Ninth-Gen Nissan Sentra Bows In — Bolder Look, New Tech, Same Platform

The all-new, ninth-gen Nissan Sentra makes its global debut in the US, featuring sharper looks and more tech.

Ever since its inception back in the 1980s, the Nissan Sentra has always been one of Nissan’s most important products globally. And now, even in the midst of the SUV crossover rise, this compact sedan soldiers on into its ninth-gen iteration, featuring bolder and sharper looks with tons of tech amenities, plus some familiar old bits in the mix.

From the get-go, you’ll immediately notice that the new Sentra adopts many design cues from newer Nissan models, including both the Ariya and Leaf EV crossovers. Up front, the saloon gets sharp LED headlights and a much bolder V-motion front grille.

The sharp front end is mated with a sleek, fastback-ish side profile with a raised beltline, while the sharp LED taillights with wide LED strips complete the whole makeover for this ninth-gen model. For added sportiness, buyers in the US can opt for the new Sentra with the SR trim, which adds a slew of gloss black-hued parts, 18-inch multi-spoke black wheels, a sportier body kit, and a ducktail rear spoiler.

Perhaps the most popular complaint given to most Nissan models is how ‘outdated’ the cabin usually feels, but that’s not the case for the new Sentra. The new model adopts a modern 12.3-inch dual-screen setup, with the infotainment half supporting both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard.

That said, the fully digital metre cluster is only reserved for higher-specced models in the US, while the SR trim adds several sporty bits like the red accents and contrasting stitches, as well as an optional Bose sound system.

Beneath the sharp new looks, however, the new Sentra hides a somewhat ugly truth that might have many doubts over the ‘next-gen’ moniker given to it. For starters, the ninth-gen model still underpins the same platform as the previous model, plus similar powertrain and mechanical setups to go with it.

In the US at least, the new Sentra will only be available in a single powertrain variant for now, namely the 2.0-litre 4-cyl nat-asp petrol engine rated at 149 hp and 198 Nm—the same engine used on its predecessor. To make things worse, said engine is still mated to the same Xtronic CVT gearbox that drives the front wheels (FWD), so don’t expect this number to outpace any Civics or Corollas in the near future.

That said, we can expect more powertrain options to be announced in the near future, with pricing details for the US market set to be announced later this year.

The seventh-gen Nissan Sentra was being sold as the Nissan Sylphy in Malaysia back in 2014.

Closer to home, it has been a while since Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) offered the Sentra in Malaysia, with the last version on sale here being the seventh-gen model back in 2014, where it was known as the Nissan Sylphy. Given how demands for sedans have cooled down in recent years, chances are thin for this sharp saloon to make its local debut, with the segment now dominated by the eleventh-gen Honda Civic.