The Nissan Sentra has always been an outlier in the compact sedan segment. The Sentra preferred to focus on its playful personality and a recent update allowed the exterior styling to get in on the act.

However, age is starting to catch up to the compact and Nissan has chosen to give the Sentra its most important update yet as the company struggles to keep the Sentra fresh.

Visual overhaul gives Sentra a new lease on life

Unlike the outgoing Sentra, this one has a more tech-oriented personality with the front fascia having a slight resemblance to the Ariya EV which was recently axed in the United States due to middling sales. The C-pillar is also reworked and the rear waistline no longer kicks up at the rear door. The rear gets a new tranverse shaped lightbar and while it does have some resemblance to recent Lexus products, SR models spice things up a bit with black trim and a trunk mounted spoiler, 18-inch wheels, and a two-tone roof.

The interior also gets reworked with the old instrument cluster being completly axed. In its place is a new layout featuring one pane of glass that joins the instrument cluster and the 12.3-inch infotainment screen into one cohesive slab of glass.

The lone exception is the base model which gets a smaller infotainment screen. The rest of the interior updates are relatively minor but focus on the finer details with SR models getting red accents and a drive mode selector.

A blast from the past

While the exterior and interior benefit from extensive updates, Nissan could only do so much, and it chose to keep the outgoing model’s performance hardware unchanged. This setup dates back to 2016 and it continues to consist of a wheezy 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes 149 hp and a rather paltry 146 lb-ft of torque. A CVT continues to be the lone transmission and the Sentra will also have no AWD option.

While some of this comes as no surprise, it also contradicts a few rumors that suggested NIssan would give the Sentra the Rogue’s turbocharged 1.5 liter three-cylinder and Nissan’s e-Power technology. A new batch of rumors says e-Power could appear later on but this will partly depend on how well the updated model does in sales. Pricing wasn’t released but look for the pricing ladder to be defined by mostly minor revisions with some trims going up in price while a few might also see price cuts. The SL model is being reintroduced and these models will feature several luxury focused features including quilt pattern seats.

However, it will be interesting to see if the Sentra can continu to hold its own in showrooms or if it will be left in the dust by SUVs with models like the Armada expected to lure in more family buyers.