The Nissan Sentra is a small car that just got a new look for 2026. It’s a good choice for people who want a simple and affordable car. People are curious about how the new version drives and what new features it has.
The Nissan Rogue is a small SUV that many families like because it has lots of space and is comfortable to drive. Soon, there will be a version that uses both gas and electricity to save fuel. It's good for people who want a practical car that can do a bit of everything.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a medium-sized SUV that can run on both gas and electricity to save fuel. This makes it a good choice for people who want a bigger car but also want to use less gas. It's similar to some other cars that work the same way.
The Tesla Model S is a fancy car that runs only on electricity, so it doesn’t use gas. It can go very far on a single charge and has lots of smart features that help with driving. People talk about it because it’s one of the best electric cars available.
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it doesn't use much gas and usually works well for a long time. It's easy to drive and good for everyday use. People often talk about it when they want a simple, reliable car.
The Kia K4 is a small car mostly sold in China that looks nice but isn’t as fun to drive as some other cars like the Honda Civic. People talk about it when they compare different cars from around the world. It’s made to be a good, affordable car for everyday use.
A CVT is a type of car transmission that changes gears smoothly without you feeling the shifts. It helps the car use fuel better and makes driving feel smoother.
This is a common type of automatic transmission that uses a special fluid device to help the car change gears smoothly without you needing to do anything.
The Audi A6 is a fancy, medium-sized car that is very comfortable inside and has lots of modern features. It’s made for people who want a smooth and nice driving experience. People talk about it because it’s a popular luxury car.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people buy because it doesn't use much gas and lasts a long time. The hybrid version uses even less gas, which saves money. It's a popular car for people who want something simple and cheap to drive.
The Hyundai Elantra is a small car that looks modern and doesn’t use much gas, especially the hybrid version. It’s a good choice for people who want a reliable and affordable car. Many people like it because it has good features and a strong warranty.
A hybrid powertrain is a system in a car that uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. This helps the car use less gas and be better for the environment.
The Mazda RX-3 is an old sporty car from the 1970s that has a special kind of engine called a rotary engine. It’s rare and many car fans like it because it’s different from most cars. People talk about it when they discuss cool old cars.
The infotainment system is the screen and controls in the car that let you play music, use maps, and connect your phone. Sometimes it can be tricky to use.
The Subaru Crosstrek is a small SUV that can drive well on rough roads because it has special wheels that help it grip better. People like it because it’s good for both city driving and outdoor adventures. The 2018 model with all the extra features is especially popular.
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Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode. I'm Mike Monticello. I'm Emily Thomas. And
I'm John Linko. So today, we're going to be talking about the redesigned 2026 Nissan
Sentra, our first impressions of this car based on a car that we borrowed from Nissan
as well as one that we purchased for our test fleet. The borrowed one was a SR, the
higher trim, and we have an SV. So we usually start this off with three things we think
people need to know about this Sentra. And I'd say the first thing is it's now Nissan's
lowest priced car because the Versa has been discontinued, so it's no longer available. So
now you've got the Sentra as the cheapest, which the base S starts at $22,600. And even
the top SL comes in at just under $28,000. Second thing is it's actually not a radical
overhaul. It's more like a significant freshening. The 149 horsepower powertrain basically carries
over a little bit updated new exterior and interior styling, some new displays and controls. And
the third thing is, dude, where's my hybrid? Because because hybrids are notably absent
from Nissan's lineup other than the upcoming Rogue plug-in hybrid, which is basically a Mitsubishi
Outlander plug-in hybrid, when you look at compact sedans from Honda, Hyundai Toyota,
they all trounce the fuel economy of this Sentra and really don't cost that much more. So that's
kind of the first three things to talk about. But so let's get into what we like so far about
this Sentra. Emily, I'm going to start with you. What are you liking so far?
So the thing that I like the most about the Sentra is at this price point, you can get
so much safety. And to me, that's super important, right? Like I lead our vehicle safety programs
and you get standard AEB with pedestrian detection, highway speed AEB, blind spot warning,
rear cross traffic warning, you get standard side torso airbags for your rear occupants,
standard pretensioners and low limiters in the rear outward seatbelts,
a standard rear beltminder, a standard rear occupant end of trips reminder. There's so much
standard safety that comes at this price point compared to its competitors, right? Like you
mentioned how, you know, Honda and Toyota, they also have similar vehicles and there's some advantages
there too, but they will make you pay extra for blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning.
Or you can't even get it on the base model of some, yeah.
Exactly. It's an optional system. And so I love that Nissan does a really good job at taking
these mainstream vehicles and putting in proven safety equipment so that it's affordable to everybody.
The hiccup is that we have to see how it actually plays out in the implementation, right? So the
way that they actually tune these systems to be effective in the vehicle to reduce injury and
things like that is going to prove itself out in crash tests by the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety. So that's where you're going to kind of keep an eye on it. But I love the fact
that they're putting it into these cars at these low price points so that safety that we know everyone
needs is affordable. Yeah. And to that point, you're talking about all the safety stuff that is
standard. I think you like to say safety should be standard or something. Isn't that something
new and Jen used to say? Yep. But it's more than just the safety system. I mean, that's awesome.
