Rental Car Review - Nissan Sentra

Because of the nature of my work I travel regularly and part of that nature includes renting different kinds of small cars labeled as mid size by the rental car company. As a long time reader of many car magazines I have always wanted to do a car review and while I have no experience and no equipment to help in any testing activities I may as well start now.

Last week I was fortunate to visit beautiful Panama City beach Florida (for work?) and the “mid size” car awaiting me was a late model Nissan Sentra sedan. The Sentra was of interest to me because I personally own a Nissan, a 2009 Infiniti G37 sedan. Stepping into the Sentra I was struck by the similarities in cabin size and basic ergonomics, while the Sentra is a very different car from my own I was comfortable stepping into the Sentra because of the familiarity, just about every control was in the same place and similar in operation to those in my own car. The materials were of a less-costly variety compared to the G37 but worked well.

I did not verify but I believe that the Sentra was equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) mated to a small four cylinder engine. A CVT transmission is similar to an automatic and differs where in place of fixed gears there is some kind of gearing set that allows for nearly infinite ratios, instead of the typical automatic’s four to six total, between a typical low and high gear in a traditional automatic. CVTs work by changing the gear ratio constantly to maintain a nearly steady rpm at most any speed which leads to increased fuel economy. The Sentra seems to accelerate faster than reality would likely indicate thanks to another CVT fuel saving measure which accelerates hard when moderate pedal pressure is applied to an RPM much lower than redline before rapidly changing ratios. This gives the Sentra a sporty feeling.

The Sentra that I rented had about fifteen thousand hard rental car miles on it and there was, surprisingly, almost no noticeable wear throughout the car. Seats were supportive and the manual adjustments were simple, not bad considering I’m spoiled with 12 way power adjustments in my G37. The steering wheel tilts but does not telescope but wasn’t a far reach and has simple radio and cruise controls at 3 and 9. Mirror adjustments were electronic and the gauges were clear and easy to understand. Radio operation was without issue and the sound system was impressive for a car of this price. The interior is very quiet for a compact car on the road with very little tire or engine noise. Front passenger space is ample, much larger than one would guess from the outside. Rear seats are less roomy and knee space could be an issue for taller passengers.

Over the course of two days and almost eighty miles I averaged an almost unfathomable 34ish miles per gallon in all city driving. Excellent for someone who almost always hovers around the city EPA rating in anything and even worse in a rental car, they are the fastest cars in the world after all. Overall I was impressed with the Sentra, it’s a nice car that offers many perks above its basic transportation price and I’m not even upset anymore that it was rented to me as a “mid size”.