LexFather

Its odd that this could be a very short review since I have a lot of experience with it. Its my G/Fs car as many of you know. With the lease on it ending soon, we will be replacing it and I will have another thread on what the choices are and comparing the vehicles.

She got this vehicle before we met brand new from a local dealer. Its the best car she has owned to date and we both do like it overall.

Errrrr. let me get in review mode.....

As many know I was never a fan of the Altima styling b/c it was clear they ripped off a lot of the 2GS cues and what once once an original shape with the GS became as common as salt and pepper shakers with the Altima selling in droves. So that gave me some bias against it. Up until that point I was an Altima fan....

Errrr....that intro sucks too.....
History
The Altima has come a long way. I believe it debuted in 1993 and basically looked like the poor mans Infiniiti J30. Thing is the Altima pulled off the look much better, the price was right, the interior was well built with a nice wood strip and the 150hp I-4 was suited well since the car was a "tweener" between the Corolla and Camry. The Altima SE with the 15" 5 stars, side sills looked and handled great. It sold well and in driving it, I remember how nice it was for a sub 20k car.

The 2nd gen was a big miss. They kept the "Egg" shape but squared it off. The I-4 only gained 5hp. The car wasn't much bigger inside and it was pretty much overlooked as it lost its great styling. Don't believe me, when it the last time YOU SAW a 2nd gen Altima? Exactly. Nothing to review more, it was good at being 4th or 5th best in class.

The 3rd gen was the hit for the brand. Taking Lexus cues, it was the "poor mans GS". The car grew huge, longer than a Camry or Accord. The interior was also huge. It also had the worst interior made for any new car in recent memory. Chrysler executives laughed Thing is the car got a strong I-4 and a stronger and for the first time a V-6. Even HIDs were an option. As we all know people are suckers for style and could care less about the car so it sold like hotcakes. It also became the new car to slap 20s on. Nissan got the power and style completely right here. Price was solid too.

Here is my 1sickreview on the Altima SE-R. I really liked it, it tickled me!
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ht=1sickreview

My Review Bias
As many know here, I went through a phase of eating Altimas, Maximas, Infinitis b/c they took my beloved 2GS and just used it over and over. Well hell, it worked for them. As they are moving away from it, I am happy. For instance I think the new Maxima is original and a STUNNER (its on the list of replacements). So behold the irony that my future G/F would meet me for dinner in an 07 Altima. I should have ran away at that point but I didn't.

Engine/Performance
This is a 2.5 S model with the I-4 and 175hp at 5600 RPM. In our times driving the car solo or together and even with a full load, the engine has done a great job with its power. Never did it feel weak or overburdened. Its no rocket of course but it really is a solid engine. No engine problems to report in over 30k miles. The main engine drawback is that its LOUD and course. This will be a reoccuring theme with the car and that it lacks refinement. Not compared to my GS but to its intended competition. The 2.5 weighs a relatively low 3200 lbs so this helps the engine chug the car around.

All Altimas have a CVT transmission. Funny b/c my 450h has a CVT transmission. I went from only driving them in RX loaners to having 2 to drive. The CVT in the Nissan is pretty awesome to me. It really have matched the engine well and it has worked like a gem. CVTs are still weird as they don't shift but she never mentioned it and was pretty unaware it was a CVT when we talked about it. Again the issue is its LOUD and course. I hate to compare it to my car but its clear why one costs substantially more than the other. It does "hold" gears if you put it in sport mode, which means the CVT "simulates" gears and holds them like a manumatic.

Interior and features
The interior is a clear step up from the last generation but a clear step behind the competition. Having driven the Malibu, Camry, Accord its really not even close. The gauges are orange but they have a nice info center in the middle. The controls are very simple to use and all in arms reach. The car has an AUX port for your iphone (Hello my GS doesn't have that Lexus, WTF) and the cupholders have a cover. The armrest has two comparments and its large and the glovebox is large as well. The door pockets have tons of space. There is a sunglasses holder and a huge compartment (where she keeps CDs) at the bottom of the dash.

The car does have the optional push button start (once you get used to it its hard going back to conventional keys) and the doorhandles are pretty similar to my GS. The radio is adequate with the usual "boomy" bass when u put it on level 5. The interior is SPACIOUS, and that is a huge selling point. Even with 5 people in the vehicle, space is ample. The curved roof (no sunroof) helps here. Its roomier than the 3GS even though the cars have similar dimensions. The cloth used is pretty decent quality, soft and again no issues with it. The trunk is big at 15.2 cubes and its well shaped.

Handling/Fun/MPG
Contrary to what marketing tells you and what I've read from some mags/people this is no canyon carver. I find it no more fun than a Camry or Accord in most instances. The one winning point is again, its weight which is pretty low for this class. Quite frankly in some turns and corners it feels ponderous and the 215/60/16 wheels squeel in anger "stop that crap". There is tons of sway and it just isn't "fun". What is "fun" is the AMAZING MPG this vehicle gets. It actually is rated higher than the CAmry and Altima and gets 23 city and 32 highway. We have gotten 35 on the highway easy and driving around 70 MPH. It has a huge tank as well at 20 gallons so we are talking 500 miles between fill ups. If MPG is a concern, you don't want a hybrid and you want a midsize, this is worth a STRONG look.

Quality/Reliablity
Fit and Finish is pretty good. The car has some "flakes" in the paint but it clearly is no 30 step process. The car has been reliable with the only blip a TSB for squeaky brakes that the dealer simply cannot figure out. Sadly this annoys my G/F to no end, she hates the squeaky brakes. The interior has held up well though she and I both take care of it (Nissan will love this returned lease lol).

