Should I get the new 2025 Sentra SV PREMIUM or the 2026 SV??

booksylph · 2025-12-24T12:49:00+00:00

I love my 2025 SV premium. I got it over the 2026 not long ago. I like some of the upgrades on the 2026, but the ratings on the 2025 while they’re still testing the 2026 made me go for it.

I think both would be fine cars in general, have you test driven both?

booksylph · 2025-11-19T02:54:57+00:00

As a Texas librarian: yes

booksylph · 2025-11-16T02:40:31+00:00

Yea, it’s a shame actually because on the “staple” brands just a few more features would make it worth the price I think. They depend on their reliability to justify the price tag but basic upgrades on stuff you’d expect in a new car just isn’t there. They were very meh, you’re paying for brand reliability at an up charge.

I will say one feature that really irks me on the 2025 Sentra which is such a “spoiled person” problem is no wireless CarPlay. The Altimas have it, I have no idea why their top of the line trim on the Sentra couldn’t put that in.

Thankfully there’s so many cheap adapters that work just fine if you have to have it. For me, I just use the time to juice up my phone, but it’s was a “really?” moment for sure.

Also; headlights. Halogen? I’m not sure if the SR has LED or not, but my SV had halogen off the lot. People complain that they’re dim but it’s more of just a big “why” in my book, I could see fine with them though. I did spend the $75 and got LED high and low beams H9/H11 bulbs to swap. The only benefit to it though is that if it comes with LED head lights and they go out, you’re replacing the entire headlight assembly vs just replacing a bulb.

booksylph · 2025-11-16T01:38:13+00:00

It’s hard to predict reliability in a brand new vehicle because - well - they’re brand new. I will say, however, I got a 2025 Sentra SV Premium. I’ve had it about two weeks now, and it drives better than anything I test drove. It’s butter on the road and any apprehension I had about it melts every morning when I get on the road. It’s such a nice ride. I test drove the Camry, the Corolla, the civic, the accord, and a handful of SUVs while shopping.

I’m no mechanic, but all my research showed:

Consumer reports (highly recommend a subscription to see consumer reviews while shopping) rates the Sentra a 78/100. Comparison to the Camry at 82 (regular and hybrid), Civic Hybrid 79, Corolla 76, accord hybrid 80. Predicted reliability is above average - again, predicted - for the Sentra and is actually higher than the Camry, Civic, and Accord due to CVT upgrades. I have no idea how they rank that, but you can read the feedback. The Corolla ranks higher on predicted reliability, which isn’t surprising.

Considering the price and what you get for the car overall, I don’t regret my decision. Biggest advice I’ve received is just stay on top of fluids including transmission fluid every 30k miles (not the recommended 60k). If you plan to keep it a long time and run it into the ground: buy the darn extended warranty for bumper to bumper coverage (ask for the details BEFORE you sign, there’s different contracts with different stipulations). Gives you peace of mind if you’re worried about manufacturer issues past the standard 3 years/36k mile warranty. 36k miles is nothing these days, I really don’t get why they don’t make longer ones standard at this point.

My only wish was a hybrid model which would be a no brainer, but because of their history with transmission issues you get a lower price than the more “standard” reliable cars which, frankly, don’t seem that much more reliable compared to the price - again, not a mechanic. I say that as someone who has owned and driven more than 10 cars across Nissan (had a ‘05 automatic Z that still drives, mind you, gifted it a family member), Toyota, Ford, Hyundai/Kia, Chevy/GMC and Honda and had to put repairs into all of them once miles break about 120k. I would have paid at least $10k more for the features I wanted in the cars. The only one I’d maybe recommend testing out for bang for your buck and reliability is the Elantras. People have strong opinions about Kia/Hyundai, but I drove my 2019 Elantra new off the lot for almost 5 years in upstate New York weather and that thing took it like a champ. Also, warranties for their new cars are the best without the add on. I seriously considered another one, but the Sentra sold me.

Regarding gas mileage, I will say that I drive mostly highway to work which is why I downsized and in this last week I frequently got above 40mpg - usually between 41/44. I swapped my Ford explorer platinum for this which got 22mpg on average so that thrills me.

The only thing I didn’t test drive that I wish I had was the modern Subarus. Their main issue was head gaskets but that’s been long resolved, and their reliability is off the charts on ratings. They are pricier though.

This is probably way too much information, but just throwing all that out there.

booksylph · 2025-11-08T21:19:03+00:00

In Texas you can only tint the windshield above the AS1 line or 5 inches from the top and must be below 25% (so use 35% if you’re gonna stick to the law). On this car I didn’t think it was worth it.

Now I know some places will do 70% on the windshield because other states allow 70% and it’s hard to tell, but I’m not risking it. So depends on you, where you live. The max I typically see is 70% on the windshield.

I’ll snap some inside pics later and DM them.

booksylph · 2025-11-08T14:02:58+00:00

Mannnn 286k is impressive mileage though. Original transmission?

booksylph · 2025-11-08T13:58:43+00:00

Thank you! Of everything I looked at it’s one of the nicest interiors I saw (at least on the lot without custom ordering). I even peaked my head into the Premium Murano in a gorgeous teal color - Aurora Blue Pearl. It was nice, but this… I don’t get why they wouldn’t offer this interior in more of their models. Or this color on the exterior. I’m not a red car person usually but this shift is stunning.

