Six years after coming to market and three years after a mild refresh, the big news for the 2018 Nissan Sentra lineup is the addition of more standard active safety features.

2018 Nissan Sentra

2018 Nissan Sentra

Sales of compact sedans here in the US remain soft, with most brands continuing to show year over year sales declines – the exceptions being the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, and Kia Forte. But despite a surge in sales from the Cruze, Nissan's Sentra is clinging to third place behind the Civic and the Toyota Corolla.

2018 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo engine

To help bolster Sentra sales, last year Nissan added an SR Turbo model to the lineup - equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 188 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque.

For 2018, the changes are more subtle.

2018 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo

2018 Nissan Sentra

The big news is that all CVT-equipped models, other than the high-performance Nismo, now feature automatic emergency braking as standard equipment, while a 5-inch color display, along with Bluetooth and Siri EyesFree, has been added to the base S trim so that all models now come with these features.

2018 Nissan Sentra Nismo

Moving up, 16-inch alloy wheels are now standard on SV models, while dual-zone automatic climate control is standard on SV and above trim levels. Further up the line, adaptive cruise control is now standard on SR models equipped with the 1.8-liter engine as well as the SL trim.

In addition, the content found in the optional SL Premium Tech Package (sunroof, Bose audio, and NissanConnect Services) is now standard on SL models, while the optional Nismo Tech Package (navigation, voice recognition, 5.8-inch touchscreen, Bose audio, and SiriusXM traffic and travel) is now standard.

2018 Nissan Sentra Nismo engine

2018 Nissan Sentra prices

Earlier this week, Nissan announced that the starting MSRP for a 2018 Sentra S, equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, is $17,825. That's the same price as last year, but due to an increase in destination charges, that represents an increase of $50 over the price of the 2017 model. Here is a complete list of 2018 Nissan Sentra prices:

Model, Transmission, MSRP, (price change versus 2017)

Sentra S 6MT: $17,875 (+$50)

Sentra S CVT: $19,025 (+$200)

Sentra SV CVT: $19,845 (+$460)

Sentra SR CVT: $21,255 (+$10)

Sentra SL CVT: $24,325 (+$1,320)

Sentra SR Turbo 6MT: $23,085 (+$260)

Sentra SR Turbo CVT: $23,375 (+$550)

Sentra Nismo Turbo 6MT: $26,675 (+$800)

Sentra Nismo Turbo CVT: $26,675 (+$800)

All prices include a destination and handling charge of $885 (an increase of $50).

2018 Nissan Sentra SR Turbo

Images courtesy of Nissan