2013 Nissan Sentra Details Released

Nissan released details concerning the all-new 2013 Nissan Sentra compact car this past weekend. The completely redesigned sedan is now 'all grown up' in terms of styling, as the vehicle borrows the bold, rounded front fascia previously seen on the Altima and adapts it to the Sentra's smaller shape. The taller roofline is reminiscent of the subcompact Nissan Versa, while the rear end gains fresh detail in the form of jeweled taillights and a larger bumper.

Plenty of Nissan family DNA isn't the only thing that's notable about the 2013 Nissan Sentra. A new, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine becomes the vehicle's standard power plant, a unit which puts out 130 ponies and 128 lb-ft of torque. These numbers are a somewhat significant drop over the departed 2.0-liter motor that was offered in 2012, but much like Subaru, Nissan is pursuing fuel economy, not performance in its compact car lineup. A six-speed manual transmission can be had with the entry-level model, while all other editions of the Sentra are equipped with a next-generation continuously-variable automatic transmission. The return for swapping in roughly 10 horsepower and 19 lb-ft of torque? Just under 6 L / 100 km on the highway when the vehicle is ordered with a special efficiency enhancing package.

There is still no word from Nissan as to what will happen to the SE-R and SE-R Spec V sport editions of the Sentra. So far, there are no performance-enhancing options to be had with the compact car, despite the popularity of the SE-R in the Canadian market - especially amongst the tuning crowd. The 2013 Nissan Sentra platform is lighter than the previous 2012 sedan, which suggests that it could lend itself well to a model that could compete against the flagging Honda Civic Si in the naturally-aspirated segment of the compact tuning car market.