Despite posting its best sales in 25 years, the Nissan Sentra will get a significant refresh for 2016 in order to stay competitive with new small sedans.
While Nissan isn’t worried right now about losing ground they’ve gained in the compact and midsize sedan segments in the U.S., they’re taking preemptive measures this fall to make sure both the Sentra and Altima aren’t left in the dust as new designs appear.
Nissan’s U.S. sales and marketing head Fred Diaz told Automotive News the Sentra would be “almost new” and “incredibly freshened” for 2016. Analysts expect that, like the Altima, the Sentra will get a significantly revised appearance that’s more in line with the 2016 Maxima than other current Nissan products. Nissan already made revisions to the Sentra’s powertrain and refinement in 2014 to address complaints.
And a NISMO Sentra similar to the one that appeared in 2013 at the Los Angeles Auto Show is rumored to be coming.
So while Nissan is happy with the Sentra, they fear the good times can’t last forever if they wait for a full redesign amid stronger competition. The current Sentra does what a small car should do, but little else. But based on the new Maxima, Nissan is headed in a better direction.
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