Nissan Altima Hybrid Test Drive - Give us Your Report!
Now that they're starting to hit the lots, this is the place to give us your test drive review of the Altima hybrid!
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Rob :shades:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070216/FREE/70214003/1004/T- HISWEEKSISSUE
I'm not sure if the actual magazine has more information, but if anybody out there has more experiences to share, lets get them on this thread.
Power & CVT performance:
Civic - Drag (loud/noisy), Camry - reasonable (noisy), Prius - Better(less noisy), Altima - Pretty good (least noisy).
Drive feel/Handling: Civic - Sporty (but bumpy), Prius – confident/smooth, Camry - confident/smooth, Altima - smooth (just a hint of stiffness) & not as confident as the Camry, but very quiet ride.
Interior (fit/finish/feel): Civic – bright/loud, more for the younger crowd, Camry – functional, but almost a bit gaudy, Prius - Space age but with a hint of
conservatism, Altima - quite acceptable (just a hind of
flashiness).
In conclusion, Altima does feel that you are driving a normal car, while others don't. Civic was a bit disappointing.
Has anyone come across this before, because I'm 99% certain this is BS. Especially coming from a salesperson that vehemently denied that the hybrid system was of Toyota origin.
Also, have any of the Altima Hybrids the rest of you have driven been fully equipped? Everyone I've seen has been a base model with cloth and little or no options. I'm curious if more nicely equipped vehicles are available on the market.
Thanks,
Harris
I'de be worried to see if it get's the normal growing pains or if it has it's own Nissan set of Problems........ Only time will tell.
Thanks for the opportunity to voice.
not sure which frame is "better" but i know the altima's frame is improved and stiffer
the 2007 altima interior is much better then the previous generations. quite frankly, i sat in the camry hybrid and felt it to be very cheap inside. things didn't have the "right feel" (very subjective) and i was in a camry hybrid with leather and the works. i just feel the altima's black leather/chrome feels more expensive (but again, very subjective)
Toyota Camry Hybrid:
Well, we arrived at the Toyota Dealership (I'm not saying it was or was NOT in Cerritos, CA), and we were immediately swarmed by a Salesman upon stepping out of the car. He very blatantly asked, "So, you're going to buy car from me today, right?" And I very blatantly told him, "NO!" I told him that I would like to test drive a Camry Hybrid. After this he was conveniently, paged...and I never saw his face again. Then another salesman pointed us in the direction of a Camry Hybrid on the lot. It was a stripped version...Black w/Cloth Tan Interior. I explained that I would like to drive one with a Leather Interior, and a Moon Roof. He then wondered off leaving us on the lot for about 10 minutes. Fed up, we walked across the street to the Nissan Dealer...we did end up driving a Camry Hybrid, but I'll get back to that later
Nissan Altima Hybrid:
So this was my second test drive of the Altima Hybrid, and my wife's first. This particular dealer had one with a connection package. It was Red w/Black leather interior. First things first, the salesman (Ernie), was very nice. He showed us what was under the hood, and popped the trunk. Upon looking under the hood, I immediately realized that long term maintenance on this car would be extremely difficult. Yes, I know you are not supposed to do ANYTHING to a hybrid yourself, but I'm guessing that's going to change over the course of 10 years of ownership...after all I don't want to be shelling out $200 for an oil change, when I could do it myself for $20 with Synthetic Oil and a High Performance Filter. For the life of me, I could not locate the dang oil filter under the hood. I got down on one knee and couldn't see it from immediately under the car either. The salesman theorized on its location, but couldn't find it either. Bottom line, there is a lot of stuff crammed up under the hood, and it would be difficult to maintain. On a positive note, I did notice a lot of metal components under the hood. This was very nice to see when most of the American Automakers are going to plastics and rubbers to save cost.