But there's also the amount of features that this car has at just barely over $26,000 as soon
to be tested. We normally say as tested, but we haven't tested it yet. We're talking in this
SV model at just like I said, just over $26,000 automatic climate control, heated front seats,
heated and wrapped steering wheel, wireless charging, wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay,
dual 12.3 inch screens, and automatic I-beams. I mean, that's a lot of content. Again, that other
automakers might make some of those be optional. And LED headlights across the entire line. Yeah.
And then you could even add LED turn signals on the mirrors at a low price point as well. So,
yeah, a lot of either low cost options or standard features. Yeah. Was there other
things that you liked or is that it? That was the cream right there. But I did also really,
I mean, I was going to mention the heated seats and steering wheels. Those are
kind of like one of my deal breaker items. So, I love this. As a New Englander.
As a New Englander. Oh, gosh. That's weird being from mid-Atlantic to be a New Englander now.
Because it's no Central Jersey as we know. Listen, man, you know it's there.
Yeah. It's called a great adventure. So, the other thing that I liked is that
it's kind of fun to drive. Like, it's a little zippy. Like, you know, as you're handling curves
and stuff like that. So, I did find that part of it enjoyable as well. So, I'm like, okay, you have
this vehicle that most people are like, okay, well, it's, you know, kind of towards the bottom of the
barrel in terms of price point, which probably doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it. But I think
you can. I think they did a good job with that. You often see like cost cutting in some places,
where they're going to cut costs. You know, it's going to be a louder car. It's going to be, you
know, it may not be a handler. It's designed for efficient transportation at a price point.
And it is nice that it has some feedback to the steering. It has, I believe it has a multi-link
rear suspension. Again, which is not always common in that price point or in that small car,
compact car category. It's not Nurburgring worthy. Even the SR, you know, you're not taking it to
your track days or, you know, autocrosses. But it sticks well. It's fun to drive around, you know,
on-ramps, off-ramps, curvy roads. It has more of the, it's more towards a Honda Civic world
than I think a Kia K4 world in the sense of fun to drive. Or even close to getting to the Mazda
3 level in the sense of tossability and enjoyment. Totally agree. I think it's, I think the handling
is one of the best aspects of this car. Yep. What else were you liking, John? So for the most part,
a lot of the, a couple things that Nissan didn't redo. First of all, not a new platform and not
a new powertrain is actually a good thing. You know, they didn't go stick their crazy turbo
four-cylinder. It supposedly gets great fuel economy. It doesn't power train in there. It's
like, this is fine. We changed the continuously variable transmission to have some, some shifts.
So it mimics an auto, a regular conventional automatic torque converter automatic better.
Great. The rest of the engine worked fine. It didn't get earth shattering fuel economy,
but it wasn't a dog. It wasn't the bottom of the category. Leave it. Don't go and reinvent
something. You don't have to. Like we said, the handling is, it improved. It didn't go radical
with it. They also, they didn't reinvent all of the controls. Some of the controls they did,
we'll get that, but most of the controls manual gear selector. Great. Normal buttons on the set,
you know, buttons on the steering wheel, you know, not touch surfaces, not sliders. I mean,
the weirdest, as real stocks, you know, the weirdest thing is they have that kind of,
I say cockey because it's in an angle, that angled ball selector for things. I was going
to talk about that in my not likes. Okay. But you have to wait for it. What I'm saying is like,
that's the, that's the most outrageous on the steering wheel controls, you know, and it still
is easy enough to use. It's not something like, you know, it's not something to redo it just
for the showroom and everyone loves a touch and it's all, it's so exciting. So for the most part,
yeah, kind of, kind of normal inside, even with the manual seats, it's fine. Like simple stuff.
And that's really good. So what you like most about it is that it didn't change.
Well, you know what? It's what you're telling me, right? Because we see so much is for the worst.
Well, I'm saying we see so much stuff that comes through. I mean, here, let's just talk about one
of the previous podcasts, Audi A6. It's been out for like a coffee cup, you know, a cup of coffee,
and they've already updated the infotainment system. They've updated the infotainment system on
all the cars that we just bought. Why was it not like this when you launched it? Why did you
include touch sensitive surfaces that you're now changing? Like, so that's the point. Like,
there's just so much change for change for change. We have to do it because Tesla did it. We have
to do it because Lucid does it or Rivian. Like, no, just be yourself and listen to your customers.
Don't don't follow the herd. I'm happy that they didn't follow the herd there on most controls.
Be your own person, Nissan. I like to go to the panel. Yeah, I like to dad piece of advice.
I like to sweet Johnny Rantz. I haven't been around with him in a while. I like it. I know.
And let's stick with you. So unless you have more likes, I think you guys pretty much covered
all of mine. If you're ready to move on to not likes or do you have another couple likes?
Couple things. So again, they didn't make it a super swoopy cabin. So it's easy to get into.
Even the backseat, you can get in for a sedan. For a sedan. You know, it's not coupified.
Right. So you could get it. I'm becoming 511. I'm shrinking every year. But, you know, I could get
into the backseat as a six foot 511 in person without having that severely duck my head.
