Compare the2022 Nissan SentraVS 2021 Honda Civic

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Sentra have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda Civic doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sentra are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Civic doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Sentra has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Civic doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sentra has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Civic doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Sentra SR offers an optional Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Civic only offers a rear monitor.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sentra’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Civic doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Sentra’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Civic doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Sentra and the Civic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available daytime running lights.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Sentra is safer than the Honda Civic:

	Sentra	Civic
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	162	204
Abdominal Force	196 G’s	252 G’s
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	160	404
Spine Acceleration	45 G’s	68 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	12 inches
HIC	160	260
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	37 G’s
Hip Force	660 lbs.	727 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sentra second among compact cars in their 2021 Initial Quality Study. The Civic isn’t in the top three.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan fifth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 17th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan 21st in reliability. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 27th.

Engine

The Sentra’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (146 vs. 138) than the Civic Sedan’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Sentra is faster than the Civic Sedan 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder (automatics tested):

	Sentra	Civic
Zero to 60 MPH	8 sec	8.6 sec
Quarter Mile	16.2 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.8 MPH	86.1 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Sentra S/SV gets better fuel mileage than the Civic Sedan Sport 2.0 4-cylinder CVT (29 city/39 hwy vs. 29 city/37 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the Sentra gets better mileage than the Civic Hatchback:

			MPG
Sentra
	Auto	S/SV 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	29 city/39 hwy
		SR 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/37 hwy
Civic Hatchback
	Manual	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/37 hwy
	Auto	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/35 hwy
		Sport 2.0 4-cyl.	29 city/37 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Sentra uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Civic Hatchback Sport/Sport Touring requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Sentra higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda Civic (3 to 7). This means the Sentra produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Civic every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Sentra stops much shorter than the Civic:

	Sentra	Civic
70 to 0 MPH	170 feet	180 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Sentra has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Civic doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sentra is 1.5 inches wider in the front and .8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Civic.

The Sentra SR handles at .89 G’s, while the Civic Sport Sedan pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sentra SR executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Civic Sport Sedan (27 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Sentra uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Civic doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Sentra SR is quieter than the Civic Sport Hatchback:

	Sentra	Civic
At idle	38 dB	38 dB
Full-Throttle	76 dB	85 dB
70 MPH Cruising	70 dB	73 dB

Passenger Space

The Sentra has 1.7 inches more front legroom and 6 inches more rear hip room than the Civic Sedan.

Cargo Capacity

The Sentra’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Civic LX Sedan’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

Ergonomics

The Sentra’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Civic LX/Sport’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

On extremely cold winter days, the Sentra SV/SR’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Civic doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Sentra owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Sentra with a number “5” insurance rate while the Civic is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Sentra is less expensive to operate than the Civic because typical repairs cost much less on the Sentra than the Civic, including $286 less for a starter, $19 less for a fuel pump, $32 less for front struts and $44 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Sentra and the Honda Civic, based on reliability, safety and performance.