Nissan gives exterior, interior, technology upgrades to the popular Sentra

The new 2016 Nissan Sentra exterior redesign brings its appearance closer in look and feel to its more upscale showroom siblings, including the Maxima and Altima sedans and the Murano crossover. The new 2016 Nissan Sentra exterior redesign brings its appearance closer in look and feel to its more upscale showroom siblings, including the Maxima and Altima sedans and the Murano crossover. Photo: Nissan Photo: Nissan Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Nissan gives exterior, interior, technology upgrades to the popular Sentra 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Nissan Sentra compact sedan, which got a complete overhaul just three years ago, returns for 2016 with some exterior and interior changes, along with new safety, infotainment and connectivity features.

Prices start at $16,780 (plus $835 freight) for the base Sentra S model with a six-speed manual transmission. For a well-equipped SV model with the Xtronic continuously variable automatic transmission - our test vehicle - the base price is $18,550.

Nissan said the 2016 Sentra's exterior redesign brings its appearance closer in look and feel to its bigger siblings, the Maxima and Altima sedans, both of which are new for 2016. The Sentra also reflects Nissan's new design language introduced last year on the redesigned Murano crossover.

Other trim levels, all of which include the automatic transmission, are the S ($17,630), FE&S ($18,030, a special high-fuel-economy version), SR ($20,410), and SL ($22,170).

Among the new features of the 2016 Sentra are a new front fascia, grille, fenders, hood and signature boomerang-shaped headlights. There also are new LED low-beam headlights with LED signature accents on Sentra SR and Sentra SL trim levels.

At the rear, there is a new fascia with redesigned boomerang-shaped taillights. There are also two new 17-inch wheel designs for SR and SL models, as well as a new SV 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheel design.

Other exterior features include chrome door handles and window accents; and optional heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signals.

SR models come with a sportier appearance, with unique 17-inch forked five-spoke aluminum-alloy wheels, lower body side-sill extensions, a rear spoiler with integrated LED brake light, fog lights and a chrome exhaust tip.

One new exterior color is available: Deep Blue Pearl. Other colors are Red Alert (SR only), Brilliant Silver, Super Black, Aspen White (extra charge), Gun Metallic, Graphite Blue, Titanium, Cayenne Red and Fresh Powder.

Interior changes include a new steering wheel similar to that of the Nissan 370Z sports car, an available six-way power driver's seat with power lumbar (standard on SL and optional on SR), a new center instrument cluster design, a new console and shifter knob, and refined seat fabrics.

There is a new LCD instrument panel with higher resolution. SV, SR and SL models get a five-inch Advanced Drive-Assist Display between the tachometer and speedometer. NissanConnect with Mobile Apps is standard on SV and SR models, and includes iHeartRadio, Pandora and Facebook.

The Sentra continues to have a roomy interior, with 111.0 cubic feet of total cabin volume. That's due in part to the car's 106.3-inch long wheelbase. That allows for 37.4 inches of rear-seat legroom, along with a 15.1 cubic-foot trunk capacity.

Under the hood of all Sentra models is a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, rated at 130 horsepower and 128 foot-pounds of torque.

The manual model has EPA ratings of 27 mpg city/36 highway/30 combined. With the CVT, the Sentra is rated at 30 mpg city/39 highway in standard grades, and up to 40 mpg highway in the FE versions.

With the CVT, the range of the Sentra before refueling can go as high as 415 miles, Nissan said.

Test drive

Driving the Sentra is surprisingly fun for a vehicle in this class.

There's plenty of zip from the 1.8-liter engine, and the CVT works well with the engine - without the usual revving between shifts that makes some of these transmissions seem inefficient.

Handling is rather sporty, with crisp steering, excellent stopping power with the antilock brakes, and a firm suspension that held the road well on curves I encountered on some of my favorite hilly country roads.

The interior includes soft-touch materials on the instrument panel and driver's door armrest. The available NissanConnect system includes navigation and a hands-free text-messaging system (although it's still not a good idea to text and drive, even if it's hands-free).

Among available premium features are heated leather seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a Bose premium audio system, and a rearview camera system.

The Sentra seats five, and the rear seat has a 60/40 split-folding back so the cargo area can be expanded when necessary.

Other standard features include a six-way manual driver's seat and four-way manual front passenger seat, along with front and rear door pockets, a front center console with padded armrest and cupholders, a rear-seat armrest with cupholders, air conditioning with micro air filter, a tilt/telescopic steering wheel, power windows with driver's one-touch up/down (with auto reverse), power door locks with auto-locking feature, 12-volt power outlets, remote keyless entry, and remote trunk and fuel-filler door releases.

Standard safety features include front seat-mounted side air bags, roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows, LATCH connections for child seats in the rear, tire-pressure monitoring, antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, and electronic stability control.

Our tester included the SV Driver Assist Package ($1,020), which tacked on the intelligent key/pushbutton start, smart headlights, Bluetooth phone system, six-speaker audio system with 4.3-inch color display, satellite radio, USB port, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and the Easy Fill Tire Alert system. It also included NissanConnect with Navigation and Mobile Apps and such high-tech safety features as Blind Spot Warming and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

We also had the SV 16-inch wheels ($1,000) and illuminated kick plates ($350).

Total sticker price of our SV was $21,755, including freight and options.

2016 Nissan Sentra

PACKAGE: Compact, four-door, five-passenger, four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive sedan

ENGINE: 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder

TRANSMISSION: Six-speed manual or continuously variable automatic

POWER/TORQUE: 130 HP./128 foot-pounds

LENGTH: 182.1 inches (182.5 SR only)

CURB WEIGHT RANGE: 2,857-2,943 pounds

TRUNK VOLUME: 15.1 cubic feet

FUEL CAPACITY/TYPE: 13.2 gallons/unleaded regular

EPA FUEL ECONOMY: 29 mpg city/38 highway/32 combined (CVT automatic); 30/40/34 (CVT, FE model); 27/36/30 (manual)