There's great foot room back there. There's there's decent leg room. Sure. Under under thigh support
could be better, but it's a fine space. Yeah. It's a it's a really nice looking, in my opinion,
car that fits well and has a great price point. Yeah. And what what didn't you like?
All right. Buckle up. The Rantz about to begin. All right. Let's
even start it. You want Emily to go first? The climate controls in the SV, SR and SL,
they may look good and fancy in the showroom and they may make people be like, oh, touch surfaces.
Oh, that's so cool. I've seen that more expensive cars. They are the stupidest things
that I've seen in a long while from Nissan. And that includes the dumb buttons for the shifter
or gear selectors in number of their vehicles like the Leaf and the Armada and the Murano.
Those are bad. These are worse. You can't see them really well. You they don't have much feedback
except a little beep. So when you touch it and you're driving and you want to change the temperature,
you don't know if you've actually hit it and then you may have hit the wrong one.
Then if you need to go into the deeper climate control, it's a tiny little button in the screen.
Yeah. The screen's really small. It's like this big. It's like 12.3 inches.
I have tiny fingers and there's still it still feels like a fine motor exercise.
I don't say particularly far. I said a little more like splay legged close like,
you know, NASCAR style in a sense. And I'm still too far from the from the from there to just hit
it. You have to look and hit this specific little thing. The seat heater controls are a mess. It's
like they have a big screen and tiny little buttons. I don't know why. I never understand when
manufacturers will have decent amount of real estate. But then I don't know. It's like Aladdin.
He got the genie in the tiny little space. It doesn't make any sense to me because
it's like they like, well, we have a four inch screen, a six inch screen, a 12 inch screen.
We got to make it the same exact scale for all of them. I don't know, but it's bad in the Arman.
It's bad in the in the in Murano and it's bad here and it's really distracting and it's dangerous.
Totally. That's exactly what I was just going to say is that it's it's distracting and dangerous
because you're trying you have to pinpoint so hard even for the other ones that aren't that
super small menu button. You have to kind of really take focus to hit any of them. But especially
it's annoying that you have to hit that little button to then bring up the regular the big
climate menu so you can change the airflow mode, right? So those things are annoying and it's just
disappointing that they did that, right? You're better off if you have a passenger who can do
all the controls. Yeah. So it's like rally driving. You need a co-pilot crossing and I were in the
center together for a really long time. The heat was like blasting and I was just kind of like,
do you want it like this? He's like, no, but I don't know how to change it. So I was a passenger.
I was like, great. Let me figure it out and like try to, you know, attack the tiny little buttons,
but I didn't want him doing it. Right. Why in his hand, his, I don't know, he would have like
thumbed like far buttons at the same time, but also he wouldn't be able to. Mike Smash. Is that what
you're saying? Mike Smash. But he also wouldn't have been able to keep his eyes on the road.
Yeah. So you need, you need someone else to navigate your center screen. There's something
wrong with physical knobs and buttons. And the base model has them. Yeah. Yeah. That's the funny
thing. And that's the worst thing. It's like, oh, okay. So at least, so unlike other like,
maybe Subaru, for example, you know, where the base model doesn't get certain safety features,
like, great, you get the safety features. There's, there's no, no reason, except if you don't like
to pick and choose, you shouldn't, you shouldn't, but like totally encourage people to get the
base model here. Like you, you could tell them, fine, you get 16 inch steel wheels instead of
aluminum alloy. But you know what, the car looks the same. The only one with any kind of real
body cladding is the SR anyway. Get the base model. Yeah. And it's, it's got easy controls.
With the base model, you'll still get all the standard safety. Exactly. You'll just also have
less distracting controls. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I like the fact that the auto climate control
does this, the heated seats, you know, it puts like, oh, okay, it's this temperature and I'll
put it on two. That's kind of cool. But if I wanted it on three, then I'm, yeah. It changes on you
too. The heated seats are also auto. Right. That's, that's, so you like that. I like that it can do
it. I bet you don't like that. I think if I remember reading the logbook correctly, you really
didn't like that the car was deciding for you just how much heat you had in your seat.
I like that it does have the auto feature. I don't like the fact that it's so hard to change
and that's what it is. It's deciding for me, fine, but I changing it is a real process. It's either
up in the screen or it's down here. It's odd that the heated steering wheel button is over here,
but I could, I could live with that. I hate that so much. I can, I can live with it even though
it looks a lot like the Nissan ProPilot plus steering activation button at first. I was like,
wow, this is in this car, but it wasn't. It was the heated steering wheel. Yeah. I don't,
you're right. I don't like the car deciding for me because I'm the kind of person who will have
the heated seats on with the AC. So like the heated seats serve a different purpose other
than just warming the vehicle. Right. And if it starts going from three to two to one without
you telling it, yeah, why is it doing that? So I want it back on. I feel like you have more.
Yes. Oh, I'm sure he does. Well, you probably feel this way too. The wide center console.
Oh yeah. Totally hems in my right knee. The one nice thing is that they have a very thin layer
of vinyl there. So where your knee hits, so it's, it's better than the hard plastic,
which a lot of cars have, but it still is hemming in your, your right knee, right?
I think that's part of an option package too. So like it's an added piece.
