Nissan Sentra 2015 in mid winter. Not bad, not good...

On a second week of January 2016 I rented Nissan Sentra SV from Enterprise. Given rental location provided car with 3 overinflated tires (38 Psi) and forth one under inflated (27 Psi) while norm is 33 psi for all tires. Such mismatch contributed to rotational movement of the car during braking and inability to stay in the lane on highway speeds. After I figured out what was wrong and deflated/inflated tires it behaved more predictably. Bouncing sound of basket ball also was reduced.

So to set up stage: it January, it snowing and it 100 km trips daily. With range of speed between 50 km/h to 110 km/h. It cold to -10C. I was driving it for four days. Overall 1200 km.

Fuel efficiency was between 7.6 to 8 l/100 km on average. It way above manufacturer promised 6 l/100 km. No matter how economical I was within reasonable driving style (no jack rabbiting or even dynamic start/stops but no coasting from 1 km before traffic light either so car will stop itself) it never improved.

Interestingly previous Sentra, which I rented a lot, provided 6.4-6.5 l/100 km with 2.0 l bigger engine, CVT with more friction losses and no eco button. Even more interestingly I got better fuel efficiency out of Nissan Altima while driving in Rocky Mountains (6.2-6.3 l/100 km).

Comfort of the ride I would rate as average, way behind WV Golf/Jetta and lesser than Honda Civic, however it comes with nuances. While I was test driving same model of Sentra at dealership it behaved more soft and forgiving on the road. It was due to deflated tires. Old sales trick: deflate tires and get softer ride for free! Anyway if you consider buying the car test tire pressure or bring your own compressor !

I won’t say it bad, but I won’t say it utterly good. The problem I faced was sudden bang at greater road bumps. Speed bumps are included in the list of loud noise producers.

Acceleration of the car was reasonable if you in the city or within 80 km/h. while overtakes should include some preparation, calculated time and transition into sport mode if you would prefer car to do what you want while forgiving it for some delay. There is no way it can be compared for swift and fun reaction of turbo 1.8 of VW and it definitely no much for 2.0 engine of Mazda 3 or ford focus however it not like revelation gap, just noticeable difference. Ball park of Toyota Corolla…. May be a bit better especially around the town.

Handling: how to put it together? It decent yet not inviting in any way. It good around town. It decent on highway speed. It never should be considered crisp, fun or engaging. It commuter style handling. Literally nothing to write home about. Stock tires are awful in the snow. You can miss you turn by going with screaming ABS pass it, going into the wall while in it at 20-30 km/h speeds. It should come with warning sticker of the size of the rear window! In a very short words: if you intend to drive in the snow change factory installed tires as soon as possible!!!

Visibility is let say limited through rear window since it way to narrow in vertical dimension for my liking. Blind spots are not great but that will change depending on your driving position. Mirrors are present and not bad however not really plentiful. Rear defroster works, not great, but works after a while. Front view in the winter will be foggy for a 10-15-20 minutes with full heat and windshield mode of AC. Defogging pattern is also bleak, leaving blind spots near the bottom corners. By far it was least effective system in the winter. Also when it came to road dirt on the window and less than effective windshield washing sprinkles another problem revealed at highway speeds: all brown/white residue from windshield was accumulating near side window portions adjacent to the mirrors. In the evening and night it made it hard to look behind through the mirror.

Seats and seating position was not bad and not good despite 2 way adjustment of the steering wheel and height adjustment of the driver’s seat.  Back seat welcoming bang on low sealing came with trio of Corolla/Civic/Sentra few centimeters missing. Leg room was adequate but not a plentiful Nissan claims.

Overall interior was cheap, with some occasional signs of ergonomic thinking. I could not use CD player because loading sold in the front plastic and slot in actual unit were misaligned , so when you pushing CD in you pushing against the metal of the CD player case. It sounds confusing but it either fell 0.5 cm lower or was assembled this way. When I opened driver’s door I punched my finger with sharp metal from outer shell of the door which as not covered with plastic and was not pressed as it should be. It was sticking out of the back side of the window frame. Such things you never think about them until you stumble upon one. Sales person in the dealership was telling about how reliable Nissan is and it will go to the 500000 km with ease. Considering assembly quality and overall cheapness of construction I doubt it will reach even half of that number even if you want it to do so. I was left with strong impression of word Cheap. Not CHEAP, but Cheap.

My impression is not bad but not good and it rather never going to buy it. Ever.

This car is not fuel efficient, it step back from previous model in terms of quality and over all feel. Yes it has all modern goodies like Bluetooth and backup camera, however it lacks good car. Considering price point similar to the certain competition I rather buy something else.

This car is cheap Mexican build copy of Romanian copy of the French car. It not bad but it no good.

There is no single point provided to edge it above competition. By the way both Mazda 3 and VW Jetta are more fuel efficient by a one liter of 87 fuel at the pump. Better looking and better build. I have not driven new Civic, but old one was better choice too.