- The Nissan Sentra is all-new for 2026 with a recent design however a repeat drivetrain
- The ProPilot Help site visitors jam system makes its debut at this low worth level
The Nissan Sentra has all the time comfortably stayed in the midst of the mainstream compact sedan class, with cheap pricing, a aggressive set of options, and long-earned identify recognition.
Nissan has reinvented the Sentra for 2026, however not its method to worth. The 2026 Sentra will get a fastback look, a handy trunk with one of many lowest liftover heights in its class, and a brand new suite of driver help instruments.
It’s not a wildly new method — we’re speaking about trunk liftover peak among the many highlights right here — nevertheless it ought to provide the regular worth Nissan followers count on.
Nissan has not introduced pricing for the 2026 Sentra. The 2025 mannequin it changed begins at $22,835, and worth has all the time been a part of the Sentra gross sales pitch, so we’d be stunned to see a major change in that.
Fastback Look, Large Screens
- The 2026 Sentra has a pronounced fastback and a model of Nissan’s “V Movement” grille so massive it visually shrinks the automotive
- A pair of 12.3-inch screens are unusually massive for a small automotive
Nissan designers leaned into what they normally do with the brand new Sentra. Which means a sedan with a fastback look that works notably properly in two-tone shade schemes and the model’s signature “V Movement” grille.
This interpretation of the grille sits so vast that it virtually makes a compact automotive look subcompact. Skinny daytime operating lights above and a slim lip spoiler beneath body the massive, jutting grille.
Inside, Nissan designers emphasised display screen dimension. All fashions embody a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and all however the base trim include an accompanying 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (base fashions have a 7-inch unit). The brand new Sentra’s pair of 12.3-inch screens sit side-by-side in a single housing, so they give the impression of being virtually like one vast display screen floor. That’s a display screen dimension we’re accustomed to seeing in midsize automobiles, making a tech-heavy vibe for the cabin.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are normal, and wi-fi on all however the base trim.
The Regular 4-Cylinder Returns
- A 149-horsepower 4-cylinder engine and a repeatedly variable computerized transmission (CVT) are the one powertrain choice
- However Nissan’s ProPilot Help system makes its approach right down to a cheaper price level with the 2026 Sentra
Designers took no probabilities with the powertrain. The brand new Sentra returns with the identical 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine because the 2025 mannequin, nonetheless making 149 horsepower. That retains it close to the low-end of its aggressive set for energy, however few customers purchase a Sentra for efficiency causes.
A repeatedly variable computerized transmission (CVT) sends energy to the entrance wheels.
Nissan says the brand new mannequin is 6% extra inflexible than final yr’s, which ought to barely tighten up dealing with. The brand new suspension consists of shock absorbers with a singular valve system meant to “mute affect harshness from bumps.”
However essentially the most vital change to the driving expertise comes from the assist you’ll get.
Nissan’s ProPilot Help system will help steer, speed up, and brake to maintain tempo with stop-and-go site visitors. The motive force should nonetheless preserve their palms on the wheel and their eyes on the highway, however in costlier Nissan automobiles, we’ve discovered that the system helps scale back driver fatigue. Within the 2026 Sentra, it’s non-obligatory within the SR trim and normal within the top-line SL.
Nissan says the 2026 Sentra will go on sale “later this yr.”