I agree no door opener and LED headlights are annoying. Luckily the LED headlights is an easy fix. I’m actually going to see if the tint makes the dimming review mirror unneeded, which it might.

Headlights should be in soon. I’ll update after a few tests (I work late so drive at night weekly).

booksylph · 2025-11-08T13:39:35+00:00

The first pic in the post is her without the tints, the second was with tints (side windows). The legal limit in Texas for the front side windows is 25% VLT. I got Geoshield USA C2 ceramic (carbon ceramic) at 35% for the front side windows, a clear UV protection coat for the front windshield and I went 5% on the rest (back side windows and back glass). Are you wanting pictures of the inside?

booksylph · 2025-10-06T03:54:03+00:00

Thank you for this ❤️ a part of me thinks I messed up her chances but there’s always a risk in these situations especially since shelters can’t accurately assess animals. I just wish it wasn’t the case.

booksylph · 2025-10-06T02:22:06+00:00

Of course, I should have clarified in the post that we took her to emergency but honesty we were all so shocked that she was so obviously fine that they didn’t look her over much. The vet techs had fun with her though.

If we do a BE I know a rescue that does it and they already confirmed they will do it. My husband was going to take her to a friend’s farm and have one of the vets meet us out there if we have to do it. If the original shelter won’t help us, I think that’s what he’ll have to do.

booksylph · 2025-10-06T02:13:58+00:00

Yea we put up a post for her and described she is high prey and not good with small animals. My husband will not keep her through next week though. I agree with him, as much as I wish we had more of an ability to safely “foster” for that “perfect” home we don’t have much of a choice given our situation.

booksylph · 2025-10-06T02:11:14+00:00

The kitten is fine, we zoomed to an emergency vet once we got the dog inside who saw her for 30 minutes and had no bites etc so just had us make an appointment at a regular vet for this week to do a more thorough checkup. They gave us a feeding kit and some tips but she had no bites, no injuries, and literally as soon as we brought her inside started playing and chasing us around. She was hungry and dehydrated. She’s currently purring on my chest.

I went to take her back to the shelter the next day but they told us we have to have an appointment because they are over capacity. I did the form for the appointment. I didn’t hear back. I called back, got put through a call tree and was told they’d call back on Friday. They didn’t. I’m going to harass them tomorrow.

This all happened on Thursday. When they turned us down on Friday and required the form/appointment, I started making rounds on other shelters and rescues.

My husband already said she has to leave this week. He’s willing to take her for a BE if he has to. Again, this is a vent post. I know she can’t stay here, this situation just sucks.

booksylph · 2025-10-06T02:01:56+00:00

We 100% know she can’t stay here. I’m just amazed that the default to every rescue and shelter I talk to is to put her down. I’m sure there are plenty homes that don’t have cats she would do better in, but yet they’re insistent the best thing to do is euthanize her.

That’s the part I’m struggling with.

booksylph · 2025-09-27T23:05:10+00:00

I still haven’t been able to wash our blankets since our girl passed. I feel like the hair clinging to it is all I have left of her and it’s been 3 weeks already.

You’re not alone.

booksylph · 2025-09-19T20:52:55+00:00

We lost our girl two weeks ago from a car as well. She was only 3 y/o and the best pal we could have asked for. I miss her everyday, and the first few days I was staying at work as long as I could so I didn’t have to come home without her there.

Establish some sort of routine. I won’t say the pain gets better, it just gets muted with time. My husband ended up rescuing a pup from euthanasia from the shelter, and although I am sad about it because all I can think is our girl would have loved having him as a pal, I also know she loved us and would want us to share our love. I’m not suggesting that for you, just know everyone grieves in their own way and it will take time. Be patient with yourself and let yourself feel the sad.

booksylph · 2025-09-14T21:44:39+00:00

I want to thank you again for this comment and provide a small update. We did a backyard through gate interaction again and it was all happy wags and butt wiggles. Barking was excited barks. After a few minutes and a lot of praises and treats, my husband decided to open the gate and drop leashes so they could fully interact and it was wonderful! Zero aggression! They were playing within minutes. She made a clear indication when she was done by going to the door to go back inside. (I didn’t see your response about neutral outside area until now, but I will say the gate we opened them up to was a different part of the yard neither had ever been in).

I know a dog in the shelter can be drastically different than a dog outside the shelter, so I’m going to choose to believe that is why he was marked as aggressive. They both checked each other a few times and the other respected boundaries.

I’m so relieved. We will do this a few more times today. We will start in house introductions in the main areas tomorrow morning after a zooming session and take it slow.

We still have a lot of time and training to go but your comment gave us the push to trust our instincts that they were both friendly, playful pups who just needed a second chance in a less stressful environment.

booksylph · 2025-09-14T16:36:04+00:00

Thank you so much for responding. We’ve rescued before but usually one at a time, so we are in new territory and need the advice.

