Top Safety Pick

2020 Nissan Sentra

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with specific headlights built after September 2020

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Side: updated test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system	Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system	Advanced

Seat belts & child restraints

Evaluation criteria	Rating
LATCH ease of use	+

Other available safety features

Standard blind spot detection
Standard lane departure warning
Standard rear automatic braking

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Driver-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTN2005
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	12
Footrest (cm)	18
Left toepan (cm)	7
Brake pedal (cm)	6
Parking brake (cm)	11
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	2
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	4
Upper dash (cm)	7
Lower instrument panel (cm)	8

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTN2005
Head
HIC-15	89
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	9
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	37
Femur (kN)
Left	1.5
Right	0.7
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.60
Right	0.35
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	2.9
Right	1.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	59
Right	59

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2004
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	17
Footrest (cm)	13
Right toepan (cm)	9
Center toepan (cm)	5
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm)	7
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	7
Upper dash (cm)	10
Right lower dash (cm)	9

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2004
Head
HIC-15	282
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm)	31
Maximum Nij	0.39
Chest maximum compression (mm)	18
Femur (kN)
Left	1.4
Right	2.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	4
Right	7
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.60
Right	0.46
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.8
Right	1.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	43
Right	40

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTP2004
Head
HIC-15	97
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm)	32
Femur (kN)
Left	0.4
Right	0.7
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.21
Right	0.33
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.5
Right	0.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	30
Right	38

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF2005
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	9
Center (cm)	6
Right (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	3
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	2
Right (cm)	3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	1
Rearward (cm)	-2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF2005
Head
HIC-15	296
Peak gs at hard contact	83
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	12
Maximum Nij	0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm)	36
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.0
Femur force - right (kN)	1.1
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	2
Maximum tibia index - left	0.46
Maximum tibia index - right	0.49
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	63
Right	54

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2020-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Sentra S 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2020 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS2004
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-15.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS2004
Head HIC-15	140
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.7
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	15
Lateral force (kN)	0.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	32
Average deflection (mm)	28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.74
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.47
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.0
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	2.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	171
A-P moment (Nm)	52

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS2004
Head HIC-15	69
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	12
Lateral force (kN)	0.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	24
Average deflection (mm)	18
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	5.39
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.55
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.3
Combined force (kN)	1.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.5
L-M moment (Nm)	166
A-P moment (Nm)	-21

About the original side crash test

Side: updated test

Rating applies to 2020-25 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Nissan Sentra 2.0 S 4-door

The Nissan Sentra was redesigned for the 2020 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis
Driver head protection The dummy's head moved downward past the side curtain airbag and struck the window sill hard. The head protection is inadequate.
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows that the driver dummy's head moved downward, past the side curtain airbag, and contacted the window sill.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbags.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES2231
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-14.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES2231
Head
HIC-15	387
Peak gs at hard contact	84
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.7
Compression (kN)	0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	24
Lateral force (kN)	0.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	42
Average deflection (mm)	36
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	5.59
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	1.03
Pelvis
Combined force (kN)	4.8

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES2231
Head
HIC-15	182
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.8
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	28
Lateral force (kN)	1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	22
Average deflection (mm)	19
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.66
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.31
Pelvis
Combined force (kN)	3.8

About the side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2020-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Sentra SV 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,035 lbs
Peak force	14,266 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.70

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	24
Distance below top of head (mm)	53
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.9
Head contact time (ms)	56
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	243

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 4 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

SR trim equipped with Premium package; built after September 2020
SV trim equipped with Premium package; built after September 2020

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the sharp right curve and fair on the gradual right and both left curves.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual left and gradual right curves and fair on the sharp left and sharp right curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on both right curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	SR trim equipped with Premium package SV trim equipped with Premium package
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2020-23 models built after September 2020

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	107.8 m	9.3%
Straightaway left edge	57.4 m	9.3%
250m radius right curve, right edge	64.1 m	None
250m radius left curve, right edge	56.9 m	60.1%
150m radius right curve, right edge	55.2 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	54.5 m	93.1%

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	173.8 m
Straightaway left edge	163.8 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	79.2 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	80.9 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	61.9 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	64.6 m

Trim level(s)

SR trim

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	LED reflector
High-beam headlight type	LED reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and all 4 curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	SR trim
Low-beam headlight type	LED reflector
High-beam headlight type	LED reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2020-24 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	51.9 m	None
Straightaway left edge	23.3 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	38.6 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	32.7 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	33.4 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	28.5 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	127.7 m
Straightaway left edge	81.6 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	55.0 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	49.8 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	45.9 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	39.5 m

Trim level(s)

S trim
SV trim

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and all 4 curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	S trim SV trim
Low-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type	Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2020-24 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	41.9 m	None
Straightaway left edge	21.4 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	34.1 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	27.0 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	32.8 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	25.8 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	131.9 m
Straightaway left edge	107.8 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	55.3 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	51.2 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	45.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	42.2 m

Trim level(s)

SV trim equipped with Premium package; built before October 2020
SR trim equipped with Premium package; built before October 2020

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the sharp left and both right curves and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created excessive glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right and gradual left curves and fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway, on both left curves and on both right curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Trim level(s)	SV trim equipped with Premium package SR trim equipped with Premium package
Low-beam headlight type	LED projector
High-beam headlight type	LED projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	Yes
Overall rating Applies to 2020 models built before October 2020

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	105.9 m	68.9%
Straightaway left edge	55.5 m	68.9%
250m radius right curve, right edge	62.6 m	0.3%
250m radius left curve, right edge	54.7 m	62.2%
150m radius right curve, right edge	54.4 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	51.8 m	97.9%

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	144.6 m
Straightaway left edge	128.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	77.5 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	75.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	59.2 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	58.4 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Standard Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2020-23 models

Superior

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

standard Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2020-25 models

Advanced

Crossing child

In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 8 mph.

Crossing adult

In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 36 mph. A warning was issued 1.9 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2020-25 models

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation	+ extra LATCH positions
Vehicle trim	SV
Seat type	cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor and the ability to borrow lower anchors from the other seating positions.

Note: When anchors are borrowed, they aren't available to use in their designated positions.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation	+ extra LATCH positions
Vehicle trim	SV
Seat type	cloth

Rating icon	Rating
G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

Position	Rating
1
1	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors
2
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	Can be borrowed from 1 and 3
3
3	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	easy to maneuver around anchors

Technical measurements for this test

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	13
Clearance angle (degrees)	91
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	10
Clearance angle (degrees)	97
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
Lower latch is shared for this seat position
Lower anchor B
Lower latch is shared for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	18
Clearance angle (degrees)	88
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	No
Depth (cm)	0-2
Force (lbs)	10
Clearance angle (degrees)	90
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	No
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation