Nissan Altima SE
God only knows what's going on in Nissan's design studios these
days. The old Altima was a gorgeous car that bucked the wedgy trend
that was strangling the sedan class; it was rounded, interesting, and
quite possibly the best-looking car at the price.
Nissan's Jerry Hirshberg says that the new car's grown up, gone to
school; what that unfortunately means is that now it looks like
almost every other mid-sized, mid-priced sedan on the market.
Not that the look's unpleasant, mind you: the front is
particularly attractive, with a chrome or body-colored bar (depending
on trim level) bisecting the headlights and grille. From the creases
in its trunk to the judicious application of trim bits, its details
are flawless. But most of the car's roundness is gone, along with a
lot of its charm.
Thankfully, the mechanical bits here are as charming as ever. The
2.4-liter four cylinder engine, which produces 150 horsepower, is
stronger than a lot of the class' four-cylinder units, and emits a
very pleasant growl when pushed. It's also remarkably smooth for such
a big engine, and quiet enough that you might try to start it when
it's already running.
My SE-grade test car hooked the engine up to a smooth-shifting and
intelligent four-speed automatic that was always in the right gear. A
five-speed manual is standard, and at least for me, would be the
preferred transmission&emdash;Nissan's manuals are among the best in
the business, and the automatic denies you access to some of the
engine's performance potential.
The rest of the Altima's running gear is up to a similar standard.
It corners flatly and confidently, with a surprising amount of grip
from the 15-inch Firestone Affinity tires; they're quiet on the
highway and very competent through the twisties. SE trim includes a
sport-tuned suspension, but you wouldn't be able to tell if not told:
the ride is excellent, upset only by the most uneven of uneven
surfaces. Stopping distances from the brakes are a little longish,
but pedal feel is excellent, which helps you make the most of them.
Inside, some clever recycling of Sentra bits has helped cut costs
without dulling the ambience. Items shared include the turn-signal
and wiper stalks (the wiper bit is the only cheap-feeling part in the
whole car) as well as door handles, power-window switches, vent
registers, and the pull-up handles that lower the rear seatbacks.
For the most part, everything is where it should be here: the
climate controls are big and simple, and the radio is similarly
useful; my test car was equipped with an optional CD/tape system that
produced phenomenal sound. The only ergonomic quibbles here are some
poorly-placed secondary controls: the hazard, rear-defogger and
cruise control switches seem to have been placed as an afterthought.
Upholstered in leather like the $27,898 SE that I drove, the
Altima makes a surprisingly good luxury car as well. The interior
plastics are rich and finely grained, and the seats are supremely
comfortable. Fake-wood trim is standard on GXE and GLE models, but
it's the best fake wood I've ever seen. (Trim in the SE is a much
more tasteful black.) It's roomier than most entry-level luxury cars
like the BMW 318i and Mercedes C230, and thousands cheaper as well.
Granted, you don't get the rear-wheel drive fun, or the
hard-to-put-a-price-on cachet of those other cars, but the driving
experience of the Altima leaves very little to be desired; it's a
testament to the Altima's essential goodness that their ad agency can
poke fun at those two models without the general public collapsing in
laughter.
If only it looked as good as it used to.