavier than it needs to be, it uses more material, and it doesn’t do anything particularly well. It doesn’t turn tight, it isn’t super easy to park, it isn’t particularly lightweight, it isn’t particularly fun, etc.
A small car shouldn’t come at a premium…
Do you honestly believe the target market for this kind of car is shopping for those virtues? I’ll grant you ease of parking as a possibility, but most people I know who buy cheap new cars are primarily looking for in some order:
-Fuel efficiency
-Reliability
-Space for kids/stuff
-Low cost
This provides all of those, at least for as long as the CVT holds together. I’ve never met a single person who shops for low weight or handling in a new economy car in real life.
And specifically most people who buy new Nissans look for that plus, will they finance me. And the answer is yes.
Low cost is debatable.
It may have room for Kids but not much stuff.
Looking on the dents of the average Sentra, their buyers desperately need something easier to park.
There are dozens of us!
You don’t understand the average car buyer. The average mainstream customer doesn’t want a tinny little crapbox that will terrify them the second they merge onto the interstate with all the F150s and Suburbans. They want the cheapest thing possible that feels ‘big and heavy’ to comfort and isolate them from that, along with all the other features that v10omous mentioned. Enthusiasts want something ‘light’ and ‘connected to the road’, but most people want the exact opposite of that which is why a 2023 Civic is a luxury car compared to a 2003 Civic.
Emissions laws, especially in the US, is a big contributor to why small cars keep growing.
That and the fact that there seems to be a backroom understanding amongst automakers and their suppliers to use more than you need and sell for more than you should.
Now the roads are covered with grocery-getters with curb-weights exceeding Obama’s presidential limo. So a compact the size of a 1991 Sentra will score straight P’s on safety scores.
I owned a 2nd or 3rd generation Sentra. They’ve come a long way in styling. It’s still an appliance car, but we need them desperately. Not everyone can afford new or even good used cars at these current prices
What is that? A car.
What sort of car? A blue one.
OK.
Styling has been updated so, once again, you can’t tell the difference between an Altima, a Sentra, and a Versa at a distance.
The Altima is the one doing 75 in a 35 on the spare tire.
You forgot to mention that the spare was only inflated to 15 PSI.
And the paper dealer tags that are absolutely, 100%, perfectly legal and legitimate.
Mechanically, this an acceptable vehicle for the anticipated price. Stylistically, it lacks any noteworthy character or distinction. It’s the automotive equivalent of plain oatmeal.
The character line on the C-pillar (that started in the Maxima and filtered down) and its accompanying quasi-fastback is pretty decent IMO, but that’s all that keeps it from being a Hyundai.
I think that’s the worst part. It looks like the designer sneezed while drawing the DLO and his pen ran away across the page and they decided to just keep it.
While I disagree (I like the squished down look it provides), I LOVE your description here!
I’ll admit it looks ok here because of the blacked-out roof. On the normal color models, though, the blackout line feels really cheap and contrived since the angle it runs at is totally disjointed from the body lines.
https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/2020-nissan-sentra-117-1576464326.jpg
The design does look better than the outgoing model, but I’d be curious to know if they did anything about the NVH and lethargic power train (besides a new CVT)?
I had the outgoing car as a rental and the highest praise I could give it was that it was, in fact, a car. The road noise was bad, the wind noise was bad, the suspension dampening was bad, the power train was solidly tuned for efficiency and absolutely hated being hustled (like trying to merge onto a highway, for example). I can maybe see the new design improving the wind noise, but if everything else is a carryover, I can’t see why anyone would buy this over pretty much any competitor’s offerings.
I don’t need illuminated window controls, just good old intuitive switches do the trick.
They seem to be taking a step back in a good way here.
It looks just fine.
I want to like this…but automatic stop-start makes this one a non-starter for me.
non-starter? But it’s auto start. 🙂
There’s a joke in there about the auto start/stop being a non-starter, but I’m not clever enough to make it.
