Editor's Rating
With a price tag at par with its midsize rivals from Japanese marques, the Nissan Altima needs more defining features to stand out from the crowd. But with the 3.5 V6 engine plus Xtronic CVT combination ensuring a comfortable ride and delivering power when needed, you won't go wrong with the Altima as a daily driver.
Performance and Driveability
The Altima’s 3.5 liter V6 engine is a monster of a powerhouse, compared with most cars in this part of the world. The lower-end Altima variant is powered by the 2.5 liter QR25DE engine that also powers the X-Trail compact SUV. The 3.5-liter VQ35DE is a carry-over from the Teana, but improvements in the Xtronic CVT supposedly gets you more power and fuel efficiency from Nissan’s latest models.
Zero to 100 Kph acceleration is rated at 6.2 seconds, although the Altima’s CVT is more tuned toward a mix of economy and comfort rather than performance. But floor the pedal, and you’ll hear the V6 engine roaring and delivering the power that you need for overtaking and evasive maneuvers, when necessary. If the usual Drive setting is too tame for you, then you can switch the shifter to “DS” (with “s” presumably standing for sport), and the transmission mimics the traditional non-CVT tranny, offering 7 “steps”, but with nary a shift shock associated with cars using torque converter and even dual-clutch setups. If this is still not enough, then steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters can offer added shifting control. These added tranny controls are features unavailable in the previous-model Teana, which makes the new Altima somewhat sportier.
The Altima approaches cornering with confidence, and this is aided by the car’s active understeer control, which dynamically adjusts braking in the inner front wheel to counteract potential understeer or oversteer when the car’s computer detects some slippage, thereby resulting in a more precise drive. This can be turned off with a button, if you want to attempt nudging the car into a skid for some reason. Don’t expect the Altima to perform as well in corners as other sedans more capable of being thrown around, however. In my opinion, the Honda Accord performs better in these situations. Again, the Altima is tuned more for comfort rather than performance. But that doesn’t mean you cannot take it out for some occasional spirited driving when the need (or desire) arises.
In terms of fuel economy, I got an average of 5.5 Km per liter in mixed city plus highway driving situations. The car can theoretically get 10-11 Km per liter in purely highway driving, but I was unable to achieve this figure. The 2.5 liter inline-4 variant is more frugal, of course, although performance will not be as smooth as the V6.
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