The Sentra is a Basic Car Done Right

Sometimes, you just need a good, reliable car.  It doesn’t have to be thrilling to drive or luxurious.  It doesn’t even have to have a cavernous cargo area.  However, it does need to be safe, reliable, have a usable backseat, and provide the expected connectability. It should not look or feel like a penalty box nor cost an arm and a leg.  That is why Dick Smith Nissan of St. Andrews carries the Nissan Sentra in their inventory.  

The Sentra has a starting MSRP of $22,730, which makes it one of the most affordable new cars you can buy in the U.S. It is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-4 engine without any of the complications of turbocharging or a hybrid arrangement.  It delivers a perfectly acceptable 149 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque.  That won’t win you any pink slips at the dragstrip, but when combined with a continuously variable transmission, it is more than enough to take you and your passengers around town and get up to speed on freeway on-ramps.   

New for 2025 is a standard start/stop feature that keeps you from using fuel during long stops with instant restarts once you press the gas pedal. Overall fuel economy is quite good at 30 in the city and 40 on the highway, with a 34 combined figure.  

The Sentra sedan keeps with the Nissan design language. From any distance, it looks much like the Altima mid-size sedan, which in turn looks much like the Maxima full-size sedan.  They all appear with the same V-motion grille and headlight treatment upfront and share similar body language from front to back, with a similar low profile and black trim break at the rear pillar.  

Inside, the standard 8.0-inch touchscreen nestled in the upper dash may not be mistaken for a big flat-screen monitor, but it clearly shows you what you want to see and will adopt your Apple or Android phone’s driving interface if you prefer. The straight-forward twin analog gauges with a 7-inch driver information center gives you pertinent information at a glance.  It isn’t on the base model, but the tan interior of the SV model is particularly attractive, with a striking tan upper dash and quilts in the tan seat surfaces for a look simply not seen in cars under $30K. 

We mentioned safety above as one of the expectations for even a no-frills transportation, and the Sentra does not disappoint. With the Nissan Safety Shield 360 combing standard across the model line, radar, cameras, and sonar combined to provide six safety technologies, including: 

• Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection 

• Lane Departure Warning 

• High Beam Assist 

• Blind Spot Warning 

• Rear Cross-Traffic Alert 

• Rear Automatic Braking 

As Motor1.com stated in their Sentra review, “…if you want a no-nonsense commuter car that has great fuel economy and costs just over $20,000, you really can’t go wrong with the Nissan Sentra.” If you want a no-nonsense commuter car, come check out the Sentra at Dick Smith Nissan of St. Andrews, where we have several models for you to see.