When looking into buying a compact sedan, customers have a large variety of vehicles to choose from by manufacturers from all over the world. I had just got my hands on the 2013 Nissan Sentra, a car Nissan pitches to fill the gap between the Sunny and Altima. Quite frankly with a very neat grille and the LED's upfront, a rear spoiler and 16 inch wheels the Sentra is a very, very good looking compact sedan.
Drive
There are two engine variants available on the Sentra, a 1.6 litre and a 1.8 litre. We were driving the 1.8 litre that was packed with 130 horsepower and 174 Nm of torque. The drive is relatively smooth and quiet at low speeds, however when cruising at anything above 100 km/h, there is a prominent CVT drone that can be heard. Safety hasn't been skimped on either. The Sentra offers Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) which will send extra force to the rear brakes when there's additional weight in the back. It also comes equipped with Brake Assist, whereby if it senses the brake pedal has been pushed in an emergency situation, it will automatically apply maximum braking force.
Interior
As I walked up to the Sentra and unlocked it using the smart key in my pocket, I realized how refined it really was. Once you're inside, everything from the seats to the door panels are cushioned and make you feel very comfortable. Just a glance across dashboard and you'll notice how simple yet neat and elegant it is due to the wood inserts that run across the door panels as well. There is ample leg room for both front and rear seats passengers and the trunk is capable of holding an impressive 510 litres of cargo. A really nice feature I came across in the Sentra was that the radio would tell you the type of music you can expect to hear on a particular radio station. For instance, if you were tuned in to 104.8, it would say Pop; whereas if you switched over to 104.1, it would say Varied.
Verdict
One of the other great things about the Sentra is that since the fuel filler cap is placed on the passenger side, you can most likely avoid the long queues at gas stations. It also comes with Pure Drive, meaning it meets or exceeds Nissan's global standard for environmental friendliness. Quite simply then, the Sentra is a comfortable, economical and well equipped compact sedan that definitely has a lot to offer.
