You might think of many words to describe your first car — in my case, a 2003 Saturn Ion — but "sports" or "lively" may not be among them. Nearly 20 years since the almost forgotten Ion was born, compact cars have ushered in a turning point: Although not all models are full of energy or sportiness, they provide personality, spirit, and beauty that most first cars do not have. Appearance. Typical cases: 2021 Nissan Sentra and 2021 Hyundai Elantra.

Both Sentra and Elantra have existed for decades, but their driving styles have not been recognized. But today the situation is different. Even the last-generation Elantra caught our attention, winning three-sevenths in MotorTrend's recent compact car Big Test. At the same time, Sentra deserves an award as the most improved car, because the previous generation came last.

With gorgeous design and modern technology, today's 2021 Nissan Sentra and 2021 Hyundai Elantra are competing in market segments that continue to resonate with buyers, despite the popularity of crossovers. But are they better than the leading (recently updated) Honda Civic?

Looking at their specifications, you would think that Sentra and Elantra are from the same R&D room. Elantra is powered by a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated l-4 engine, which can produce 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque, and is used in conjunction with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Our Elantra Limited test car is priced at US$26,610. Like most modern cars today, its list of convenience and comfort features is long and attractive.

Similarly, Sentra uses a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated I-4, this engine can produce 149 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of power. Like the Elantra, its CVT transmits power to the front wheels. Our top-of-the-line Sentra SR test car also comes with a long list of options, and this car is priced at $25,985.

Unlike their power system, Elantra and Centra provide different atmospheres in terms of interior and exterior design. Elantra’s aggressive exterior lines are eye-catching in a market segment known for its blandness, and its cabin offers a high-end appearance. There are two 10.3-inch screens in the cockpit, giving Elantra Limited a Mercedes-like feel. The infotainment touch screen is easy to control and is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, although the basic version can connect to a smartphone wirelessly, the limited models must use a cable to connect CarPlay and Android Auto. (For some reason, the larger screen does not allow wireless functionality.)

The designers of modern cars are not only fancy technology, but also pay close attention to details-from the door panel stitching that perfectly matches the vent to the slim ambient lighting line that runs through the dashboard. The Elantra in 2021 hardly looks like an affordable compact car. "Ergonomics is top-notch," said senior editor Conner Golden (Conner Golden). "Focus on a stupid thing, but I really like the position of the internal door handle. Your hand falls in that area when you are resting, and opening the door doesn’t feel like escaping from the car. , It’s more like you have arrived."

The biggest disadvantage of the Elantra is that the quality of its materials sells out the basic price of US$20,655 for the entry-level model. To touch the door panel and dashboard, the plastic feels as hard as stone. Even on the armrests, the padding is very thin, which can cause elbow injuries after a four-hour drive.

On the other hand, the 2021 Nissan Sentra is equipped with softer and higher-quality plastics, which is comparable to the best in similar products. The armrests-including the door panels and the center console-are well padded, and the plastic feels better even in areas you don't touch often.

Nissan designers approached their cabins in different ways, but they also got some styling cues from luxury car manufacturers such as Mercedes. The jet-inspired vents look like they come directly from our 2021 award-winning E-Class sedan, adding a premium look to the cabin. Sentra SR comes to us with contrast stitching on the door panels, dashboard and seats. "Even three years ago, this was a significant improvement in Nissan's quality," Golden said.

Our biggest complaint about the Sentra cabin is its infotainment system, especially when compared to Elantra. It is not intuitive and lacks modern graphics, and although its dashboard looks good, it comes from the same parts inventory that Nissan has used for more than a decade.

Both cabins are spacious and spacious, but because of its wider roofline, Nissan feels more spacious in the second row; people standing six feet or higher will feel the roof touching their hair.

Although compact cars are not necessarily known for their performance (despite the Civic Type Rs and Veloster Ns in the world), you usually still like to feel connected to the machine. Sentra's improvements over the previous generation are impressive: the Japanese car not only improved in our 0-60 mph test, but it also had better handling and ended up driving like a suitable compact car. This Sentra sprints to 60 mph in 8.0 seconds, which is a significant increase of 2.0 seconds compared to the previous generation 2016 Sentra SL. This is something we don't often see.

Sentra's improvements are even more pronounced on the street. As we circled the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California, its ride felt settled on the broken sidewalk, and its impact effectively isolated the vibration from the cabin. The steering feels good and can provide a good feedback of what is happening on the front wheels. The power of this segment is average, but compared with the previous Sentra, this is a diurnal difference.

Whether you are riding on a surface street or on a highway, Sentra's noise, vibration, and roughness (NVH) are excellent. "Sentra should win with its NVH alone," Golden said. "Compared with Elantra's chainsaw file, Sentra's economic specification four-cylinder and CVT combination has quite good damping after additional sound insulation. It is still a bit louder, but it is a significant improvement compared to any other CVT product. "

Elantra's small engine. At the same time, let yourself know when you step on the gas pedal-and it's not great. "Like most CVT-equipped cars in this market segment, hard acceleration produces a terrible WAAAHHHH effect, which will last too long. If you merge often, wear earplugs," Golden said, only partially Jokingly.

Although neither car performed well in terms of acceleration, the Elantra was 0.4 seconds behind Sentra in our 0-60 test on the track. Outside the track, the Elantra's plain steering is not as sharp as the Sentra, because it just feels light and artificial. Elantra's four driving modes—Sport, Smart, Eco, and Normal—help, but even in Sport mode, it lacks the direct feel of Sentra. On the other hand, although Hyundai's spring feels softer than Nissan's, the Elantra exhibits good body control and is still able to absorb turf and road defects well.

With Honda and Toyota launching a series of standard safety features in their product lines, the 2021 Hyundai Elantra and 2021 Nissan Sentra are disappointing in this area. Neither has as many standard safety technologies as the Civic or Corolla.

In fact, these technologies are only available when you climb the ladder on the Elantra interior, and Limited provides all the good things you can think of: adaptive cruise control and stop and walk, lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking Wait. "Good adaptive cruise and lane keeping/steering assist, but automatic braking surprised me," Golden said. "It is as perfectly modulated as any car I drive from Mercedes or BMW-even better. The stop-and-go function is also very effective."

Sentra does not provide lane keeping assist, but it is equipped with lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, rear automatic braking and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. On the road, the functions of these systems are not as good as the Elantra, and the lack of lane keeping assist systems increases the workload of the driver on the highway compared with modern ones. We would love to see Pro Pilot Assist (a series of active safety features of Nissan) in the recent Sentra.

In comparison, this one is very close. Both cars have raised expectations in the compact car market. There is no doubt: these wheels are not as cheap as my old Saturn. The 2021 Nissan Sentra and 2021 Hyundai Elantra are stylish, modern, and advanced models that continue to play a competitive role in compact models. High school and college students will be lucky to have such a fun car, as is anyone who likes to save a few dollars while still having a good time and a good style car experience.

Although the prices of the two are similar, the Elantra brings more value to the dining table, and it feels more stylish and perhaps better equipped. But Sentra felt more attractive on the road, which we did not expect.

Since neither has any weaknesses, it is difficult to choose the winner. Perhaps their biggest weakness is the fact that the Civic exists, because neither car is as powerful as Honda (and the new Civic seems to continue to kick ass). But between the two, the 2021 Nissan Sentra is even better: its handling feels sharper, the interior space is more spacious, and the material feels better. In 2021, Hyundai Elantra fought a big battle, it is a very competitive product, but in this special battle, Sentra occupies the top spot.

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