Childre Nissan Compares 2017 Nissan Sentra VS 2017 Honda Civic Near Atlanta, GA

To help make backing safer, the Sentra (except S)’s optional cross-path warning system uses wide-angle radar 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.

Both the Sentra and the Civic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front-wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, available crash mitigating brakes, blind spot warning systems and rearview cameras.

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:

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2016 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 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 23rd, below the industry average.

The Sentra stops shorter than the Civic:

The Sentra SV/SR/SL 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.

The Sentra SL handles at .84 G’s, while the Civic Touring Sedan pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Sentra’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Civic’s (34.8 feet vs. 35.7 feet). The Sentra’s turning circle is 3 feet tighter than the Civic Sport Hatchback’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.8 feet).

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Sentra SL is quieter than the Civic EX Sedan:

The Sentra has .1 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom and 2.8 inches more rear hip room than the Civic Sedan.

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

The Sentra’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Civic LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

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 $19 less for a water pump, $211 less for a starter, $34 less for front struts, $49 less for a timing belt/chain and $98 less for a power steering pump.