Compare the2023 Nissan SentraVS 2023 Subaru Impreza

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
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 Subaru Impreza doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Sentra SR offers an optional Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Impreza only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Sentra has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Impreza’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sentra has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Impreza and its not available on the Base.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Nissan Sentra is safer than the Subaru Impreza:

	Sentra	Impreza
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	29%	39%
Leg Forces (l/r)	330/261 lbs.	237/379 lbs.

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

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 Subaru Impreza:

	Sentra	Impreza
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	162	165
Abdominal Force	196 lbs.	293 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	160	363
Spine Acceleration	45 G’s	79 G’s
Hip Force	444 lbs.	715 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
HIC	160	201
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	49 G’s
Hip Force	660 lbs.	824 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Nissan Sentra is much safer than the Impreza Sedan:

	Sentra	Impreza
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	POOR
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	1.89 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	357 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.65 in	2.01 in
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	1071 lbs.	1116 lbs.
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	182	231
Neck Compression	112 lbs.	178 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.1 in	2.09 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	424 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.87 in	1.69 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	13 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

Warranty

There are over 69 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sentra’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Sentra has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Impreza’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sentra third among compact cars in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Impreza isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Subaru With 21 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Subaru.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Sentra is faster than the Subaru Impreza (automatics tested):

	Sentra	Impreza
Zero to 60 MPH	8 sec	9.3 sec
Quarter Mile	16.2 sec	17.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.8 MPH	83 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Sentra gets better mileage than the Impreza Sedan:

			MPG
Sentra
	Auto	S/SV 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	29 city/39 hwy
		SR 2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/37 hwy
Impreza Sedan
	Manual	2.0 DOHC flat-4	23 city/31 hwy
	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/36 hwy
		Sport 2.0 DOHC flat-4	27 city/36 hwy

Transmission

The Nissan Sentra comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Impreza.

Brakes and Stopping

The Sentra stops much shorter than the Impreza:

	Sentra	Impreza
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	138 feet	140 feet	Consumer Reports

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 Impreza doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Sentra has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Sentra flat and controlled during cornering. The Impreza base model’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Sentra has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Impreza doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sentra’s wheelbase is 1.5 inches longer than on the Impreza (106.6 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sentra is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Impreza.

The Sentra SR handles at .89 G’s, while the Impreza 2.0i Premium 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 Impreza 2.0i Premium Sedan (27 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Cargo Capacity

The Sentra has a much larger trunk than the Impreza Sedan (14.3 vs. 12.3 cubic feet).

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 Impreza’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Sentra’s available headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Impreza’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

The Sentra has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Impreza has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the Premium/Sport/Limited.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Sentra (except S)’s optional dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Impreza doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Sentra is less expensive to operate than the Impreza because it costs $309 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Sentra than the Impreza, including $53 less for a water pump, $212 less for a starter and $214 less for front struts.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sentra third among compact cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Impreza isn’t in the top three.

The Nissan Sentra outsold the Subaru Impreza by almost three to one during 2022.

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