New Nissan Sentra (2/2)
... With Nissan's new design face

Motion Trends,
23rd January 2006.

Coming to the U.S. market next fall, the all-new 2007 Nissan Sentra, is not just designed to provide the known qualities of the previous generations of Sentra – fuel economy, quality and reliability, safety, an affordable price and low cost of ownership.

It comes too, and maybe especially, to replace the rather lukewarm personality of its previous generations, with a bolder and stronger image... even if that personality did not prevent Nissan from selling over 3.8 million Sentras in the United States alone since it was introduced in 1982. If anything, this simply shows the strength of its reputation for quality, dependability and value.

On top of the elegant and daring new Ghosn-era design, the completely new sixth-generation Nissan Sentra takes full advantage from its new C-platform (shared elements with the successful Renault Mégane, as Nissan owns 15 percent of Renault and the latter owns 44 percent of the former) to bring a new level of style, roominess, responsiveness and versatility to seduce this time the young social target buyers, not just convince them with its price and reliability.

With U.S. pricing expected to begin at around $15,000 (with power door locks and windows, side-impact curtain air bags and air conditioning), the 2007 Sentra is much larger than the previous generation and should offer, according to Nissan, one of the largest interior volumes in the compact car class (final specifications will available closer to on-sale date).

Thanks to the new Renault-Nissan alliance “C” platform, this sixth generation Sentra has a 5.9-inch longer wheelbase than the 2006 model. It is 2.3 inches longer in overall length, 3.2 inches wider and sits 4.0 inches taller for easier ingress and egress and enhanced headroom.

The new generation Sentra which will be built, like the current one, at Nissan Mexicana S.A. de CV (NMEX-DF) in Aguascalientes, Mexico, comes with an all-new 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with a standard 6-speed manual transmission or optional Nissan Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), with a wide array of optional premium equipment – leather-appointed seating, Intelligent Key keyless entry system, Bluetooth Hands-Free Phone System and premium Rockford Fosgate-powered audio system with 6-disc autochanger, 8-channel amplifier and 8 speakers.

The original exterior of the new Sentra addresses one of the major “unmet needs” of compact sedan buyers – style and emotion. In keeping with Nissan’s new distinctive design language, the 2007 Sentra features a sporty front end with Nissan signature headlights and grille. The profile includes a long wheelbase, short front and rear overhangs, crisp character lines and large door openings, while in the rear the high deck accentuates the roomy cabin and cargo area.

Interior - Inside, the interior comes with high quality materials, large gauges and a spacious, flexible center console. Designed to accommodate full-size adults in comfort, the new Sentra’s passenger volume of 97.7 cubic feet (2.766 cubic metre) is 9.2 cubic feet (0.26 cubic metre) larger than the previous generation Sentra.

In the front, head room, shoulder room and hip room have all increased, while rear seat shoulder room, knee room and head room have all also been enhanced.

The revised front and rear hip points help improve ingress and egress from the front and rear seats.

Along with the roomier space of the interior, the new Sentra offers flexible and functional storage – including compartmentalized storage areas.

Trunk - The cargo volume of 13.1 cubic feet (371 litre, or 0.371 cubic metre) is an increase of 1.5 cubic feet (42 litre) over the 2006 Sentra.

The trunk itself is designed to accommodate long and bulky items by increasing the size of the trunk pass-through opening which, combined with the new 60/40 split double-fold rear seat (the cushion folds forward, allowing the seat back to fold flat), offers good cargo flexibility for carrying snowboards, hockey sticks and even bikes.

Trunk divider - One of Sentra’s innovations is the patented (pending) trunk divider, which allows the trunk to be used for short term and long term/hidden storage.

A removable divider wall, which can be positioned flat on the trunk floor when not in use, can be raised into a vertical position, creating two separate compartments. The durable polymeric material divider (carpeted on one side to match the rest of the trunk and waterproof on the other side for easy cleaning) also includes hooks mounted on the outer surface to help secure items such as grocery bags.

Other storage solutions include an integrated, removable overhead compact disc holder (patent pending) above the driver’s sun visor which can hold up to eight CDs, net storage pockets on the upper backs of the front seats for rear seat passengers’ cell phones and mp3 players, a rear seat armrest with cupholders that can accommodate a 20-ounce bottle and 32-ounce drink cup, extra instrument panel storage next to the driver’s door, and a large, lighted, locking glove compartment that can fit a 8x11-inch tablet or a large-sized map book.

The center console offers multiple storage options, including an adjustable cup holder design and cell phone space.

Engine - The new 2.0-liter Nissan MR20DE aluminum block engine is designed to offer a good balance of responsive acceleration, low and mid-range torque and increased thermal efficiency. The engine is rated at 135-plus horsepower (estimated) and 140-plus lb-ft of torque (estimated, 189.9 Newton-metre). It is equipped (standard) with an engine immobilizer anti-theft system.

Nissan claims that up to 90 percent of the torque is achieved by 2,400 rpm, with comfortable driving and good fuel consumption in real world driving when mated to the Xtronic CVT. Estimated fuel economy is 29/36 miles per U/S. gallon City/Highway (8.11/6.53 litres per 100 km) with the CVT.

CVT - The 2007 Sentra utilizes a new CVT design with the latest generation CVT technology, one of three Nissan CVTs available for a range of applications.

The CVT for Sentra features reduced friction, wide gear ratios and improved shift speed. “Nissan is a world leader in CVT design, applications and units in operation, with our first CVT-equipped production vehicles going back to 1992,” said Brad Bradshaw, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc. “With the 2003 Murano, we began using CVT with our 3.5-liter V6 and our customers tell us they really appreciate the smoothness, reliability and fuel efficiency. We expect a similar reaction with CVT-equipped models of the new Sentra.”

Steering and brakes - The 2007 Nissan Sentra will be equipped in the U.S. with Electric power steering (EPS), standard 15-inch steel wheels with 205/60HR15 tires or 16-inch steel wheels on 2.0 S model, with an optional choice of 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.

A Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) will be standard equipment.

Braking is by power-assisted front disc/rear drum brakes. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is optionally available with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD)

Suspension - Front suspension adopts an independent strut design with coil springs and stabilizer bar. The rear features a torsion beam with integral stabilizer bar, with the rear shock absorbers mounted below the trunk floor for improved trunk roominess.

Nissan says that Sentra’s ride comfort has been enhanced through use of special “ripple control” shock absorbers, an insulated front cradle-type subframe with pendulum engine mount system, roller-type front strut bearings and large, tuned rear beam isolators.

Safety - Standard safety features for the new Sentra include dual stage front air bags, occupant classification system for the front passenger seat, front seat active head restraints, front seat side air bags and side curtain air bags for front and rear outboard passengers protection. (2007 Nissan Sentra introduction).