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2009 Nissan Sentra: Competent, not jazzy
KATHY RENWALD FOR THE TORONTO STAR
The front wheel-drive Sentra puts out 140 hp that never calls attention to itself and the CVT manages momentum quietly like a good butler. Price is $15,198.
The Nissan Sentra is about as exciting as going to the prom with your brother. But if you have a good brother, he's reliable and loyal and that's my impression of Nissan's second-smallest car.
The sanded down base model, a four-cylinder six-speed manual, starts at $15,198. Once the trinketeers add their luxury-this and sport-that, you can pay upward of $24,000 for a SE-R Spec-V.
My 2009 tester was $22,708, comprising a 2.0-litre S with luxury package ($2,200) and continuously variable transmission ($1,300). Some of the luxury add-ons that make the Sentra more likeable include a Bluetooth link, moonroof, heated seats and, my favourite, the divide-and-hide trunk organizer.
In a practical car, short on pizzazz and innovation, you can be thankful for things like trunk organizers that keep your solids and liquids from misbehaving.
From the driver's seat, the Sentra's functional setup works fine, with important controls within easy reach. Radio and climate buttons and knobs are big and well marked, but the display screen on the centre console is decidedly down-market, with readouts that are too dim in bright sun, and a weird orange backlight that looks like it should be warming a pile of french fries.
The front seats are comfortable, and roomy enough to accommodate middle-aged spread. And being a "tall" car, there's lots of headroom. The driver's seat height is adjustable with a lever, but you'll think you're pumping out a bilge tank, it takes so long to move. The lever that moves the seat forward and back is buried under the seat and requires flexibility to reach.
The steering wheel, which can be hard, slippery and vile in compacts, is chunky and just grippy enough in the Sentra.
Storage options are ample in the front, with two adjustable cup holders in the centre console, an oversize glove compartment deep enough to stow a laptop and an assortment of bins for other homeless items.
Seating comfort in the back is good, but some may find the seat bottom hard and a tad short for adequate thigh support. The middle passenger's feet will be happy the hump in the centre of the floor is on the small side.
The front-engine, front wheel-drive Sentra puts out 140 hp that never calls attention to itself; acceleration is sedate and the CVT manages momentum quietly. With a gearless transmission, it's all rather anonymous and innocuous.
I liked the firm brake feel, and was surprised at the heft of the speed-sensitive steering; it seems curiously heavy for a small car, but not unpleasant.
The Sentra has a controlled ride and engineers have done a good job of buffering passengers from the effects of chewed up roads. Overall, it's a good car to poke around in with nothing too annoying and nothing too thrilling to cause heart palpitations.
Looking at the shell of the Sentra, I can't imagine the designer has put this achievement high in his resume. It looks like it was sketched by a civil servant. The rear end is lumpy, the receptacle for the missing fog lights cheesy, and the front grille looks like the plastic cell packs that flowers are sold in. It's not ugly or homely, just plain as dry toast.
There are jazzier competitors like the Mazda3 and Mitsubishi Lancer, ones with more elegance like the Toyota Corolla, and better-defined drive feel like the VW Jetta. But if you are looking for substance over style, the Sentra might be for you.
Freelance writer Kathy Renwald can be reached at kathyrenwald.com
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