Nissan Sentra rental review

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 04/21/2019 at 15:51 • Filed to: rental review

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I had a rental this week for a day. I was hoping for something better than what I got but isn’t that always the case with rentals? The fact that the 2 people in front of me in line chose Corolla when given the choice between that and the Nissan speaks volumes.

Mine was SV spec and it had:

An engine of some kind

Nissan’s CVT

A stereo

Some technology

Space

That’s about it.

Lets start there.

ENGINE

The engine was...present? According to Nissanusa.com it has a 1.8 liter NA 4 cylinder with either 130 and 128 lbs-ft or 124 hp and 125 lbs-ft. It had been sometime since I had drive something with so little power. Don’t mistake that with something slower, the cruiser is slower for sure. That being said the utter lack of torque and the CVT’s refusal to rev to peak hp meant it always felt slow. if you put it in ECO it was plan frustrating. Even the dead slow cruiser feels like it has most of its power everywhere in the rev range and it pulls well around town. This just felt...wimpy everywhere. I had 150 lbs of cargo and me in it.

TRANSMISSION

What a turd. I know I’m supposed to hate CVT’s because that’s what we’re supposed to do but I really grew to hate it. It is both stepless and stepped...somehow, it has really bad step off like the cvt is fighting the torque converter for control, it doesn’t allow for any manual control other than turning off “overdrive” or shifting to L. Even out of overdrive it will run away down the mildest of hills. it was never where I wanted it to be. It had three mappings:

ECO - nothing nothing nothing, something.

Normal - something

Sport - LOUD, something.

STEREO

It refused to pair with my phone for about a dozen attempts, then finally did. I was pretty happy with the sound until I turned it up a little and it made a noise I was unfamiliar with in a stereo. it sounded like the speaker was falling apart, like when you overdrive a speaker but everywhere, not just in the bass. it just fell apart everywhere strange given that it has pillar tweeters.

SOME TECHNOLOGY

It had keyless entry, power locks, power windows, auto climate, bluetooth stereo with wheel controls, collision and adaptive cruiser radar and...some other stuff probably.

The keyless work, but I still think its a stupid idea, I had to take the key out of my pocket to lock it and open the truck...what’s the point of keyless again?

The climate control worked great. No complaints.

The bluetooth was frustrating beyond believe and the menu system in the stereo and the multi-display in the gauge cluster was garbage beyond description.

The wheel controls made little sense and buttons you expected to do one thing did other things.

The car had collision mitigation, I know this because on almost every drive I went on it told me that it was unavailable for some reason.

SPACE

(large watermelon for scale)

Lots of room for my small frame, and tons-o-room for my gear in the shockingly large trunk.

Also the color was very nice but SUPER thin. very easy to scratch and a tiny door ding in a grocery store went all the way through.

I also liked that they included a traction control off-button on the dash in easy reach that turned it off right away.

I didn’t like that it didn’t matter. No matter what I did I couldn’t even chirp the tires.

The suspension was harsh and thin feeling but body roll was very well controlled.

the seats were TERRIBLE. Felt like a beach ball in the lumbar and the tops of the seats curled forward, like sitting in a pregnant “C”. Torture.

All-in-all I was impressed at first, it seemed like a lot of features for the money and the strong throttle tip and and good body motions make you think its actually going to be fun to drive.

NOPE. it took exactly 24 hours and maybe 25 miles before I was excited to hand it back.

Got okay mileage though.

AestheticsInMotion > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 15:59

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1.8 NA 4 cylinder with 130hp..?

You sure you weren't given a 95 Miata? 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 16:19

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As a rule I never get a nissan unless it’s a Rogue. The Rogue makes a nice rental car. 

Chariotoflove > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 16:24

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Makes me even happier I passed the row of these for the Juke at Hertz.  Funny that they were considered in the same class and went for the same price.

412GTI > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 16:33

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Good review, I HATE these things. Give me a Corolla, Elantra, whatever Enterprise else has. Seats are so odd since Altima seats aren’t horrible. I just hate Nissan, terrible soulless machines.

