2010 Nissan Sentra Gets New Look, Lower Price

How does Nissan try to convince car shoppers it has a legitimate compact in its lineup that can compete with the big boys, named Civic and Corolla? Well, for 2010 it’s lowered the price a bit on some and refreshed the styling a tad on all Sentra models. The 2010s are arriving at dealers now and officially go on sale today.

If you’re shopping the base Sentra 2.0 with a continuously variable automatic transmission, the MSRP has dropped just $130, to $16,600, but move up to the 2.0S and the price falls $600, to $17,160. Move up to the higher SL, SE-R and SE-R Spec-V, and the price savings come down $1,100 and $1,080, respectively. A full price breakdown is below.

Changes to the Sentra for 2010 include a slightly revised front and rear end, although we can only see the changes to the front, which has a new grille and lower-bumper treatment. Wheel covers and alloy wheels are also new for 2010. Inside, nothing has changed.

Nissan has changed some of its option packages and added a tech and navigation package for the SL. Again, a full price breakdown of option packages is below, along with a few more photos of the 2010 model and how it compares with the 2009.

2009 Nissan Sentra FE Adds 1 MPG

In January, Nissan started production on a slightly revised version of its Nissan Sentra lineup. All Sentras with the continuously variable automatic transmission now get 26/34 mpg city/highway, an improvement on the previous version’s 25/33 mpg. To get the mileage recertified with the EPA, Nissan had to change the trim designation of CVT-equipped trim levels, adding an FE — for Fuel Efficiency — to them. Yesterday, the company announced the addition of an entirely new trim level, the FE SR. That makes the current Sentra lineup look like this:

• Sentra FE 2.0
• Sentra 2.0 S
• Sentra FE 2.0 S
• Sentra FE 2.0 SR
• Sentra FE 2.0 SL

There are also high-performance SE-R models that, along with the manual 2.0 S trim, have not seen any mileage gains.

Nissan Offering Zero Percent Financing on Five Models

Nissan has been offering cash back on its models sporadically for a while now, but the company has yet to really ramp up its financing offers the way some other companies have. That will change in November. Starting Nov. 4, Nissan will offer customers 0% financing for 36 months on its most popular models: the Rogue, Murano, Altima, Sentra and Versa hatchback. The offer ends Nov. 30.

What does that mean for buyers? Let’s take a Versa hatchback with a price of $16,210. Using our financing calculator, the difference in monthly payments between the current average financing rate for new cars, 6.6%, and a 0.0% one is about $40 a month – from $436.16 to $394.72 on a 36-month deal with $2,000 down for a total savings of $1,492. Obviously, the more expensive the car, the more 0% adds to the bottom line.

Nissan is also offering $199 per month lease deals on Rogue and Altima.

Check out a full list of current incentives on our Cars.com Incentives page.

End-of-the-Model-Year Deals: Nissan

It's that time of year again: Manufacturers need to make room on dealer lots for new 2009 models, so the 2008s have to hit the road, and that means more incentives. We'll be highlighting deals from a number of manufacturers, along with notes on which models will change substantially for 2009.

Like many manufacturers, Nissan is offering huge cash-back offers on its trucks and SUVs — the Armada and Titan, specifically — but is also offering a good variety of cash-back deals on other 2008 models. A full list of 2008 Nissan deals from our incentives page is below:

• 2008 Altima: $1,000
• 2008 Armada: $5,000
• 2008 Frontier: $2,500
• 2008 Maxima: $2,500
• 2008 Pathfinder: $2,500
• 2008 Quest: $3,500
• 2008 Sentra: $1,000
• 2008 Titan: $5,000
• 2008 Xterra: $3,000
• 2008 Versa: $800

Those offers are available across a variety of regions we tested, but as always, be sure to use your own zip code to make sure offers apply in your region.The deals are good through Sept. 2.

The Maxima is all-new for 2009, and you can read our coverage of it here. The Frontier and Xterra receive some upgrades, but they aren't as significant. Check out the changes here.

Recall Alert: 2007-08 Nissan Sentra

Nissan is recalling 170,000 Sentra compact sedans due to a faulty brake cylinder. The part can potentially leak, leading to a brake warning light illuminating. If left unaddressed, the problem could eventually lead to brake failure.

Nissan says there have been no accidents or injuries reported due to the problem, and the company will replace the faulty cylinder.

Contact your Nissan dealer to schedule the necessary repairs.

Nissan recalls Sentras due to brake problems (MSNBC.com)

Video: 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS vs. 2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R

Last week we got to look at two models head-to-head that we hadn’t been able to get together before. The 2009 Lancer GTS has a new engine, and the Sentra SE-R Spec V is an under-the-radar model. Kelsey Mays takes both on the track and on the street to deliver his verdict in this video.

Frugal Compacts Add Up with Basic Options

The compact car segment is no new place to find low base prices and a good deal on a new car. After having three major players in our hands over the past few weeks, including the 2009 Toyota Corolla, 2008 Honda Civic and 2008 Ford Focus sedans, we were scraping together specs and options to evaluate the competition. When we started to compare the cars, something surprised us. Mostly optional features that we think are necessary for a comfortable and safe daily driver — automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows, cruise control, keyless entry, power locks, antilock brakes, side airbags and a CD player — have a funny way of changing each car’s relative value.

Best Cash-Back Finds: 01.25.08

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury are dolling out pretty darn good deals through the end of February, and we had to be selective about which ones we picked for this round of our top finds. We could have gone with the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner with decent cash back, or numerous SUVs, but we went a different way. We also added one fun-to-drive model that’s surprisingly still in decent supply. For a complete list check out Cars.com's Incentives page.

2008 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable

MSRP: $23,485/$23,780
Cash back: $2,000
Percent off MSRP: 8.4-8.5%   
Expires: 2/29/08
5-Year Ownership Costs

Just this week, Ford’s CEO said the company is going to redesign the Taurus completely for 2009. That kind of move would usually have us telling folks to wait and see, but the Taurus and Sable were just updated this year, and we just spent a week in the new Sable and found it to be a great daily driver. The new Premier trim had a pretty nice interior, too. Both also look much better in person and offer a ton of space in the second row and trunk.

Recall Alert: 2002, 2005-2006 Nissan Altimas, Sentras

Last August, Nissan recalled more than 200,000 Sentras and Altimas equipped with its 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Now the company is expanding the recall to cover some 653,910 vehicles. The new model years impacted by the recall include 2002, 2005 and 2006 Sentras and Altimas.

The problem involves a faulty sensor that, if working improperly, can cause the engine to shut off. 

Nissan Recalls 653,910 Sentras, Altimas to Fix Sensor (Bloomberg)

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2008 Nissan Sentra Drops Manual Base Model

Nissan announced prices for the 2008 Sentra compact sedan today. The Sentra was completely redesigned in 2007, so we wouldn’t expect any major revisions in the 2008s. There are two noticeable changes, however: First, Nissan has discontinued the manual version of the base Sentra 2.0, so the starting price for any Sentra goes from sub-$15,000 to $15,750, not including a $625 destination charge.

The other major change is that antilock brakes are now standard instead of a $600 option on the 2.0 S trim level. That absorbs most of the small price increases, roughly $300, but the SL, SE-R and SE-R Spec V receive similar price bumps without adding such a significant feature. Full pricing is below.