Let's face it. Cars are as much about image as they are about transportation. If they weren't, we'd all be driving around in shipping crates with seats and wheels.
On a recent trip to Georgia, the kind folks at Nissan and Prestige Automotive had the refreshed 2024 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SV waiting for me when I landed in Atlanta.
My first impression?
One word---wow. The interior looks like it belongs in a $40,000 car. It's been given the same kind of upscale feel I wrote about in my review of the 2023 Rogue about a year and a half ago.
And it's quiet, it rides smoothly---it's fantastic with a light foot on the throttle, which I had, leaving the busiest airport in the world and easing onto I-85.
But as traffic thinned out and I put my foot down a little further, a fundamental truth was revealed:
We're still talking a normally-aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 149 horsepower, 145 lb-ft of torque and a continually variable transmission. Zero to 60 takes 8.4 seconds and the sounds from under the hood can't possibly match the refinement of the cabin.
But then, that's not the Sentra's mission in life, is it? This is a subcompact car that stickers for $22,960 including destination and before extra-cost options (which we'll get to in a minute).
And the gas mileage is hard to argue with---an EPA-estimated 34 mpg combined city/highway---a number we were able to beat in a week of city street, urban freeway, interstate highway and rural backroad driving:
Trunk space is generous for the class at 14.3 cubic feet.
And rear seat legroom is another solid showing with 34.9 inches.
The aforementioned $22,690 (including destination) base price for the 2024 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SV gets you a comprehensive suite of active safety features, tire pressure monitoring, a security system, Intelligent Key with pushbutton ignition, tilt/telescoping steering column, an eight-inch color touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and SiriusXM feeding a six-speaker audio system. There are also three USB ports (two front, one rear), 16-inch alloy wheel, halogen headlamps and body-colored outside mirrors and door handles.
Our test vehicle did have some extra-cost options. The interior's wow factor comes from the $2,520 SV Premium Package, bringing a power-sliding glass moonroof, quilted leather-appointed seat trim, a six-way power driver's seat with two-way power lumbar, an intelligent around view mirror, and upgraded eight-speaker Bose premium audio system, leather-wrapped shift knob, and a rear center armrest with two cupholders as well as a couple of exterior perks--17-inch alloy wheels and exterior turn-signal indicators.
This car also got the $590 All-Weather Package (dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, heated exterior mirrors and remote engine start), the $500 Lighting Package (external ground lighting and interior ambient lighting), a $345 rear spoiler, a $330 frameless EC mirror with Homelink, and $280 worth of carpeted floor mats and a trunk mat.
All of which brought the bottom line on the window sticker to $27,525.
And that's right in the ballpark for the subcompact sedan class these days. What sets the Nissan apart, assuming you pop for the SV Premium package, is that gorgeous interior, which Corolla and Civic can't match.
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