So far nothing went wrong with the car. The car is absolute gem.
The Altima competes with the likes of Accord, Camry and Mazda6.
Buy an Altima if you are mainly looking for:
1) Driving dynamics, it has the sportiest handling in its segment.
2) Looks, it looks much sportier than the Accord and Camry.
3) Sheer acceleration, the Altima is a dream while accelerating from 0-60mph! No other car can come even near its performance.
4) Minimum body roll, it gives a sense of confidence while taking high speed turns!
5) Leg room, the Altima has the best leg room compared to the Accord and Mazda!
Don't buy this car if your main criteria is:
1) High mileage, though my Altima does give me 32mpg on highway.
2) Sheer comfort, Camry has the softest suspension, hence provides most comfort ride.
3) Even the slightest wind/engine noise bothers you. The Altima though is very quiet, but strong winds and while accelerating does produce a little noise.
4) Interior dash layout is not the best (Accord has best the interior).
That was a nice set of pro's and con's. How about dropping some actual figures?
@Above guy:
What numbers do you want? (I am the writer of original review). Till now I have completed nearly 10K miles since I bought it in Jan 2009. So far absolutely no problems at all.
- Car gives around 20/31 gas mileage.
- Tank is 19 gallons in size, pretty good for 500+ miles highway journey.
- 0-60 about mid 7 seconds. (Accord & Camry runs into mid 8 seconds range).
- Very stable even in strong winds in highway journeys.
- Excellent AC, cools the whole car in matter of 1-2 minutes! Good for places where summers are really bad... like Kansas City :)
- Lower center of gravity, providing minimum body roll on high speed turns. And car tires grip the road and never let it go. (unlike Pontiac G6 whose stock rear tires skid/drift; good fun but dangerous when it rains).
Runs smoothly, I have driven 2009 Accord and Camry (my friend's) and so far I really like Altima's acceleration. Of course both Accord and Camry are quieter inside (only by a small margin).
Bottom line, it is a very good reliable car for those who want practicality of family sedan, but also a little fun in driving dynamics.
I have driven all of the cars mentioned also. I wouldn't buy a Camry... and the other two are just too small for a family car.
The Toyota Camry is an OK car but lots of NHV (noise, harshness and vibration), and also the Toyota's steering has no feeling to it. I personally like comfort over sport so you won't see me in any of the smaller cars.
One thing about the Nissan's speed - 270 hp V6... enough said :-) Although my Chevy Impala with 211hp is plenty fast and gets better MPG, with more interior space and a more comfortable ride. So don't eliminate newer American cars out of your search, because they are not the same as they were in the 1990s.
As for my Impala's fuel mileage claim: 23 city, 29-30s highway, and it averages about 27mpg mix city/hwy driving.
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