Live Thread: 2024 Nissan Sentra SR review

What did I love?

See photo below (courtesy Nissan). Buttons for climate control. This is probably a personal quirk of mine, but I strongly prefer knobs over infotainment center controls. I shouldn't have to fumble to make things more comfortable while driving. The three vents reminiscent of the ones in the GT-R are a nice touch, too.

I also liked the two different USB options.

Okay, okay, but how did it drive?

As far as a daily cruiser, it checks off most of the boxes. The ride delivers enough input to satisfy you, but not rough you up on the winter-worn roads of New England. It's handling, felt a tad different from other cars I've driven, because of Nissan's Active Understeer Control (AUC). I noticed it. It gives a feeling that the car's almost steering from the rear, which is a bit different.

Braking is adequate. It's not too soft, not too touchy. It gets the job done.

The steering inputs feel direct and never leave you guessing.

Handling wise, it does the job.

But, what about that engine and transmission?

At a stated 149 horsepower, it feels it. This may have been the winning ticket 20 years ago, but the competition has numbers nearing or exceeding the 200 horsepower mark. Then again, this is the cheapest model among the Civics, Mazda3s, Corollas, etc..

Some say the CVT is a tad noisy (the wind noise on the highway was louder, which could have been quieter), but the noise wasn't a huge bother. It deliver the power adequately.

To sum it up:

The Nissan Sentra is sold at an incredible price point for what it offers. You'll love being seen in it, despite its shortcomings and price, and it does what a car needs to do well.

Personally, I'd love to see another trim level that focuses more on performance - specifically more power, a sportier suspension and a manual would take this up a notch for us folks who love driving cars for fun. The good news is when compared to its competitors, they might be able to increase their price a tad to accommodate the extra goodies and still offer an incredible value.

J.A. Ackley said:

The Leatherette seats were no frills, but comfortable, and maybe something to consider for those adverse to cloth ones. At no time during my 3-hour drives did they disappoint. I only wish it had heated seats, but that's more of a personal preference.

Interesting. In Canada, heated seats are only not available in the base "S" trim. As soon as you go up a step to the "S Plus", you get heated seats. This is still otherwise a base model, with 16" steel wheels with plastic covers and rear drum brakes. Surprising that the Leatherette seats don't have it standard in the US. In fact, it looks like in Canada the Leatherette only comes on the fully loaded trim.

Also for fun, the base model S starts at $25,141 CAD which is $18,254 USD. The most "GRM" spec, which would be the SR manual transmission (thanks Lump for the correction - no LED headlamps but cloth heated seats and heated steering wheel with 18" alloys [contradiction here, the spec sheet says 18" but the highlights say 17". Pictures show 18"], along with rear disk brakes, radar cruise, auto climate control, better radio) is $30,041 CAD which is $21,812 USD.

Also for fun comparison of pricing in Canada - including freight/PDI/fees, no taxes:

Base Sentra CVT "S Plus"- $26,946

Base Corolla "L CVT" - $26,664 

Base Civic "LX" - $29,490

Base Mazda3 "GX" - $27, 609

I no longer work for Nissan, but when I left last year the Sentra my favourite in their lineup so I'm kinda having fun reading GRM's take and seeing all the small differences.

In reply to Run_Away :

I spent quite a bit of time with the Canadian contingent of Nissan. It was interesting to learn that the Canadian market, in particular those from Quebec, have a high demand for barebones compact cars with manuals. (Sentra S in Canada comes with rear drum brakes, for example.). The American market, for the most part, want bigger vehicles, preferably SUVs and crossovers, with as many creature comforts as possible.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

That's interesting about the Quebec demand for manual transmission cars and that Nissan fills that need with a lower level Sentra WITH a stick shift car. 

I have a lot of respect for a proper smaller car, especially at a reasonable price.

Quebec is a cool car market. They seem to have more fun cars period. My last 3 cars were from Quebec and while I'm in Ontario, I'm not near the boarder. :) 

When you search on Auto trader they have a disproportionate number of of cars like NDs.

