2025 Nissan Sentra SR Review: A Better Than Basic Sedan

Besides additional complimentary maintenance, nothing has changed about Nissan’s compact sedan since I drove the 2024 Sentra SR. Still, I’m always up for revisiting a car to see if I discover anything new about it or if my opinions have changed. It’s also good to sample another specimen to see how consistent the build quality is.

I still like the look of the car, with its clean lines and aerodynamic looks. As a refresher, the SR is the sportiest Sentra trim, with a dark chrome grille, two-tone 18-inch alloy wheels, and a stubby trunk lid spoiler. Gloss black alloys are also available as a $785 option. The Atlantic Grey metallic paint isn’t as eye-catching as the Monarch Orange on last year’s car, and while this tester didn’t come with the black roof, it can be added as an option.

The Sentra’s 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder engine offers smooth acceleration via a quiet Xtronic CVT. With just 149 horsepower and 146 lb-ft. of torque, it’s not what I would call zesty, but it’s sufficiently powerful and fuel-efficient for a small daily driver. Fuel economy for the SR trim remains unchanged at 30 city/38 highway/33 combined. I found the steering and suspension worked well together to provide an engaging ride that feels well connected to the road, and the cabin is quieter than you’d expect from an entry-level car.

I spent a bit more time driving with the Intelligent Cruise Control engaged this time and found it did a very good job maintaining and adjusting its speed and distance from other vehicles. While there is a system to alert you when you drift out of your lane, no lane-centering or lane-keeping feature is available on the Sentra. As mentioned before, the 8-inch touchscreen is decent, but it only supports wired CarPlay and Android Auto and isn’t as nicely integrated into the dashboard as recently designed vehicles. I also encountered some issues with CarPlay, which randomly disconnected and wouldn’t reconnect until I power-cycled both the car and my phone. Nissan did a great job with the displays on the 2025 Kicks, so I’m hoping some of that trickles down to the Sentra in the future.

Nissan makes some of the industry’s most comfortable and supportive seats and continues to put them into even their least expensive vehicles. The front “Zero Gravity” seats do a great job reducing fatigue on long drives and are heated for cold weather days. The overall look of the Sentra SR’s interior is upscale for the price, with softly padded surfaces on the dashboard and doors. The D-shaped sport steering wheel is a nice touch, too. This car came equipped with the Premium package, which includes faux leather seats with reddish-orange contrast stitching, a punchy 8-speaker Bose audio system, a surround-view camera, and a heated steering wheel. One thing I did notice this time was a bit more puckering in the seating surfaces than before.

The rear seat legroom and kneeroom are above average, providing more room for tall passengers than you might expect in a compact sedan. Trunk space is pretty good, too, at 14.3 cubic feet, and you can always fold the rear seat in a 60/40 split configuration for carrying longer items.

I still think the Sentra SR is a nice starter car, offering handsome looks, good handling, and a comfortable interior for the price. For 2025, Nissan also tosses in a maintenance program, which includes up to three oil changes within the car’s first two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Like most things, the price for the 2025 Nissan Sentra SR has crept up a bit. Its base price of $24,590 is still a bargain given how expensive new cars have gotten in the past five years. Loaded up with the Premium Package, this car came to $29,885 with shipping and handling fees.