Nissan Sentra (US) review

What’s breakfast like to eat? It’s something you do every day, presumably without putting too much thought into it. This is the baseline experience with a daily driver Sentra.

Though, like a casual weekend brekkie, you might think to jazz it up on occasion with a little sweet treat. This of course would be the sport mode included in all but the base trims of the new Sentra.

Powering the stalwart commuter car is a 2.0-liter inline-four that’s good for 149hp and 146lb ft of torque. Power goes to the front by way of Nissan’s ‘Xtronic’ CVT that plays a large part in enabling the fun provided by sport mode.

Does sport mode make that much of a difference?

Oh, the shift in behavior is very tangible. Easy wins like tighter steering instantly get the point across and the aggressive engine mapping is to be expected, though, to Nissan’s credit, the CVT’s shifting patterns are what give it the juice. The switch to a higher ‘gear’ and holding it there for a substantial amount of time makes all the difference when trying to eke out playful engagement with this otherwise docile daily commuter.

Would you take it to the track? Not unless you’re Ubering there, but it’s good to know the Sentra’s got some chops to bring out a smile or two on the drive home from work. While the stiffer steering adds to the playfulness, the Sentra’s sport mode is far from transformative. This isn’t the Elantra N, for reference, which has numerous hardware upgrades to turn the mild-mannered sedan into a street-racer (of sorts). No, this remains a slow car that’s fun to drive fast, Nissan’s just made it a little more enjoyable.

Its independent suspension with active ride control makes it robust enough for some eager backroad horseplay, but it’s intended for commuting comfort, not tidy cornering. Braking dynamics really depend on how heavy your foot is. They’ll bite, though we wouldn’t count on them being consistent over a large period of abuse. All the while, the powertrain’s as raucous as a laptop straining to run your hundreds of open browser tabs.

How is it when you’re driving it like a normal person?

Much more enjoyable, and er, forgettable, which you can take either way. On one hand, you can knock it for being a bit bland on the move, but you could also take that as the Sentra doing its job. If you’re going about your daily business and your budget sedan leaves no impression at all, that’s a sort of victory. Here, the active suspension is in its element, mitigating the usual bumps from pot-marked roads, keeping any body roll in check and being fairly neutral overall.