Nissan Sentra vs Subaru Impreza: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Sentra and the Subaru Impreza are level on the federal record — 74/100 against 76/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Sentra
- 15 model years scored
- 3,094 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 46 recall campaigns, 33 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (93/100) · worst 2013 (42/100)
Subaru Impreza
- 8 model years scored
- 846 owner complaints on record
- about 11 complaints per year on the road
- 30 recall campaigns, 25 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (89/100) · worst 2013 (44/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Sentra against Impreza
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Nissan Sentra
- Power Train — 1,068 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 476 complaints
- Engine — 424 complaints
Subaru Impreza
- Air Bags — 254 complaints
- Engine — 160 complaints
- Electrical System — 123 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sentra's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Impreza's in Air Bags. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Nissan Sentra — avoid: 2013.
Subaru Impreza — avoid: 2012, 2013.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Nissan Sentra prices at about $24,100 and a Subaru Impreza at about $26,000 — the Nissan Sentra is roughly $1,900 less, and they return 34.0 against 30.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Sentra or the Subaru Impreza more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Impreza scores 76/100 against the Nissan Sentra's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Sentra and Subaru Impreza years should I avoid?
Nissan Sentra: 2013. Subaru Impreza: 2012, 2013. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Sentra and the Subaru Impreza?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Sentra is Power Train (1,068 complaints); on the Subaru Impreza it is Air Bags (254).
Is the Nissan Sentra or the Subaru Impreza cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Sentra prices at about $24,100 and a Subaru Impreza at about $26,000, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.