My wife asked the salesman a series of questions regarding the safety of the key FOB device. If you are sitting in the car with the doors locked, and a person (i.e. car theft or other criminal) approaches the car from the outside, the automatic unlock/lock button located on the door handle gets disabled, so the criminal wouldn’t be able to just walk up to your car and open the door, even though the key FOB is within range. The car is smart enough to know when the key FOB is inside the car, so it won’t let you lock your keys in the car, either. If your key FOB battery dies, you are screwed. Since, the key FOB is responsible for telling the computer that you are in the car, if the battery dies, it can’t tell the computer, and you, consequently, can’t start the car. You’ll have to have someone bring you a spare, and take the dead one back to Nissan for replacement.
Now, on to the test drive. This was my second time driving the car, and I must say, I was more impressed the second time around. During my first test drive, I noticed some jerkiness when the ICE engaged. None of that happened this second time around. ICE engagement was very smooth. The car handles very well, and I attribute that to the drive-by-wire steering on the Hybrid. You point the car in the direction you want to go, and there is no hesitation, the car just goes in that direction. I was able to take the car through a mini slalom course – a couple of tight hard turns, and was super impressed with the grip and the handling. I noticed that the Nissan was quick to engage the EV Only Mode when cruising when compared to the Toyota. This must be something Nissan did with the software because I could not get the Toyota to switch into EV Only Mode when cruising at all. This will save you on gas in the long run, especially if you do a lot of city driving at 45-55 mph, or even on a highway (when it’s moving). Now, if the city could only time the dang lights back to the test drive. We pulled into an empty parking lot, where I attempted to fake parallel park the car, before my wife took over for her part of the test drive. Since, she was driving it gave me a chance to start playing with all the gadgets. The Nissan Altima Hybrid has Dual Climate Control – great for those of us who are married. My wife is always cold, I’m always hot, and so this works perfect. The Bose Stereo System was quite impressive. Although, I didn’t have the guts to turn it up loud enough to drown out my wife’s singing, I tried. It was crystal clear sound with a great deep bass, and clear treble – just what Bose is known for. After the test drive, I wanted to check out the trunk again. Upon careful inspection, I determined that I think it could fit possibly 2 suit cases, and 2 golf bags, but that depends on the size of your suitcases. The trunk is very tall but not very deep. It would be a challenge, but I think it could be done.
Toyota Camry Hybrid:
Well, it was back to the Toyota Dealership where things didn’t get much better. We ended up with a super Arrogant “Toyota is the best, why would you even consider buying anything else salesman.” So let me comment here, I’m a little arrogant, and gross arrogance gets people in trouble, and if this is common to how Toyota is doing business, they will not be on top for long. GM, Boeing arrogance got the better of these companies.
After another 30 minute wait or so, we finally got to test drive a shiny Toyota Camry Hybrid that the salesman brought down from the garage. It was Red w/Tan Leather, and it was loaded. The Nav didn’t work because there was no DVD in the system, which was a little disheartening, as I wanted to play with the cool toys. The salesman was just wrong on many points he tried to make, including by saying that the Camry didn’t have a CVT because CVTs are poorly engineered and have problems with low-end torque and long term maintenance. He said that the Camry Hybrid that we were driving had a 6-Speed AT. WRONG! CVTs are actually a much simpler design than geared automatic trans, and will most likely be easier to maintain. The salesman really should have asked what I did for a living, because maybe he wouldn’t have said such foolish things if he knew I was an engineer.
Anyways, trying to subtract the horrible experience with the sales guy, and actually evaluate the car is a challenge. The car drove fine. I would compare it to a Buick handling. Its not sporty, and it kind of sloshes through the turns. The sales guy was careful to not put this to the test by taking us down the “mini-slalom” I described earlier. Mostly parking lots and city streets for this car.
