Compare the2023 Nissan SentraVS 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
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 Toyota Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Corolla Hybrid 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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

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 for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Corolla Hybrid 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 Corolla Hybrid only offers a rear monitor.

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 Corolla Hybrid’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. Toyota charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Corolla Hybrid.

Both the Sentra and the Corolla Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors 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 Toyota Corolla Hybrid:

	Sentra	Corolla Hybrid
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	330/261 lbs.	330/310 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Sentra is safer than the Toyota Corolla Hybrid:

	Sentra	Corolla Hybrid
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	12 inches
HIC	160	239

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

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sentra the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corolla Hybrid last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Reliability

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

Engine

The Sentra’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (149 vs. 134) than the Corolla Hybrid’s 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Sentra has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla Hybrid (12.4 vs. 11.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Sentra’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla Hybrid:

	Sentra	Corolla Hybrid
Front Rotors	11 inches	10.8 inches

The Sentra stops much shorter than the Corolla Hybrid:

	Sentra	Corolla Hybrid
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	138 feet	148 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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Sentra has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Corolla Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sentra is 1.9 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Corolla Hybrid.

The Sentra SR handles at .89 G’s, while the Corolla Hybrid LE pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sentra SR executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Corolla Hybrid LE (27 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .54 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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Sentra a Mid-size car, while the Corolla Hybrid is rated a Subcompact.

The Sentra has 7.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla Hybrid (96 vs. 88.6).

The Sentra has .6 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear hip room and 2.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla Hybrid.

Cargo Capacity

The Sentra has a much larger trunk than the Corolla Hybrid (14.3 vs. 11.3 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

The Sentra (except S) offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 Corolla Hybrid’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 Corolla Hybrid’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

The Sentra’s optional rear view mirror has an automatic dimming feature. This mirror can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on it, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer the luxury of an automatic dimming rear view mirror.

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 Corolla Hybrid 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 Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

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 Corolla Hybrid isn’t in the top three.

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