NEWPORT COAST, CA – Nissan says more engine offerings are due for its U.S. Sentra compact car in the future, while it also studies, after a 26-year absence, a hatchback version of its sedan-only C-car.
“From a product standpoint, in the future you’ll see more engine offerings, and it’s full steam ahead. We’re fully focused on the segment,” Michael Bunce, director-product planning for Nissan North America tells WardsAuto in a recent interview in Detroit.
The current seventh-generation Sentra comes with just one engine, a 1.8L naturally aspirated 4-cyl. Competitors offer at least two choices of engine, including Honda which has a 2.0L naturally aspirated 4-cyl. as well as a 1.5L turbocharged 4-cyl. in the new ’16 Civic sedan.
Ford, Hyundai and Kia also offer more than one engine in their respective Focus, Elantra and Forte compact cars.
Meanwhile, another Nissan official says the brand is studying reviving a Sentra hatchback.
The first- and second-generation Sentra, in market in the U.S. from 1982-1990, were available in a 3-door hatchback body style, as well as a 5-door variant dubbed a wagon.
Reasons to revive a C-segment hatchback in the U.S. would be to offer consumers another choice and match the competitive set, Tony Baehner, senior manager of product planning-NNA, tellsWardsAuto at a ’16 Sentra media preview here this week.
Reasons not to pursue the body style he says are the growing popularity of B- and C-segment CUVs, essentially hatchbacks with a taller ride height.
The C-segment hatchback segment in the U.S. also is dominated by two models: the Ford Focus and Mazda3 hatchbacks, which up to this point have made it hard for challengers to break into the sector. Baehner says this is reflected in the less-than-10% take rate of hatchback versions of other C-cars, including the Elantra and Forte.
A new player is coming in the form of the ’17 Chevrolet Cruze 5-door, introduced at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this month and set to go on sale later this year in the U.S. Baehner says Nissan will monitor the Cruze’s sales in determining whether to pursue a Sentra hatch.
The Sentra’s platform mate, the Renault Megane, already is available overseas as a 5-door and is a possible guide for development of a Sentra hatch.
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Source by wardsauto