Oh, that here's an added strip of comfort. Is it really? I believe so. Yeah. Well,
anyway, I did like that it had that, but that there's no getting around that it is hemming
in your right knee the whole time. But there's no seam or anything weird though. Exactly.
I mean, a number of cars, they'll, they'll run a piece of stitching through the center of it,
or, you know, vertically or horizontally. So at least you're not rubbing against something.
Right. My, honestly, my biggest annoyance with the car is the very abrupt throttle
delivery off the line. It's so hard to be smooth with it unless, and you like have to concentrate
so hard to not have it jump off the line. I actually took a, I stole a quote here from
Professor Michael Croson, friend of the show, and he said,
my biggest complaint is power delivery from a standstill. It takes a mental effort to be
smooth, especially on a hill, or if you're either trying to set off very slow and smooth,
or with some power being front wheel drive, you can overpower the tires and they can spin.
And I 100% agree with that. And I just, it's just jerks forwards every time, unless you're so
incredibly deliberate with the throttle. Nissan's not the only one to do this. A lot of automakers
do this, especially in lower powered cars, because it gives that feeling of a little bit of zip off
the line, but it's just annoying and you hate to be jerking your passengers at all. And you
shouldn't have to work very hard to make the car be smooth, right? It should be smooth.
It should be your job. Smooth should be standard.
It's a variation of your line. I know I see that. Good job, buddy.
Smooth and safe. Smooth and safe.
Smooth, safe and safe, that's your mind. And it's really a shame because the power train is great.
Otherwise it's fine. And it's great anytime once you're above
seven miles an hour or whatever. Once you're out rolling, it's great. So you talked about it,
no hybrid. It's not a rant about it. It's just more of a very obvious omission in a category
that has a number of hybrids now. So at 12,000 miles at $2.90 average for regular fuel in Connecticut
as of yesterday, it costs about $1,100 a year in gas to fuel it. Corolla hybrid and Elantra
hybrid, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra at 48 miles per gallon according to our test numbers,
$780 a year to fuel. Civic hybrid, Honda Civic hybrid at 44 miles per gallon, our test numbers
again, about $870. The Hyundai Elantra hybrid blue is $25,450. So it's comparable price.
At EPA numbers, it's about $400 a year difference in fuel saving. So in five years,
that slightly more expensive car Elantra will pay for itself. Now, that is a long time. I mean,
a lot of people lease, not everyone holds onto a car. I know fleet age is older, but not everyone
holds on. But still, it's a miss for Nissan. And that's using their EPA and our numbers. If you
went and used the EPA numbers, it's a big, big difference in the sense of fuel economy there.
And it's not a significant price difference. The blue is just about $2,000 less than...
$2,000 more, I mean. What I'm hearing is that you might think you're saving a lot of money,
but in the end, you're really not. Right? Is that kind of what you're saying?
By buying the Centra. By buying the Centra. I mean, you're saving up front.
The initial costs.
But over time, you could have put money in your pocket. And that's at low gas prices too.
I mean, yes, the Delta is always the same, but it's just the number could be going up if gas
prices go up. I think also, Nissan has this vehicle that's intended for a certain market.
And they're keeping it at a low price point. This is probably a demographic that is choosing
this vehicle because they want an affordable car. And to then not also offer them the fuel economy
savings with a hybrid. You're kind of like shooting yourself in the foot a little bit here,
because if that's the demographic that you're targeting, they're going to want savings all
around. And so that's what you should be giving them. I mean, you have a regular curl. You have a
regular Civic. They're a little less expensive, but they still get really good fuel economy
at or above in our tests, the Centra. So that's a miss. It is a miss. And where is Nissan?
You see the insider baseball, they're like, oh, where's Nissan in their company and they're
cutting and they're adding. But yeah, where are they going to be developing a hybrid?
Particularly since it seems, given legislation, given the whole entire market of pulling back
on EVs, hybrids really are the big place for saving money. And you at least want to give the
customer the option, right? If they choose not to buy it, they don't have to. But if you had a
regular Centra and a Centra hybrid, then they have those choices they can make on their own.
They can look at the financials and figure it out for themselves. And also sometimes, of course,
as we know, a hybrid makes up for some of that. The hybrid powertrain quite often is nicer to
drive, right? So what about you for not likes? I know you're a very positive person in general.
Negative? I'm not saying. We can look at the tape afterwards.
So my not likes. They're oddly specific.
So for example, I felt like, well, yes, it was like this weird dichotomy in the car for me anyways,
where I feel like you got a lot of features that you might not get at other price points
and a lot of standard safety. But then there was also like this weird duality of like nice features,
janky interior. It was just a lot of hard plastic. I think it really stood out to me when I went to
go turn on the turn signal and the stock just like kind of made a weird like a thunk. Like I had to
put a lot of effort into it. And I was like, why? Why is this like a hard thing to do? Like it just
was like sticking a little bit extra. And so it just kind of stood out where I was like, on the
other hand, though, right? I could I could put up with a little bit of a janky interior for all
these other things. Right. So like, if that's where you're going to cut the corner, that's that's
fine for me. Like that's where the cost savings came in. It was just, it feels like a weird split
to have nice things, but then also have very unnice things. I think I understand what you're
saying, which is sometimes like there actually are some more padded areas in the center than some
comparable cars. But I think where you're going is sometimes the parts that are still hard plastic
can feel cheaper, right? So you know what I mean? Like there's levels of cars classic and how
solid they feel. And some of them feel really cheap. So I totally get your point there.
