Recently I had the chance to drive the 2007 Nissan Altima S for the day. When given the choice at the rental car counter between a Ford Taurus, Chevy Impala, Pontiac Grand Prix or a brand new 2007 Nissan Altima, I immediately jumped at the chance to drive Nissan's popular mid-size sedan. With the ever-increasing gas prices, more economical sedans are becoming increasingly popular. The version I was given was a 2007 Altima S, which is the base 4-cylinder.
This 2007 Nissan Altima is the fourth-generation of the mid-sized sedan. It wasn't until the third-generation that the car finally registered on car buyers' shopping lists. This new model is more of an evoultion of the previous model.
The new Altima has much better styling than the previous generation. In my opinion the new exterior styling is a lot better than the overly popular Toyota Camry or Honda Accord (The Altima's main competition). Of course I had the S version with wheel-covers. The higher-priced V6 models look even better. The stylish exterior carries over into the interior as well.
I liked the overall design of the interior, even though some of the plastic bits looked cheap and it did feel a little bare. I loved the fact that it had the push-button start system. My main gripe with the interior had to do with the stereo. I was very surprised at the placement of the aux plug. It is right in the middle of the stereo and above the climate control section. It seems that the wire would get in the way while driving and not to mention the fact that the exposed wires would look ugly. I was also surprised at the fact that the stereo only had a single CD player. I drove a Corolla LE a few days earlier this year and it had a six-disc CD player. I was also frustrated that the stereo didn't have a knob to quickly flip through stations. It only had a seek button, which was frustrating during traffic.
The Altima I tested was equipped with the 2.5L 4-cylinder that was good for 175 hp and 180 lb.-ft of torque. It was mated to the Xtronic CVT transmission. This is the same engine in the last generation, it was just more refined for the new model. Nissan admits that there are over 100 new parts in the 07' engine. For some reason I expected more from the engine. Under normal driving conditions above 2000 rpms the engine was more than adequate. I just noticed that around town the CVT liked to keep the rpms below 2000 and at that point it was apparent that there was a severe lack of torque. I had to floor it more than I would have liked. The car did average 26.1 mpg which was a combination of city and freeway driving. The transmission also had the "manual mode" which did not help with overall acceleration, so I stopped using it after about five minutes. I was disappointed that the car would still shift for you, even in this mode when you reached its rpm peak. It was a pretty useless mechanism and I would have rather seen the money for that used on a better stereo or higher quality materials.
The overall driving feel of the car felt very Accord-like. The driving position reminded me a lot of the Accord that I drove last year. Even though I do like the engine in the Accord a lot better than the Altima. The Altima's engine made interesting sounds that I would not label as "refined". The CVT transmission also took time to get used to, since it sounds like the transmission is slipping the whole time.
Overall I do see why people buy this car. If I was in the market for a mid-sized sedan that started in the low $20k range this would be near the top of my list. The Altima gets good fuel economy, has a spacious interior and better styling than its competitors. It will be interesting to see a comparison of this against the new 2008 Honda Accord.
Comments (7)
Keep in mind you drove the base package as in the lowest model avail. 6 disc cd is available on higher trims and in packages.
"I was also frustrated that the stereo didn't have a knob to quickly flip through stations" As seen in the 4th picture the tune button is located opposite to the seek button.
"I was disappointed that the car would still shift for you, even in this mode when you reached its rpm peak."
Most cars are programed to due so to prevent uneducated drivers from burning out the engines.
"I just noticed that around town the CVT liked to keep the RPM's below 2000 and at that point it was apparent that there was a severe lack of torque. I had to floor it more than I would have liked."
This is the typical behavior of a CVT transmission. It is meant to keep the rev's steady while the speed increases therefore giving better gas millage.
It seems for the features you want you better off driving the 6speed 3.5SE version.
Posted by Ceddy | May 3, 2007 10:07 AM
Posted on May 3, 2007 10:07
If you think that the Altima 4 cyl CVT has poor acceleration then you certainly do not want the Camry 4 cyl with automatic. I recently test drove both and there was quite a difference in acceleration. Maybe the California ones are a bit different than those for the Great White North. My wife chose the Altima for the acceleration - over the Camry. I am still driving some big old American iron with twice the cyl, probably twice the weight and about the same HP. And half the gas mileage or worse!!!! We are sitting at about $4.40 a US gallon right now. I have not driven the Altima enough to know what mileage we are getting but I like it too. I liked most of the Nissans that we tried as they had more leg room than the Toyotas in the same class. I am 6'4" and had no trouble getting into the Versa, Sentra or Altima. I could not get into the Matrix, the Yaris and Corolla were barely JUST ok - no long trips. Maybe my Chevy has spoiled me.
Posted by BG | May 4, 2007 4:39 PM
Posted on May 4, 2007 16:39
I bought my Nissan Murano in 04 because of the CVT (new technology). I've always liked seeing some kind of progress in the automotive industry - which has been very stangnant.
It's good to see Nissan putting CVTs in all their models. They are way more efficient and transfer more torque directly to the wheels than conventional automatic transmissions. The Murano was Nissan's best selling car last year. It's a 4000lb Midsize SUV / Crossover that gets 27mpg on the freeway and 21 in the city... 0-60 in less than 7secs. It's a smarter car... smarter engineering.
What I'd like to see is a roadster with the same Murano powertrain but half the weight. That will kick some arse!
Go Nissan!
Posted by Bryan | May 29, 2007 7:42 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 19:42
I bought my Nissan Murano in 04 because of the CVT (new technology). I've always liked seeing some kind of progress in the automotive industry - which has been very stangnant.
It's good to see Nissan putting CVTs in all their models. They are way more efficient and transfer more torque directly to the wheels than conventional automatic transmissions. The Murano was Nissan's best selling car last year. It's a 4000lb Midsize SUV / Crossover that gets 27mpg on the freeway and 21 in the city... 0-60 in less than 7secs. It's a smarter car... smarter engineering.
What I'd like to see is a roadster with the same Murano powertrain but half the weight. That will kick some arse!
Go Nissan!
Posted by Bryan | May 29, 2007 7:43 PM
Posted on May 29, 2007 19:43
I just purchased a 2007 Nissan Altima 3.5L SE. I traded in my 2003 Ford Mustang GT - so I'm no stranger to HP and torque.
So far I've been completely blown away by the performance of my Altima. At 270 HP it could easily hang with my 260 HP Mustang off the line and even into the 1/4 mile. There's torque off the line that will put you back in your seat. The SE has the larger wheels and stiffer suspension and springs so (even with 4 doors) it handles nearly as well as the tiny two door Mustang - and maybe even better. I haven't tested the limits of it's handling capabilities just yet the way I did my Mustang.
In two words I'd call the 2007 Altima 3.5 SE "sophisticated muscle". Whereas the Mustang was just muscle...I can't say enough about it. The keyless entry and start - the CVT trans, the interior and exterior styling, the handling...amazing car man.
Posted by Chuck | November 27, 2007 3:21 PM
Posted on November 27, 2007 15:21
Poorly written article.
Posted by Dave | March 8, 2008 2:48 PM
Posted on March 8, 2008 14:48
Altima is pathatic, that's all i would like to say
Posted by dodge | April 16, 2008 1:24 AM
Posted on April 16, 2008 01:24