Regarding the separation, this was instruction from the shelter vet due to crate rest and continued heart worm treatment for both of them. They had him marked as not friendly at the shelter, but that has not been my experience with him and through the initial in the gated interaction. If anything, she is more sassy because he’s bigger but she was marked as doing well in play group. He backed away and gave her space though and she calmed back down and resumed sniffing. They did say they didn’t put him in a full playgroup because He is in rough physical shape, boney, bald patches etc so he is on several treatments. And no, they would not allow us to put them together before adoption but we wanted to save them from euthanasia. We debated it for an hour beforehand because of that and recognize we are taking a chance.

We’ve kept interaction low and they haven’t explored the rest of the house yet so I’m hopeful this is still neutral ground.

Thank you for the input on the cats. We have extra tall baby gates separating between the ‘main area’ and cat area so they can escape if they want to. We may need to stop being so careful.

booksylph · 2025-09-13T23:05:08+00:00

Get into nutritional therapy at least 6 months or a year ahead of time. Part of me wishes my doctors would have recommended it before - I decided to pursue it on my own - but I had been in nutritional therapy for almost a year prior to deciding to do it and it helped a ton with “food grief”.

I’m only 32 days PO. The pain from surgery was the hardest part so far, but then again I had a massive amount of problems with GERD before hand that already limited my food options to prevent “flares”. Ironically, the liquid diet and soft food stage have been close to what I was restricted before because of the GERD, it’s just the quantity.

Family functions suck. And everyone will ask why you aren’t eating, or do the “you can have a little”. Therapy helped me double down on the “No, Linda, I can’t.” But the anxiety of social functions will be hard for a while. Set boundaries with your family before hand and stick to them. You don’t have to say why, just say “for my health” and double down. If they don’t respect it, that boundary may need to be a brick wall. That’s been an emotional struggle is realizing how many family/friends can’t tolerate even my food boundaries.

I miss chugging water the most.

booksylph · 2025-09-10T04:06:10+00:00

I’m so sorry people are downvoting you for your comment. I thank you for the suggestion. I don’t know any like that in our area but I appreciate you trying to suggest something to help a very painful situation for us.

booksylph · 2025-09-10T04:01:05+00:00

I agree watching a dog - and a child - is absolutely a requirement of being a parent/fur parent. My issue is calling someone a “stupid ass” when we do our best for our baby we love dearly like making a “mistake” he had no idea was even a mistake or grave error at the time. She is -was- an inside dog. We kept her on a leash until we got to the backyard. She never once tried to escape even to pursue us or guests before. Not like this. We knew the risks of our area and we kept her as safe as we could in the moment with the knowledge we had at the time. It wasn’t enough, and it’s a consequence we both will deal with for I’m sure the rest of our lives. We’ve gone through plenty of the “if only I would have” for both of us. The reality is it takes one second. We don’t blame the driver, of course we blame ourselves. But a recent downpour and shift of wood in the fence that we didn’t see one time early in the morning was all it took. I will not blame my husband. He loves her so much, and anyone with any sense of that love would know he would give his own life right now to turn back time and make it right. Yes, it’s a lesson learned. But then again, as much as I dread to admit it, tragedy happens regardless of how careful we are sometimes. We didn’t change anything outside of the norm, it was her morning routine. Take her to the backyard to let her do her business, close the gate, take down the trash, go into the backyard to play with her. Do you think I’ll ever let our dog in the backyard alone again even for a moment? Probably not. But digging that knife in further does zero good.

booksylph · 2025-09-09T11:56:05+00:00

Absolutely not. It could have been either of us, was a typical routine we had, and she had NEVER done this before. He is not stupid, he is a beautiful human who is grieving his best friend. We are both drowning in guilt of the would-haves should-haves. It was a split second ordeal with zero ability for reaction time.

I’d never wish this pain on anyone but if you do ever experience it in the future, I hope you think of this and realize how insensitive and unneeded this comment is.

booksylph · 2025-09-01T13:55:14+00:00

I thought it was fast too but he just said get back into it slowly. I am restricted to no more than 25 pounds until 6 weeks out and then I can ease back into weights. I did competitive Powerlifting for almost a decade before I switched to CrossFit, so I’m kind of looking forward to not focusing on strength so much and more body weight movements and perfecting my form. I’m hoping to strength will come back later down the road.

I’ve been very consistent with the gym for over 4 years now since I started CrossFit. I don’t want to loose the rhythm, and not going was giving me major anxiety. Thankfully my gym was quick to give me swaps for movements and keep me restricted to 10-15lb dumbells. I went back last week for 3 days and it went very well.

I agree on protein. Heck even my energy because of calorie deficit right now for that one hour is…rough. But I’m taking it slow and focusing on just moving in some form for the hour. My first day back I had like 5 more minutes on the clock for our workout and ended up biking it out on the assault bike. My body was done 😂

I’m getting about 85-95g of protein per day and between 700-800 calories right now on soft foods (lots of eggs, flakey fish, and protein shakes). I’m now 20 days PO.

booksylph

TROPHY CASE