Compare Cars
/
Nissan Sentra vs Kia Forte

Nissan Sentra vs. Kia Forte

Compare repair costs, reliability, and owner reviews

Nissan Sentra

$491

Average Annual

Repair Cost

Kia Forte

$451

Average Annual

Repair Cost

Overall Reliability Rating

Excellent

The Nissan Sentra Reliability Rating is 4.0 out of 5.0, which ranks it 14th out of 36 for compact cars. The average annual repair cost is $491 which means it has lower than average ownership costs. The severity of repairs is average and the frequency of those issues is low, so major repairs are uncommon for the Sentra.

Excellent

The Kia Forte Reliability Rating is 4.5 out of 5.0, which ranks it 6th out of 36 for compact cars. The average annual repair cost is $451 which means it has excellent ownership costs. The severity and frequency of repairs are both much lower than other vehicles, so the Forte is one of the more reliable vehicles on the road.

Cost

Average annual repairs total

$491

inexpensive

expensive

$451

inexpensive

expensive

Frequency

Average annual repair shop visits

0.23

not often

very often

0.19

not often

very often

Severity

Percentage of annual repairs that are urgent

12%

not urgent

urgent

not urgent

urgent

Overall Car Ratings & Details

(65 Reviews)

(4 Reviews)

5		(5)
4		(30)
3		(22)
2		(6)
1		(2)

Read reviews

“Ultimate car”

1454 known problems

90 known recalls

5		(2)
4		(2)
3		(0)
2		(0)
1		(0)

Read reviews

“I LOVE my Kia Forte! Everything is wonderful, including the price I paid for it: $15k at The Kia Depot. The no-cost "extras" like Bluetooth, 3 months of Sirius radio and the manual shift option...”

“I LOVE my Kia Forte! Everything is wonderful, including the price I paid for it: $15k at The Kia...”

69 known problems

10 known recalls

Vehicle Comparison Rundown

The Kia Forte and the Nissan Sentra are both compact four-door sedans. Both of them come with front-wheel drive.

When it comes to their standard engines, the Forte’s 147-horsepower engine comes out way ahead of the Sentra’s 124-horsepower engine. For their optional engines, the Forte puts out 201 horsepower, while the Sentra trails again with 188 horsepower. The Forte wins both.

The Forte has 96.2 cubic feet of interior space, just a tiny bit more than the Sentra’s 95.9 cubic feet. The trunk space comparison reveals that Forte has 14.9 cubic feet, just slightly behind the Sentra’s 15.1 cubic feet. It’s a split decision.

The Kia Forte offers another benefit, in the form of Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. This is much better protection than the Nissan Sentra’s 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty can provide.

The Nissan Sentra offers its own unique benefit, automatic emergency braking as standard equipment on most Sentras with automatic transmissions. This even includes the base model.

Choose the Forte for the power, and for the warranty. Choose the Sentra for the latest safety technology.

Similar Vehicle Comparisons