Canada has many charming aspects: legal weed, the metric system, a functioning government. It also has its curiosities: Tim Horton's, curling, and (since 2015) a race series that exclusively uses the subcompact Nissan Micra. But with the Micra having departed Nissan's Canadian lineup after 2019, it was time for a new race car. Enter the Nissan Sentra, star of the newly renamed Nissan Sentra Cup.

Although the current Nissan Sentra is vastly improved compared to its predecessor, one wouldn't call it sporty. Unlike Sentras past, there's no NISMO or SE-R model. But the same could be said of the Micra, and Nissan didn't hesitate to build a race series around that car. Plus, the Sentra Cup race cars are modified compared to the street version.

The exterior cameras of a Model 3 have captured the moment the driver of a white Nissan Sentra crashed into the EV.

Redesigned headlights earned the 2021 Nissan Sentra a coveted Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Some 2020 models built after the last round of updates get the distinction, too.

Nissan's eighth-generation Sentra made its debut for the 2020 model year with a new platform, a much more muscular design inspired by the bigger Maxima, and better technology inside. We drove it and called it an appealing small car, but the IIHS gave its snazzy headlights an inferior rating. Nissan took the criticism to heart.

The Nissan Sentra was extensively redesigned last year, and for 2021 the model receives just minor tweaks, for which it's subject to just minor price increases.

The base Sentra S sees its price rise by $320, to $20,335 (with the $925 destination charge). Consider the extra scratch the cost of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which have been added to the standard-equipment list this year. (They previously were unavailable on the base car.)

Presented in its current form just last year, the new generation Nissan Sentra has been updated for 2021 with new features and is already on sale at dealers across the nation.

The all-new 2020 Nissan Sentra compact sedan is a more competitive entry into an already competitive but shrinking car segment. This new generation of Sentra improves over the past model in many ways: Exterior styling, interior design and materials, comfort, performance and handling. We like the way it looks, and appreciate the improvements to the driving dynamics without sacrificing comfort or fuel economy.

The 2020 Sentra is a much more interesting car than generations past and a generally good offering, but it still has some flaws — meager power, a sole CVT transmission option and a cramped back seat. It's also up against some stiff competition, including the Honda Civic, Mazda3 and newly improved Toyota Corolla, which, frankly, we still prefer over the Nissan. Nevertheless, the Sentra feels competitive and well-rounded for the segment — something we wouldn't have said about it a year ago.

It seems that the Sentra has always been with us, but in fact the very first Sentras didn't show up in North America until the 1982 model year. This gas-sipping econobox became an immediate sales smash hit over here, and the Japanese-built 1982-1986 cars elbowed aside many a Civic and Corolla in the battle for American sales. Sentras began rolling out of Nissan's new Tennessee factory in 1985, just before the debut of the second-gen version, and so today's Junkyard Gem in Denver is one of the very last of the Kanagawa-built Sentras sold in the United States.