I know we do the whole like, what's good was bad. I will say running your finger,
running your hand inside a lot of the the seals and stuff like that, really well finished. You
can't go back to what we like. We already did what we like. I was looking at when I was admiring
the visibility out of the car, you know, because I was stuck in traffic. So that was a bad event.
Just kidding. Yeah, I was just touching the surfaces because I just tend to do that. And
you know, there aren't a lot of mold seams or anything like that. No sharp edges that we've
seen in the Audi A6 or Audi A6 each on stuff like that. It wasn't that the finishing was poor.
Some elements just felt, you see, surprisingly cheap to you. Some elements felt like a low price
point. Another thing that if it was that and you also have to pay for safety and you also
have to pay for all this stuff, then it would have been unacceptable. Yeah. So at least they're
cutting corners where it's okay. It felt like a disconnect, right? Because you have nice things
in a not so nice environment. But if I was the person shopping for this car, I would totally
take it still, right? Because you get all these nice features. So I have to put my kids' car seats
in the back. And one of the things that I noticed is the Sentra has integrated head restraints in
the rear seat. And they're pretty like forward protruding, which is great for an adult occupant
who needs to be able to have adequate, you know, whiplash protection. However, I have a love-hate
relationship when it comes to integrated head restraints. The love part is that the head restraint
can't go away. So the challenge is that oftentimes with like forward-facing car seats, booster seats,
you're going to have a gap between the car seat and the vehicle seat back because these integrated
or because head restraints could often push them forward. So you create this gap, you want them
to be flush against each other. So many manufacturers will allow for you to remove the head restraint
to get that compatibility. The problem is when people remove their head restraints, they're either
going to like chuck it in the trunk or like it's on the floor, now it's a projectile, or they chuck
it somewhere in their garage, never to be found again. Now your kids have outgrown that car seat,
you need like, you know, a child to sit there with the vehicle seat belt or you have an adult,
you don't have head restraint anymore. They forget to put it back. So I love the idea of an
integrated head restraint for that reason. I hate them because it makes car seat installation
really hard when you have forward-facing car seats. And there's nothing you can do other than try to
wrench it down as hard as possible. Yeah, wrench it down as hard as you can, or like, you know,
really try to like do the adjustments and get it flush as much as you can. Or you're just left
with having to now install in a different seating position where, you know, oftentimes that's the
center and the center can be really challenging to get a good installation. So that part was
challenging. I wasn't able to get a good install. Thankfully, I didn't have to drive the kids. So
I wasn't worried about like how it was going to impact them. But I saw that it was going to be a
challenge. So, you know, for anybody who's going to have forward-facing car seats in a Sentra,
my advice is always take your car seats to the dealership before you purchase the car,
try them out, make sure you can get a secure fit. And then the other thing really is the noise.
This car was so noisy, so noisy. I felt like I was driving around in a white noise machine
and it's just like incessant. Local roads, highway roads, all the roads.
Yeah, like tire and wind noise particularly. Yeah, road noise.
Yeah, so much. Yep. Yeah, there's a lot of road noise kind of I found coming from the
rear seat area. Quite often the rear seat is not as well insulated as the front,
but that kind of wafts forward. And so you hear a lot of that wind noise above like 70-75 gets
really quite loud. The engine's okay. I mean, it never sounds good, but it doesn't also sound
terrible, right? You can't tell from all the other noise though. Well, that's true. The CBT,
the simulated upshifts helped to keep revs down a little bit, but like I was noticing like 70 on
the highway, there's always, you can always hear the, I don't know why I'm pointing backwards,
because it's a rear-rending. Because you're going that fast, yeah.
It's just sitting over your shoulder. There's always some level of hum that you're hearing,
but it's kind of, I mean, it's a given. It's a mainstream compact car.
Once you get the 70, even with the CBT, you're kind of pinning, you know, it's working hard.
Yep. I didn't love the front seat. I don't know how you guys were with it. I thought that the
bottom cushion didn't have much bolstering, and you can't tilt the leading edge of the
seat up and down. Again, not uncommon for this price, but I wish that I could have done that.
And then the seat back has really nice bolsters, but they were too tight for me. And so I felt like
kind of squished in the whole time. So it just wasn't that comfortable for me. I don't know,
did it work okay for you guys? Did you have like a lot of like Christmas New Year's eating?
No, I thought it was just some getting really ripped.
You're buffed. Oh, okay.
I'm not. No. I think it was, I think it was Christmas in New Year's, yeah.
Yeah, didn't have that problem.
It's not bike season, so.
You're calling me fat.
I didn't say anything. I have no commentary on this.
You're calling me fat.
Yeah, okay. All right. So, you know, it's funny, the seats, so they have kind of that zero gravity
thing and that Nissan zero gravity seat that we talked about in previous podcasts.
