Will Nissan’s 2017 Sentra NISMO usher in the return of the sporty Sentra?

By Stephen Edelstein Published November 16, 2016

It may be difficult to believe, but the Nissan Sentra has a proud performance heritage. The current model is a bit dowdy, but the Sentra SE-R from the early 1990s was one of the original sport compacts, punching above its weight and price point.

Nissan has slowly been getting the Sentra back in shape. It unveiled the SR Turbo model earlier this year, and just topped that with the 2017 Sentra NISMO, which was unveiled at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show this week. This is the first time Nissan has applied the NISMO name (an abbreviation of “Nissan Motorsport”) to the Sentra, so this little sedan had better be something special.

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2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

2017 Nissan Sentra NISMO — Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

The Sentra NISMO uses a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, wich it shares with the Sentra SR Turbo. Output is unchanged at 188 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels through an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) or, in a move that will please enthusiasts, a six-speed manual.

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While the powertrain didn’t get any upgrades, Nissan did upgrade the suspension with monotube rear shocks that respond to changes in the road surface more quickly. It also retuned the front suspension and electric power steering to a sportier feel. The NISMO also rides 0.4 of an inch lower than other Sentra models as well.

The NISMO is visually distinguished by a relatively subtle body kit with red accents and a front bumper that borrows some styling cues from the 370Z NISMO and GT-R NISMO models. Nissan claims the modifications preserve the Sentra’s fairly sleek 0.29 coefficient of drag. The interior features special NISMO front seats, a leather- and Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, and some trim that looks like fake carbon fiber.

The NISMO gets all of the same tech features as other Sentra models, including standard Siri Eyes Free voice control and an optional Bose eight-speaker audio system and NissanConnect infotainment system with app suite. Full pricing information will be available at a later date, but expect the NISMO’s price tag to top that of the Sentra SR Turbo, which starts at $22,855 (including destination).

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Toyota shifts gears: 15 New EVs and a million cars by 2027

Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

After years of cautiously navigating the electric vehicle (EV) market, Toyota is finally ramping up its commitment to fully electric vehicles.
The Japanese automaker, which has long relied on hybrids, is now planning to develop about 15 fully electric models by 2027, up from five currently. These models will include vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands, with production expected to reach 1 million units annually by that year, according to a report from Nikkei.
This strategy marks a significant shift for Toyota, which has thus far remained conservative in its approach to electric cars. The company sold just 140,000 EVs globally in 2024—representing less than 2% of its total global sales. Despite this, Toyota is aiming for a much larger presence in the EV market, targeting approximately 35% of its global production to be electric by the end of the decade.
The Nikkei report suggests the company plans to diversify its production footprint beyond Japan and China and expanding into the U.S., Thailand, and Argentina. This would help mitigate the impact of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all car imports, as well as reduce delivery times. Toyota is also building a battery plant in North Carolina.
For now, Toyota has only two fully electric vehicles on the U.S. market: The bZ4X and the Lexus RZ models. The Japanese automaker is expected to introduce new models like the bZ5X and a potential electric version of the popular Tacoma pickup.
Separately, Toyota and Honda, along with South Korea’s Hyundai, all announced on April 4 that they would not be raising prices, at least over the next couple of months, following the imposition of U.S. tariffs. According to a separate Nikkei report, Toyota’s North American division has told its suppliers that it will absorb the extra costs of parts imported from Mexico and Canada. Another 25% for automotive parts imported to the U.S. is slated to come into effect on May 3.

Cars

Tesla, Warner Bros. dodge some claims in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ lawsuit, copyright battle continues

Tesla Cybercab at night

Tesla and Warner Bros. scored a partial legal victory as a federal judge dismissed several claims in a lawsuit filed by Alcon Entertainment, a production company behind the 2017 sci-fi movie Blade Runner 2049, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit accused the two companies of using imagery from the film to promote Tesla’s autonomous Cybercab vehicle at an event hosted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Studios in Hollywood in October of last year.
U.S. District Judge George Wu indicated he was inclined to dismiss Alcon’s allegations that Tesla and Warner Bros. violated trademark law, according to Reuters. Specifically, the judge said Musk only referenced the original Blade Runner movie at the event, and noted that Tesla and Alcon are not competitors.
"Tesla and Musk are looking to sell cars," Reuters quoted Wu as saying. "Plaintiff is plainly not in that line of business."
Wu also dismissed most of Alcon's claims against Warner Bros., the distributor of the Blade Runner franchise.
However, the judge allowed Alcon to continue its copyright infringement claims against Tesla for its alleged use of AI-generated images mimicking scenes from Blade Runner 2049 without permission.
Alcan says that just hours before the Cybercab event, it had turned down a request from Tesla and WBD to use “an icononic still image” from the movie.
In the lawsuit, Alcon explained its decision by saying that “any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account.”
Alcon further said it did not want Blade Runner 2049 “to be affiliated with Musk, Tesla, or any Musk company, for all of these reasons.”
But according to Alcon, Tesla went ahead with feeding images from Blade Runner 2049 into an AI image generator to yield a still image that appeared on screen for 10 seconds during the Cybercab event. With the image featured in the background, Musk directly referenced Blade Runner.
Alcon also said that Musk’s reference to Blade Runner 2049 was not a coincidence as the movie features a “strikingly designed, artificially intelligent, fully autonomous car.”

Cars

Audi halts vehicle deliveries to the U.S. as it mulls impact of tariffs

2021 Audi Q5

If you’d been thinking of buying an Audi, now might be the time. The German brand, owned by the Volkswagen Group, has announced it would halt shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.
Audi is currently holding cars that arrived after the tariffs took effect, on April 3, in U.S. ports. But it still has around 37,000 vehicles in its U.S. inventory, which should be able to meet demand for about two months, according to Reuters.
Automakers on average hold enough cars to meet U.S. demand for about three months, according to Cox Automotive.
Audi should be particularly affected by the tariffs: The Q5, its best-selling model in the U.S., is produced in Mexico, while other models, such as the A3, A4, and A6 are produced in Germany.
Holding shipments is obviously a temporary measure to buy time for Audi and parent company Volkswagen. If tariffs stay in place, vehicle prices would likely have to go up accordingly, unless some production is shifted to the U.S. Volkswagen already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. That latter plant, however, isn’t expected to be operational until 2027 and is currently dedicated to building electric vehicles for VW’s Scout Motors brand.
Other global automakers have also taken drastic measures in response to Trump’s tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover on April 5 said it is pausing shipments of its its UK-made cars to the United States this month. The British sports-luxury vehicle maker noted that the U.S. market accounts for nearly a quarter of its global sales, led by the likes of Range Rover Sports, Defenders, and Jaguar F-PACE.
And on April 3, Nissan, the biggest Japanese vehicle exporter to the United States, announced it will stop taking new U.S. orders for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs, the QX50 and QX55.

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