Also, I think it does have a keyless trunk opening but it’s all the way right instead of being in the middle if I recall correctly.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 04/21/2019 at 16:50

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Or my Pontiac Vibe.

HammerheadFistpunch > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/21/2019 at 16:51

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wish i had a choice

HammerheadFistpunch > 412GTI 04/21/2019 at 16:51

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i looked. couldn't find one

HammerheadFistpunch > AestheticsInMotion 04/21/2019 at 16:52

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could have been 125

HammerheadFistpunch > Chariotoflove 04/21/2019 at 16:53

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i was mad when the person in front of me picked the last Corolla takin g my options from 2 to 1.

Chariotoflove > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 16:57

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I would be too.  I’d much rather have a Corolla.

E90M3 > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 17:16

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Good to see not much has changed in 2 years.

Under_Score > HammerheadFistpunch 04/21/2019 at 19:14

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You push the button on the handle to lock. I usually notice that older people (by that, I mean older than millennials) don’t seem to notice that exists. In fact, it took a few months of me driving the RAV4 to notice it worked, too. My dad still took out the key to lock it. 

Tristan > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/21/2019 at 19:15

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I had a Rogue in Oklahoma last fall. The best thing I can say about it is that it wasn’t a Sentra.

Vadasz1 > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 12:25

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I own a 2011 Sentra 2.0 base model with 6 speed MT . I could have bought the 2013 model brand new but I too hate CVT transmissions. I guarantee that I can out run and out chirp a lot of similar sized cars.

Too bad you can't really rent any MT cars anymore.

HammerheadFistpunch > Vadasz1 04/22/2019 at 12:26

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I tried SO hard.  its on all my preferences for my work profile, I put it on my rental form and I ask for it at the gate.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 13:35

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My ‘91 Corolla base model delivers 33 mpg and the only option is a clock which wasn’t stock, which I bought on Ebay. And comfy seats. And manual. And 235,000 miles.

HammerheadFistpunch > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 04/22/2019 at 13:36

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would rather have driven your corolla

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove 04/22/2019 at 13:41

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Every day. Then again, I have a 2012 Versa that is really not a bad car at all, even though they spared every expense making it. Then again, it’s a base model with AC and basic power options... And not CVT...

Chariotoflove > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 04/22/2019 at 14:16

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As long as you can get a comfortable position in a car, the rest of the experience is usually about matching expectation with reality. If you know what you’re getting for your money, and you’re okay with that, then suddenly it all seems fine.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 15:33

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CVTs are worthy of disdain, not least, because they require exorbitantly expensive services on a regular basis. I took an Uber ride once in a Corolla that had a CVT and I was thinking, “Dude, you are going to have to drive a lot of Uber miles just to cover that transmission service that you know nothing about and is going to club you right in your bank book.”

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 15:35

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So would I. It’s well maintained, also. The only rub is no A/C. So unless I’m driving to the Central Valley in Summer, it’s my first choice in the fleet of derelict vehicles I own. It has the narrow 80-series tires also, which makes it very fleet afoot. It’s a fabulous car and its basicness makes it so.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chariotoflove 04/22/2019 at 15:36

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Yes. I’m into the Versa for about $3500 for a 2012 car and well under 100k miles. And it’s actually pretty comfortable and very responsive and it’s really not a bad car, though quite unattractive.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 15:37

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Renting cars is one of my chief joys in life, even crappy ones, which I flog mercilessly. I had a Versa a couple years ago with a CVT and what a POC.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HammerheadFistpunch 04/22/2019 at 15:54

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At least it wasnt a Versa! The Sentra/Altima are not that bad in comparison. Every Versa I have rented makes me want to throw the car in a lake. At least the Sentra feels kind of like a car. What I really liked from a Nissan rental though was a Maxima that I got one time. That was a legitimately nice car and proved to me that Nissan can make something that isnt terrible!