The Micra racing series was more or less base out of Quebec. A number of small cars have had their North American debut at the Montreal car show.

Datsun240ZGuy said:

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

That's interesting about the Quebec demand for manual transmission cars and that Nissan fills that need with a lower level Sentra WITH a stick shift car. 

Yeah, that is interesting. Maybe we should start shopping there. 

I've been surprised at just how different a car company's lineup can be here in the U.S. versus Canada. An example based on a car my wife and I have been researching:

Here in the U.S., the top 2 trims for the Hyundai Kona are the N-Line and the Limited.

In Canada, Hyundai doesn't offer a Limited trim. Instead, Hyundai puts most/all the goodies from the U.S.-market Limited model into an optional "Ultimate Package" for the N-Line.

Just one example, but still interesting to me nonetheless.

David S. Wallens said:

Datsun240ZGuy said:

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

That's interesting about the Quebec demand for manual transmission cars and that Nissan fills that need with a lower level Sentra WITH a stick shift car. 

Yeah, that is interesting. Maybe we should start shopping there. 

Just to clarify, from what I heard, the take rate for manuals in Quebec is still only about 7%. Numbers I have heard here in the U.S. is often 2%, when offered (depending on car). While that may not seem like a big difference, when you're selling 10s of thousands of these things, it adds up. In fact, for some cars that used to have a manual offered here in the U.S., 7% would have definitely saved the stick.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

I find it interesting that the difference in take rate between here and Quebec is so different.

Is the take rate similar across the other Canadian provinces and territories?

I also imagine the take rate is different going from state to state here in the U.S., but at that point, you are probably getting way too far into the weeds. 

I'd guess Quebec's rate of manuals is higher, but not necessarily Canada overall.

Canada is a poorer country than the US, so I'd guess there are fewer performance vehicles where manuals are still offered. Quebecers are both more into driving and small cars. A disproportionate amount of their population is based in Montreal. When you drive between Montreal and the second biggest city, Quebec City, there's very few towns, or exits.

40 years ago Canada had a slightly higher gdp per capita. Now the US' is like 40% higher. Something similar has happened globally; the US economy has out performed every other first world economy. Cars here might be slightly cheaper, but imagine your purchase decisions if you suddenly made a lot less. On an aside, for some reason many Americans have self esteem issues and can't see this... ;)

Canada has always purchased more manual transmissions. I remember that when we bought our VW Passat wagon in 1990, we could get a stick in Canada but not in the US. And that wasn't a poverty thing, it was that Canadians (especially Quebec) tend more towards a European viewpoint than the US on a lot of things, including their vehicle choice. For example, in 2008 the best selling vehicle in Canada was the Honda Civic. In the US, of course, it was the F-series pickups. Minivans were the sales leader in Canada in 2000-2002. In the US, F-series.

And yes, it's no coincidence that most of Canada's F1 drivers came from Quebec. It's not just the roads, but the roads don't hurt. All the one-make series seem to be based out of Quebec, such as the various Honda classes.

Interestingly, Canada bought more Miatas per capita than the US did in the early days. They also had very different option packages, usually just "base" or "everything". No R or M packages.

Canada also got the De Tomaso Innocenti :) Imagine a classic Mini in squared off italian clothes and possibly running a turbo. I'm pretty sure they were all sold in Quebec.

Keith Tanner said:

Canadians (especially Quebec) tend more towards a European viewpoint than the US on a lot of things, including their vehicle choice. 

Ah, that makes sense.

Canada also got the De Tomaso Innocenti :) Imagine a classic Mini in squared off italian clothes and possibly running a turbo. I'm pretty sure they were all sold in Quebec.

I love the look of those De Tomaso Innocentis.

I love seeing how different markets get different types of cars. Some of the crossover-type pickup trucks I've seen from Mexico are interesting, too. But, I digress.

J.A. asked if I have driven the latest Sentra, and I was like, Um, have I?

Found the review: 2024 Nissan Sentra SR. So, yes, I have.