So a lot of people found it firm underneath, but it has almost like a little cushion on top,
like a mattress top or on top of it. That's soft. The pocket felt okay for me. The seat,
the bottom cushion pocket, I totally agree with you. The inability to raise and lower the front,
even if it had a wheel, like a manual, it just.
I got no problems with those wheels.
Yeah, because you could dial it.
I still love the old seatback wheel things that Volkswagen used to always have,
because you can, you can get it.
Good fine tune.
Infinite, like the smallest amount you want.
Why am I talking about that? That's not even in this car.
But anyway, that's it. I love those wheels.
Bring the wheels back.
Bring the wheels back.
Bring the manuals back.
Bring the seatback wheels back.
Save the wheels.
The seatback, I know in our logbook, seatback, definitely, the seats got mixed reviews,
but it's a very, it's a highly personal thing.
Yep, totally.
It worked for me. I think that these seats are actually better than the SR for some reason.
Could be the material.
I thought they worked a little better for me than the SR as well.
Yeah, the SR that we borrowed.
Yep. All right. So let's kind of wrap this up.
And I'm going to put a question to you guys.
Emily, we'll start with you.
Do you think the Sentra savings compared to other cars, like make it worth it?
Or would you advise someone to buy a different car?
Maybe, maybe even go up a level higher, spend a few thousand dollars more.
What would you advise someone on as far as the Sentra?
It's hard because, you know, I, I love having a hybrid.
So I love having like fuel economy savings.
But then I also want to make sure that you're getting the most amount of safety as possible.
I would say that compared to its peers, the Sentra does a really good job at giving you
those standard safety systems and nice features.
So I would say that it's worth it in that regard to go ahead and do that.
Because even something like the K4 and the Civic,
they don't have standard blind spot warning, a rear cross traffic warning.
The Corolla does, but I think you get a lot of bang for your buck with the Sentra.
And so for somebody who's looking, you know, they need a lower price point vehicle,
you know, maybe they need to get a car for, you know, a kid going off to college or something,
right? At least, you know, you're sending them off with standard safety features,
things that are going to help them out on the road, avoid a crash, protect them in a crash,
and you can have that peace of mind.
In that way, I would say, yeah, go ahead, get it.
It's a good choice.
Okay. John, what about you?
I think that it's a tough category because everything is really down to price.
Now, really the only small cars out there, it's even more, it's challenging for buyers.
What I would say that the Sentra is, it's totally in that line.
Whereas at one point in its life, Sentra may have been a kind of like a second tier.
You're going to get a crawl over Civic.
It's right up there as a competitor.
At one point, the previous generation was one of our top four or top five rated small cars.
No, it's a big category.
So for me, it's certainly safety, do the math.
What would it cost to get blind spot?
What would it cost to get rear cross traffic warning?
Then also, let's look at the fuel economy.
You know, if you're driving highway all the time, okay, hybrid isn't as advantageous.
If it's all urban, you know, city, short, small rural, suburban, commuting and driving,
the hybrid is going to really help a lot.
And it may just be worth it to go and just pony up the money up front
and get one of the hybrid.
So for me, it's a total math thing, but it doesn't exclude it.
There's no reason to ignore the Sentra.
And it's handsome.
I am not a fan of the looks of the K4, the interior of the K4.
It's just like I would push that one aside for the most part.
So yeah, it's a good solid player.
Yeah.
I'd probably go with the Mazda 3.
Now, you'll have to spend a couple more thousand dollars,
a couple extra thousand dollars to get it versus the Sentra.
It's still, I think, if the handling is a little bit better, I'm just impressed with
how good the Sentra's handling is because it's not far off the Mazda 3.
I think the Mazda 3 talks to you a little more as a, you know, it's speaking to the driver
through the steering a little bit better and the suspension.
But you're also what I really think I like about it is that,
so I like, I care about driving and the environment, right?
So the driving, I think the Mazda's a little bit better.
It also has a real conventional automatic, not a CVT.
And you can get a manual thing, I think.
Yeah, and the interior is nicer, right?
So you were talking about the interior feeling a little cheap at times.
Mazda has come such a long way with their interiors,
and it's going to be definitely going to be a little bit quieter.
So I think there's some real benefits to going with the Mazda.
And if you really like driving, for the sake of driving, I think you'll,
you'll enjoy this, enjoy the Mazda more.
But I think the infotainment system is a little more maddening.
That, yeah, the infotainment system, but maybe climate a little bit better.
Yep.
But yeah, trade-offs.
And I will say too, that Mazda will have all of the standard safety features
that we think that the vehicle should have.
I mean, the Mazda's work.
So you agree with my choice?
I accept your apology.
I didn't know I was apologizing.
What am I apologizing for?
I don't know.
Okay.
Anyway, so we do have a first drive of the Sentra SR that we borrowed
up on our website, consumerports.org, written by one Jonathan Q. Linkov Esquire, I believe.
Yeah, that's my wife's Esquire.
Yeah, that's okay.
Okay.
So let's move, yeah.
I have more questions about Q.
It's his middle name.
So now we're going to move on to the audience question section of the show,
or segment of the show.
I don't know why I call this segment.
