It doesn't take long to connect the dots after taking a quick look at the teaser photos and video of the 2013 Nissan Sentra for the North American market and comparing them with the official imagery of the new Nissan Sylphy sedan that was revealed today at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. Even though Nissan preferred to use the term "based on the Sylphy" in its press statement for the 2013 Sentra, it is evident that the two cars are more or less one and the same.
We expect that the differences between the two models will be limited to the trim accents inside and out such as the chrome bars on the front grille and the decorative wood panels on the center console, both of which will likely be deleted from the North American version. The Sylphy will be produced at the Dongfeng Nissan Huadu Plant facilities in Guangzhou and go on sale in China this summer. After its introduction in China, Nissan's new global sedan will be launched in most major markets around the world during the course of 2012 and approximately 120 countries by 2014. The Japanese automaker did not say under which name the car will be sold in other regions.
The exterior styling of the new Sentra / Sylphy takes a page or two from the design of the recently unveiled 2013 Altima, itself inspired from the larger Maxima.
The Chinese specification Sylphy is powered by a new 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine matched to a next-generation XTRONIC CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).