I share your disdain for the system, however. When I was learning to drive, my dad taught me that when you are the first car in line at a red light it is your responsibility to accelerate just a little bit harder than you otherwise would as a courtesy to the cars behind you (“Other people want to get through the light, too” he’d say.). Auto start/stop systems add just a little bit of hesitation in such a scenario. It’s not much, but if that first driver’s reflexes are a little slow to begin with, and when you compound the issue through the line of cars, it could result in a car or two fewer making it through the intersection in a single light cycle.
You can probably turn it off, but, if it’s like Ford’s implementation, the car won’t save your setting and will turn it back on the next time you drive it
I would tend to agree but seriously speaking, what cars don’t have auto stop-start these days? I guess the base Sonata I rented last year didn’t, but it seems in the minority.
I had a rental Nissan Rogue recently and those flat-bottom steering wheels are…no.
While not as bad as a yoke, it makes hand-over-hand turning a pain when you inevitably try to grab a part of the steering wheel that simply isn’t there.
Most modern cars have steering ratios so quick that hand-over-hand isn’t necessary. Many are barely two turns lock-to-lock.
KA24DE engine and transmission combo from a 1999 Nissan Altima is pure reliability, those things run forever, the good old days from Nissan
There are a lot of folk that just want a reliable automotive appliance. My daughter is one and her Sentra fits the bill perfectly.
Until the CVT does its thing in 3 years
The exact moment the warranty expires the car is shitting its CVT out. I had multiple coworkers go through this in the past, and a getting a new one put in will run you about 5 grand.
These transmissions are completely intolerant of skipped fluid changes, and owners are conditioned to think they’re lifetime fill. Terrible combination. For all but the lightest driving, the intervals are 60k, and should really be 30k if you’re using anything but Amsoil.
Your average Nissan buyer isn’t keeping up on oil changes, much less the pricey transmission fluid changes. And that’s if they know the transmission fluid even needs to be changed, which is a goddamn footnote in some models’ owners manual. They blow through the first 60k interval and the transmission grenades itself at 80-100k, ie exactly when the warranty expires.
To be clear, this is not to blame people who buy Nissan’s cars. I drive a CVT equipped Altima that gets rigorous preventative maintenance and is still running well at 160k miles, but at this point I’m happy to admit that it’s a garbage transmission which, because of the (typically less well off) customer base Nissan has actively pursued for the last two decades, financially eviscerates exactly the kind of people least able to afford it.
Exactly. The CVT might be fragile, but like anything it’s not inherently prone to failure with good maintenance (also see Volvos with Aisins, Honda minivan transmissions). That’s not to say it’s not still flawed, but there are ways to keep them around for a long time. I’ve seen plenty a CVT Subie with over 200k miles on an original transmission, but Nissans generally do not attract a customer base that can afford to care a lot about preventative maintenance.
It is worth noting just how many old Nissans are still on the road. Guarantee there are more 10-15 year old Sentras running than Elantras, Darts and Cruzes combined.
Username checks out.
I wonder if you’ll still be able to get a manual in the facelift.
“Still? You can’t get a manual in the current one!”
In America you can’t get a manual in the current one, Canadian Sentras still have the option, going by Nissan’s websites.
If it was THAT other website the comments would be hundreds of “never buy new” comments.
That sentiment seems to be waning since lightly used cars went from bargain to bad value. Though I can’t confirm as I haven’t been on the lighting site in 6 months or so.
Must read the fine print: *Does not apply to lower priced Nissans or Volkswagens.
I can’t speak for the mechanicals and my in-laws Pathfinder is a deeply stupid, stupid car. Who allowed the front passenger seat to be mounted directly to the floor, with no height adjustment? I feel like a child experiencing the front seat for the first time ever in that thing.
But I’ll say this, Nissan really turned things around in the design department. The current gen batch of cars and SUVs are pretty good looking, especially compared to their fat, flabby predecessors. I won’t touch one of their CVTs in a million years, but at least their cars don’t actively make me sad when looking at them anymore.