So send those questions, comments, videos to talkingcars.icloud.com.
And don't forget, if you send one of those in and we use it on the show,
you can get some CR swag sent to you.
So that's a real big benefit to sending in an amazing question that producer Dave
thinks is worthy of being on the show.
And guess what?
This week, Sean is so worthy of being on the show because he has a really
interesting topic to talk to us about.
So let's watch the clip from Sean.
Hey, Talkingcars.
I had a question about water bottles.
It seems like every day we're getting bigger and bigger bottles,
and I myself have fallen into the trend.
This is a half gallon size.
My curiosity is where do we store bottles while driving?
I feel like this could be a project dial that could hurt someone,
especially if you're drinking and you're getting a crash.
It could cause severe fractures or injuries.
Also, side note, I ended up answering a former question.
I ended up buying a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek with all the bells and whistles.
It's been a great car.
Thank you, Jen, for suggesting it.
You will be missed.
Also, I still have the Highlander.
So thank you all for all you've done over the years.
Appreciate it.
All right.
So Sean is talking about those big old reusable water bottles.
And also he says he misses.
Is that yours?
I mean, Sean, I'm right there with you, man.
Looks like you finished all your water today, too.
I did.
It was, we had a long commute because of the snow.
Yeah, that's true.
I got to go through all this while it was a long drive.
Fortunately, I didn't have to use it on the back end.
But yeah, these things are hard to fit in cup holders, I'll tell you.
Yeah.
He said his was like a half a gallon.
Something like that.
I didn't even know they made him that big.
Well, I mean, anyway, what's your thought here?
What's your solution or answer for Sean, John?
Or are you just going to go off on another sweet Johnny rant?
I think it's rant time.
I mean, look, this size is perfect for most cup holders.
The German cars still don't get it.
But like most cup holders, because I've destroyed my wife's cup holders,
the little holders popped out.
It's like 20 something ounces.
The same thing.
It's like showing towel.
My goodness.
It's like the same thing.
The same thing like these coffee cups, going to those giant ones.
And I think that we had that discussion in the pre-production meeting.
It's like these are things people carry around in gyms.
I don't unless you're out in the field all day.
Well, I'm saying like you could be in a work site where there's no
water fountain or anything like that.
Yeah, that's fair.
I mean, and I get that.
But that's not those aren't necessarily like in-card fluid consumption vessels.
That is the longest way to just say a water bottle.
Big, big mouths.
And like maybe it has a straw, but it's like those are those are maybe.
They look like it had a straw.
They're destination use.
So like throw it, throw the seat belt, buckle through the handle.
It could be his buddy in the front seat, you're saying.
Just have it next to your bottle.
It could be a buddy like place it like place it on the back of the seat,
put a bag in front of it, buckle it in.
I mean, I buckle in my laptop bag every day at work, you know,
and work just on the drives in, put it in the foot well on the back.
I mean, yes, it becomes a projectile, I guess,
but like it's less of a projectile if it's in the foot well behind the driver's seat.
I mean, it has to do a lot of work to get around to the front.
It's just not meant for the car.
So stop it is what you're saying.
Stop it.
Just stop it, Sean.
Get a camel back for goodness sake if you need that much water,
you know, like put it on the front, you know, and run the seat belt under it,
under it, run the seat belt under it and then hilarious.
It's still going to interfere with your seat belt.
That's what it might interfere with the airbag,
but like have the the spout right here.
Like if you next year I tell people to have like those hats.
Okay, beer helmet.
So for water.
John says stop it.
Cause no, no beer in the, in the helmet.
John's answer is stop it, but what's your answer for Sean?
Sean, it's basically the same answer.
Like that is a huge water bottle.
So yes, the immediate things that I think of as he shows it to us and tells us his story.
Yes, Sean, that will be a projectile in the crash.
And it makes me think of remember in Home Alone
when Kevin drops the brick out the window onto Marvin's face.
That's what's going to happen to you, Sean.
Like it's going to be bad.
You're going to hit in the head with a large object.
And, you know, people might be tempted because we see this a lot with other.
It's not just that half gallon thing, right?
Like there's all these giant stand leans and there's just a lot of giant water bottles
that people are carrying around now.
You have to be tempted to get those, you know,
cup holder expanders from like, you know, Amazon or whatever.
And the advice is always, you know, don't put third party objects into your vehicle.
Like don't add onto your car.
You don't know how well they're going to stay put in a crash.
You don't know how well they're going to actually secure your water bottle, right?
It's not part of the vehicle.
So I wouldn't recommend trying to get some sort of expander
that's not going to hold your half gallon water bottle.
Do you use the words probably janky?
I mean, yeah, it'll definitely be janky.
So really, I would say if you must carry around this behemoth bottle or things similar to it,
your best bet is to put it into like your cargo area in a bin or the underfloor storage,
because you just, you don't want that to be flying around in a crash.
And, you know, you could try tucking it under a foot well,
but you don't know when your crash is going to happen
and what impact direction it's going to be.
So how it's going to move in a crash is not like we can predict that either.
Get a roll over it, all things are.
