2026 Nissan Sentra: Grades, MPG and Price in Indianapolis

At a glance:

• Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, 149 hp, 146 lb-ft, front-wheel drive
• Fuel economy: 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway, 33 mpg combined on the S and SV; 29, 36 and 32 higher up the range
• Grades: S, SV, SR and SL
• MSRP at launch: $22,600 to $27,990, before the $1,245 destination charge
• Seating and cargo: 5 seats, 14.3 cubic feet of trunk space

MSRP at launch is the manufacturer's suggested retail price set for the 2026 model year, before the $1,245 destination charge. What a specific car costs sits on its own listing.

The cheapest move on the sheet is the first one, $770 from the S to the SV. The 2 at the top cost more and buy different things: $1,630 to the SR, which is the sporty exterior and the 18-inch wheels, and $2,990 to the SL, which has heated seats, a sunroof, Bose audio and ProPILOT Assist.

The wheel sizes also do not rise in a straight line. The SR runs the largest wheels on the car at 18 inches, while the more expensive SL steps back to 17-inch wheels on 215/50R17 tires. The 18s belong to the sporty grade rather than to the expensive one.

Tire size is what decides how much sidewall sits between the rim and a pothole. The S rolls on 205/60R16 all-season tires, which carry a taller sidewall than the 215/50R17 tires on the SL. That matters more here than it would in a dry-winter market, and the Central Indiana section below comes back to it.

Choose the S if: price is the deciding factor. You still get the 12.3-inch center touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and the whole Safety Shield 360 suite.

Choose the SV if: you want the larger driver display and alloy wheels without spending into the middle of the range.

Choose the SR if: the look matters. The 18-inch wheels, the LED signature headlights and the full-width tail light are the visual separation.

Choose the SL if: you want heat in the seats and the steering wheel, a sunroof, Bose audio and ProPILOT Assist without adding a single option. It is the grade that comes fully equipped, with no package sheet to work through. Note that it carries the lower of the 2 fuel-economy ratings, 36 mpg on the highway against 38 further down the range.

One thing that is not a reason to move up: power. Every grade uses the same engine, the same transmission and the same front-wheel drive, so moving up the range does not add power.

Fuel economy splits into 2 ratings. The 2 cheaper grades carry the higher numbers, and the 2 above them carry the lower ones.

The gap between those 2 ratings is 1 mpg combined, so moving up the range costs very little at the pump. On the highway the spread is wider at 2 mpg, which is the figure that matters if most of your miles are on the interstate.

A full 12.41-gallon tank at 33 mpg combined works out to a little over 400 miles on paper, and at 32 mpg combined a little under 400.

The 38-foot turning circle is the figure to hold on to if you park on a narrow street or in an older garage, and 183 inches of length keeps the car easy to place in a standard parking space.

At 57.1 inches tall with 4.7 inches of ground clearance, the Sentra sits low, the way a sedan does rather than an SUV. If you cross a rutted lot or an unplowed drive most days, look at that clearance figure on the car itself before you decide.

A few things the table above does not settle are worth checking on the window sticker of the actual car: the speaker count on the SV, which driver display the 2 upper grades carry, and how the phone connects on the grades above the S. Ask us and we will read them off the car for you.

Everything in the first 2 groups comes fitted to every Sentra, so the core safety equipment is the same whether you buy the cheapest grade or the most expensive one.

The last group is the exception. ProPILOT Assist is an option at SR level and standard equipment on the SL, and the HD Around View Monitor follows the same pattern. If either system is on your list, the choice narrows to the SR and the SL, and both are worth asking to see working on the car before you decide between them.

Paint is priced separately from the grade. Premium Paint listed at $450 at launch and 2-Tone Premium Paint at $950. Whether the color you want carries one of those charges is on the individual car's listing, so check it there or ask us.

Inside, the material follows the grade rather than the paint.

Package prices at launch for the 2026 model year.

The rest are tied to single grades: Convenience to the SV, Cold Weather to the S, All-Weather to the SR. Moonroof is the only equipment package offered on more than one grade, at $650 on either the SV or the SR. It is not offered on the SL because the SL's sunroof is already standard. The 2 paint lines are not grade decisions at all, since they follow the color you pick.

What each package contains beyond the names above is printed on the individual car's window sticker. Ask us to go through it on the car you are looking at.

Crews brine and salt the interstates and the city streets from November into March, and the freeze and thaw that follows leaves Central Indiana with a pothole problem.

That is where tire size is worth a look. The S rolls on 205/60R16 all-season tires, which carry a taller sidewall than the 215/50R17 tires on the SL. If your daily route runs the older east-side streets in February, that extra sidewall is worth something.

Those same streets are narrow, and the garages on the older ones are small. The 38-foot turning circle earns its keep there.

Corrosion coverage runs 60 months, and in a market that salts its roads from November into March, that is coverage worth knowing you have.

The basic and powertrain warranties each carry 2 limits, one in months and one in miles. Corrosion and roadside assistance are quoted in months only, corrosion at 60 and roadside at 36, the latter running alongside the basic warranty.

What a specific car costs depends on its grade, its packages and its paint, and that price sits on the car's own listing, so browse our new sedans in Indianapolis to see the Sentras we have on the ground.

Current deals are listed on our new Nissan specials page.

You can schedule a test drive ahead of time so the cars are ready when you get here. Our 2026 Nissan model research page covers the wider lineup.

You can start a credit application online: Apply for Financing.

Our hours and directions page will get you to the door. And if your question is about a specific grade, color or package on a particular car, ask us to check it on that car: Contact Ed Martin Nissan.