- Nissan appears to be readying a next-generation Sentra compact sedan for the 2026 model year.
- The Sentra prototype appears to adopt some of the styling cues found on the recently updated 2025 Murano SUV.
- With the Altima and Versa expected to depart Nissan’s lineup after the 2025 model year, the Sentra will be the brand’s sole remaining sedan.
Sedans were once the dominant force in the American auto market, but their numbers are dwindling. Nissan killed off full-size Maxima following the 2023 model year, and a report in 2023 suggested that Nissan would ditch the subcompact Versa and mid-size Altima after 2025. That would leave the compact Sentra, which had strong sales in 2024, as the brand’s only sedan.
While the Altima and Versa may still be living on borrowed time, it appears Nissan isn’t entirely done with sedans, with our spy photographer catching a four-door prototype testing at Nissan’s Michigan headquarters.
The camouflaged sedan was spotted driving with an Altima, suggesting that it could be a replacement for the mid-size sedan. Yet the prototype looks a bit smaller than we would expect for a mid-size offering and the Sentra—which entered its current generation for the 2020 model year—is due for an overhaul in 2026. Although this prototype looks a bit bigger than the outgoing Sentra, it’s possible that the Sentra could grow slightly in size in an attempt to cover both the compact and mid-size segments after the demise of the Altima.
Regardless of the Altima’s fate, we’re pretty certain this is the next-generation Sentra, and the compact sedan appears to be adopting the new design language introduced by the 2025 Murano SUV. The narrow headlights are positioned with a slight angle, creating a sleek, piercing look, and feature a blade-like piece at the outer edge that cuts downward toward the bumper. This echoes the styling seen on the Nissan N7, an electric sedan revealed last fall for the China market.
The headlights are joined by a black trim piece bisected by the Nissan badge. This element looks like it might feature an illuminated section along the lower edge and is certainly reminiscent of the black band stretching across the Murano’s front end. Beneath the Nissan emblem sits a thin grille with angled strakes and a wider intake in the lower bumper with a matching look. The side profile reveals a sloping roofline while the rear features horizontally oriented taillights linked by a trim piece above the license plate housing.
There’s no official word on what will power the Nissan Sentra, but it’s possible the 149-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable automatic transmission could carry over. A hybrid variant could be in the cards, and there are rumors of a sportier variant featuring the 201-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder found in the Rogue. More concrete information should emerge later this year.
Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