Exterior
Going to looks, parked side to side with the GSs, its amazing how the Altima really took its cues. They are pretty much the same size so its funny looking at them as this is Nissan's interpretation of the short deck, hood, rounded roof car. Since I do like the theme, I like how it looks. The headlights are big but not overwhelming, the grill has 2 chrome bars up front. The sides have a nice crease that flows through the rear. The big tailights are supposedly inspired by fighter jets. If you liked how the last Maxima looked and don't like the new one, the Altima is pretty much what you want in a design.

Summary
All in all, its been a very good car for her and us with no major complaints. Overall Nissan has done a good job here and its easy to see why its a popular seller. Now that she has had experience with cars built to a higher level of sophistication she is thankful for the Altima and looking forward to what the future brings. Can I recommend the Altima? You bet.

Thanks for reading

Mike

FisforFast

I lol'd at this.

Threxx

The 2002-2006 Altima had an amazingly bad interior both in material and quality. They really stepped it up for 2007, though like you said, it's still a step behind the competition. At least it's livable. The interior noise levels and ride quality have never really done much for me either.

10 years ago I had a 95 Maxima SE 5-speed manual. Killer sound system, great driving experience, semi-luxury, semi-sporty, nice quality. I was stoked about the 2002 Altima when I read about it because to me it was going to be everything my Maxima was but better in every way. Boy did I make a big assumption. I went on a test drive w/ my dad soon after it came out and within 30 seconds I realized it was not the car I thought it was going to be. Hell I even remember on one of the big Nissan news sites I used to frequent they were really hyping up the new Altima and I was checking every few days for new news... then they finally got their hands on one for a first test and I remember being surprised that they didn't seem very excited about it and even mentioned a few quality glitches. It was like months of huge hype followed by a "hmm... yeah it's pretty good". This site was a serious Nissan fanboy site if I've ever seen one so for them to act like this was a pretty ominous sign.

Speaking of MPG... our Aura just got back from a 39.x mpg performance on a road trip! A/C off and 70 mph.

mmarshall

Thanks, Mike. Good write-up.

Which-generation Altima styling are you refering to? The 2007 of your GF's car? The first Altimas, of course, go back to before there even was a GS.



Yes, it debuted in 1993. I haven't seen the 1Gen styling compared to the J30 before (which looked like a big egg in back), but you do have a point. It was indeed a well-built and impressive car.....I was delighted with it, and (almost) traded in my 1990 Mazda Protege for one (I was also delighted with the 1Gen Subaru Impreza that same year, especially in the purple Amythist color, and also considered a trade there). I agree with most of what you say about the excellent 1Gen model except that the nice dash-wide wood-panel strip looked a little too orangish and artificial. Other than that, it was a superb mid-sized sedan.....and, IMO, better than the 2Gen/3Gen versions that followed it, especially after Carlos Ghosn and Renault bought the company.

The 2Gen model was a good (or at least OK) car mechanically but, functionally, drove and felt like the average American-badged mid-size car of the period. It might as well have been a Taurus, Lumina, or Stratus.


The 3Gen, as you indicate, had (arguably) one of the worst interiors in memory......a direct result of Ghosn's cost-cutting. It also traded quality for size/style....although the quality drop actually started, to a lesser extent, with the 1999 2Gen model. Chrysler execs, though with the junk they were hawking at the time (and still do) certainly had no room to laugh. The V6 came about mostly from pressure from the Camry/Accord (the Accord itself had gotten its first V6 only a few years earlier), but Nissan, at the time, made the mistake of including it only on the more firmly-sprung/tired SE model, and, IMO, should have also made it an option on the more comfortable-riding XE/XLE models.

mmarshall

Some of that loudness and coarseness is a result of the CVT itself. Depending on which gear "range" you are in, the Nissan/Subaru 6-"speed" CVTs tend to keep the engive revs up in the peak power bands unless you really featherfoot them.

Does her car have the three center-dash circular gauges, Nissan-Z-car style?
They are one of the newer Altima's nicer options.

KrazyLexus

Nice review Mike. I completely agree as we owned a 2003 and a 2001 model. The 03 was also a 2.5 SL, and got great gas mileage (way surprised). The quality of the interior held well though even after a huge rear end collision by a SUV but it's quality was nothing like the newer ones or other cars in it's class. It was very roomy however and IMHO, quieter than the newer ones with the CVT. Even though we have a 09 Murano and my Z, we are done with Nissan now as many of their products as of late other than the Murano and Maxima the quality just plain sucks.

IS-SV

Nice concise review, without wasted words and internet pictures. Good info, thanks for posting it.

Also as you pointed out, here's another example of a 4 cylinder that doesn't meet the criteria for refinement that many premium car owners demand.

LexFather

Yes, the usual 3 pod dash. Reminiscence of my GS more than anything.

Maxima is on the list to replace possibly. I was shocked at how good the Murano is.

lol, thanks..yeah no stories or jokes this time

teeder27

The Murano is an awesome vehicle. My girlfriend has an 09 LE AWD and absolutely loves it. She's had it since the 09 body style came out and has had zero problems with it in 18,000 miles. I have driven many 03-07's and also her 09 and I can't get enough of them. I'd definately take a look at them when you and your girlfriend are out car shopping. Nissan definatley has a great product with the Murano.

KrazyLexus

We love ours as well. No issues since we had it. And for quality, like i mentioned earlier, it and the Maxima have the best interiors of their line up. But we might be selling ours to get a ES350 soon.