Styling

The Sentra's tall stance and short hood and trunklid make the car look a bit stubby in profile. It's not nearly as sleek as the Civic, which is still futuristic looking even though it's been around in its current form since the 2006 model year — an incredible feat. I like the Sentra's design more than the Corolla's, which is about as bland and nondescript a car as you'll find these days. For a side-by-side comparison of the Sentra, Civic and Corolla, click here.

Not everything's right with the Sentra's design. A couple of our editors, myself included, weren't fond of the car's clear-lens taillights. This design cue was a fad a few years ago, and it's time for Nissan to ditch the look.

The Sentra comes standard with steel wheels, but our 2.0 SL had 16-inch alloy wheels with an eight-spoke design. Alloy wheels always dress up a car's exterior, and 2.0 S and 2.0 SL models get chrome door and trunklid accents that serve the same purpose.

    See also:

    Child safety rear door lock
    Child safety rear door lock Child safety rear door locks help prevent the rear doors from being opened accidentally, especially when small children are in the vehicle. When the levers are in t ...

    Compressed Video Files (models with Navigation System)
    Explanation of terms: - DivX DivX refers to the DivXT codec owned by Div, Inc. used for a lossy compression of video based on MPEG-4. - AVI AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave. It is standard ...

    Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) (if so equipped)
    This vehicle is equipped with the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). It monitors tire pressure of all tires except the spare. When the low tire pressure warning light is lit, and the CHECK ...