Right. So there's no way to predict what scenario you're going to be in,
which is why it's just better off to keep it somewhere secured,
put it in a bag, put it in the cargo area,
put it, you know, people have like bins that they keep in their cargo area
to just secure all their items,
or a lot of them now come with these underfloor pockets where you can store stuff.
Do that.
Just don't have it rolling around in the car with you.
And don't be drinking out of it while you're driving.
Well, I think what we don't know is was Sean using that for his drive?
Was it a long drive or was he planning on what did he have it with him
because he needed it for wherever he was going for the day?
That's what we don't know.
Obviously. So, so, I mean, you know, if he puts it in the trunk,
well, now he can't drink anything, right?
But I got a coupon code for a bottle if he needs.
There are smaller options available.
100%, 100%.
But so my and well, if I could jump in please all joking all kidding aside,
there are a lot of cars, a lot of vehicles with tiny bottle holder pockets in the doors.
They had like, oh, we have all four doors have bottle pocket bottle holders.
And then you realize that it's for a bottle about this tall,
you know, about that far around because it's wedged in underneath the panel
with the controls and the window stuff and everything.
So it's it's not really useful.
So then you are forced to go back to sticking it in the cup holder.
Remember, it's called cup holder.
Yeah. So there it certainly is an issue.
It's available, but it's not really useful.
So with a more moderately sized bottle, it still could be a problem.
Even, you know, like one of the ones I was joking about.
Do you guys want my opinion?
Yeah, so we're good. No, we really don't.
So I think this is where we wrap up the show.
As a country, we are over hydrating.
That's my personal opinion.
As a Juilliard trained medical doctor, I think I can speak to that.
Okay. Yes.
All the people coming out of Juilliard are practicing medicine.
Absolutely. Was that a was that a mail order degree?
Or did you actually go online?
We obviously we do need to drink water,
but you don't need to be drinking water constantly.
And I will say these reusable water bottles quite often seem to rattle and make noise.
So when people get into the car with me and they have these, they inevitably,
I mean, most people annoy me anyway.
But when they bring these,
feelings mutual, Monty.
And it's rattling around.
It's annoying me.
And you don't need to drink a lot of water.
You don't need to be drinking water,
chugging water on the way to work, right?
You can drink when you get there.
You don't have to be drinking constantly.
I think we've taken it overboard.
Hydrating is important, but it's not all day constantly.
That's my personal, that's my rant for the day.
Okay.
You're not an Instagram or Tik Tok, are you?
No, why? Are they gonna?
No, no, it's very important to hydrate.
Hydration is very important.
Hydration is very important.
And I guess it's a cyclist.
Juilliard-trained medical doctor near you.
As a cyclist.
Yeah.
Well, so here's the thing.
I will say we got to wrap this show up,
but when you drink too much water,
you actually push the good stuff right through.
You need to keep stuff in your body.
If you're drinking so much that you're flushing it all the time, that's actually not good.
You don't actually want to drink.
You can drink too much water is what I'm saying.
And if you're using one of these annoying water bottles,
you're going to annoy me.
That's it.
So, that's it.
Bring it back to Sean.
So, Sean, should I ride with you?
Who?
Sean.
Oh, no.
No.
No.
Okay.
So yeah, Sean, your bottle's too big.
It's not meant to be used.
Use a smaller version.
Use a smaller version that fits securely in either the door,
bottle holder, or the center console cup holder.
Make sure that it's going to be secure.
And belt your 32-gallon water bottle into the seat belt.
Yeah.
Or in a bag and then belt that in.
I think that's it for this show.
Yes.
Okay.
No more rants.
Okay.
So, if you want to learn more about the topics and the cars that we talked about,
you can click on the links in the show notes.
Don't forget to send those questions, comments, video clips to TalkingCarsaticloud.com.
Thanks so much for watching and we'll see you all next week.
About this episode
The discussion centers on the 2026 Nissan Sentra SV, highlighting it as Nissan's new entry-level car after the Versa's discontinuation. The hosts appreciate the Sentra's strong safety features standard across trims, competitive pricing, and enjoyable handling with a multi-link rear suspension. They note the carryover 149-hp powertrain with an improved CVT and practical interior design with many standard comfort and tech features like heated seats and dual 12.3-inch screens. However, they criticize the touch-sensitive climate controls for being distracting and difficult to use while driving. The absence of a hybrid option is also a notable drawback compared to competitors.
In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about the 2026 Nissan Sentra SV we purchased for our test program. We cover everything that matters: real-world driving characteristics, engine performance, cabin quality, infotainment usability, and the control frustrations. We also address the big question: why there's still no hybrid version — and whether that's a dealbreaker in today's market. Plus, we answer an audience question about those increasingly massive Yeti, Owala, and Stanley tumblers. Where's the safest place to store them in your car? Are they actually a projectile hazard in a crash?
Join CR at https://CR.org/joinviaYT to access our comprehensive ratings for items you use every day. CR is a mission-driven, independent, nonprofit organization.
SHOW NOTES
-----------------------------------
00:00 - Introduction
00:16 - Overview: 2026 Nissan Sentra SV
01:40 - What We Liked
09:12 - What We Did Not Like
30:50 - Question: What is the safest place to store large water bottles in your car?