“Good” and “CVT” are mutually exclusive
For the car as an appliance folks, CVT is probably better. I’ve heard people talk about how smoothly their Subaru/Civic/whatever accelerates, and what they mean is the lack of shifts.
Certainly not an enthusiast car, and I don’t think it pretends to be.
What I really hate are CVTs with fake shifts you cannot disable. It is literally making the car have worse traction and more wear because stupid people are in power.
That bugs the crap outa me. I read somewhere a decade back or more that the artificial shifts were added because people freaked out when driving a car that didn’t have them. So, the main feature of a cvt-matching revs precisely to need-was partly discarded, and artificial wear-points were added because of a freaking focus group.
*facepalm*
The bigger issue for the non-enthusiast tends to be reliability. While some CVTs can be fine, there are an awful lot of them that self-destruct fairly early.
Not being a CVT fan, I made the assumption that CVTs have gotten pretty reliable, since I know there are pretty reliable CVTs out there.
I haven’t heard of a non-enthusiast in a relatively recent vehicle grenading a transmission in a bit, but I don’t know anything about this CVT and don’t think I even know anyone driving a Nissan these days, so I suppose that could be a concern.
My inlaws had 3 year old Pathfinder with the CVT. It started acting up. They just got… a new Pathfinder with a CVT.
I think that the newest Pathfinder gets a 9-speed auto? It’s a rare Nissan product without a CVT. So that may not have been the worst choice, I guess.
I’ve detailed here that my in-laws recently purchased the Rock Creek version which is a bizarre choice for two people who have never driven down a gravel driveway much less ventured off-road.
I’ve had to talk multiple people who have never been off road a day in their lives out of spending $50,000+ on kitted out Broncos with every off-road goody you can imagine. Something about a rugged looking vehicle just short circuits the brain of normies. It’s a disease.
No, Katie/Kyle. What you need is a CRV hybrid. You’ll be fine. I KNOW you think the 4Runner is going to get more likes on the Gram but you live in the city and you will hate every waking moment you are in that vehicle, I promise.
Again, this is why I’m happy the Bronco Sport exists. For the millions of people affected by these delusions it’s perfect. You get to look cool and rugged and outdoorsy in a car that’s just a plain old crossover underneath.
Bronco sport is a perfectly fine compromise. I wish more companies were willing to style their crossovers as such. Bloated bubbly awkwardly proportioned crossovers tend to look sad to me.
Once you get into these segments, everyone is cosplaying at least a little bit. And I get it, sometimes I look at a 4runner and it gives me the feels. But I know if I bought one the only thing I’d feel 90% of time is abused by the amount of fuel it consumes.
The CVT coupled with the borderline “Buy Here Pay Here” lot mentality of their dealers during the Ghosn era has vaporized any enthusiasm for the brand around these parts. It’s going to be a long slog for Nissan to get back to the reputation they once had, if that’s even possible.
Edit: I drive a Chrysler product with a Chrysler transmission in it sooooooooo, yeah. It’s not like I’m a totally rational human being beating up on just Nissan CVTs. YMMV.
I drive a Hyundai with their in house DCT! We’re all playing Russian Roulette haha
“I’m a well-informed Autopian-reading, Consumer Reports subscribing car geek! I will not buy anything with a history of defects! I will buy a Toyota!”
*buys a former rental Chrysler van*
I prefer driving a decently programmed CVT to a too-many-speed auto that hunts constantly. Longevity-wise, though . . .
Or worse yet, those 4-speed autos Toyota and Honda used to put in every economy car. Because 3500+ rpm at 75 mph sure is a fun way to spend three hours of highway driving…
Not just their economy cars.
My 2004 Camry (hand me down from my grandmother) had a 4-speed auto with nice wide ratios that ensured acceleration was as ponderous as possible. You could barely crack 30 mpg on the highway with that car. I always wondered how much better it would have been with one or two more ratios…