Conclusion:
Both my wife and I liked the Altima better than the Camry. I thought it drove better, had better performance, better acceleration, and I liked the driving position better in the Altima. The trunk in the Camry takes advantage of the space available better than the Altima (even though the Altima, technically has a bigger trunk). The cars are very close in overall creature comfort. You will like the Altima if you are looking for something a little sportier. You will like the Camry if you are looking for something a little more conservative. For me, the Camry was going to have to be in a league of its own to justify the now, $650 Federal Tax Credit, and the higher sticker price. The Altima has a $2300 Federal Tax Credit, and a lower sticker price when comparably equipped. Soon, I will most likely be the proud owner of a new Nissan Altima Hybrid. I hope this review can help others in making their decisions. Thanks
:shades:
In regard to the "hybrid tax credit" -
Don't be fuelish and base ANY PART of your decision on the tax credit.
MANY MANY people did not get the full credit for the 2006 tax year based on their personal tax situation.
I'm not the one to say either way for YOU, but you must, as a proper planner, take into account the possibility that you would get ZERO tax benefit from either car.
You might get $650 for the Altima, or zero.
Look around at some of the hybrid forums for more information.
I'm not sure about this, but I think the oil filter can be accessed if you took off the front passenger wheel. that's where it was for my sentra that had "almost" the same engine.
I myself am a very satisfied owner of a Toyota Camry Hybrid but, being honest, if the Altima Hybrid was available when I purchased my last car (I bought in September 2006), there is at least half a chance that I would have traveled to Pennsylvania and purchased one.
Also, my apologies for the terrible Toyota dealership. Again being honest, if my Toyota dealer was as rude and misinformed as yours was, I probably would have waited and bought an Altima Hybrid regardless. Black on black with the Technology Package.
Just a quibble a bit with you -- and forgive me but honestly it is only a small quibble -- but although I agree that the Altima has better handling than the Camry Hybrid (at least the non-hybrid Altimas do), I actually think the Camry Hybrid isn't half bad. Trust me, I hate the "neo-Buick" ride of most Toyotas -- and because of that, am still a little surprised at myself for even looking at the Camry Hybrid -- but I honestly think the extra weight of the battery in the Camry Hybrid plants and balances the car much better. Again, not up to Altima standards but definitely much better than most Toyotas. If your test drive was that bad, perhaps you just got a bad car.
Also, I am curious about your gas mileage. The one very surprising thing that a recent issue of Car and Driver magazine mentioned with the Altima Hybrid was surprisingly bad gas mileage. Although they took it on the test track, they (and I) expected better mileage than something in the mid-20's. (And note that in fairness to Car and Driver magazine, they said they took it on the test track in addition to "regular" driving, not that the only thing they did was take on the track.)
For the record, through all types of weather and with many short trips (my daily commute is only three miles to and from the train station), I am averaging about 38mpg. I am honestly curious as to what your real world mileage will be.
langjie - Exactly. Thanks. What a weird place to put an oil filter!
newcars - I don't own one yet, but thanks for the pre-congratulations. Its all about personal preference. Having not driven other Toyota's other than Tundra, I can't comment on how bad the handling was on the Camry Hybrid compared to the other sedans. I just don't feel like it was as good as the Altima. That Car and Driver is full of Shnikey. There is no way that under normal driving conditions you would ever get that poor of gas mileage. I read that article. It was trash. The journalist writing the article was not being objective. He published a Test-Track Mileage of 23 mpg on a Hybrid! What an idiot! In my test drive, I was consistantly getting the vehicle to switch over to EV Only Mode while cruising. That means gas mileage off the freakin' charts...and I'm not a very conservative driver. Shame on you Car and Driver!
http://www.caranddriver.com/shortroadtests/12545/2007-nissan-altima-hybrid.html
Handling was pretty good with good feel as well. I didn't want to overcook it as the roads were wet with snow and ice on the shoulders. The roads here are in terrible shape with deep potholes everywhere after an unusually rapid and frequent freeze-thaw cycle winter. This was not a problem for this car - it didn't "vibrate" going through them, didn't waver, and was fairly quiet when it went over the potholes. Nice to have 16" wheels.
I was amused with Nissan's way of displaying info Toyota uses the MFD for (Prius). A "tachometer like" power gauge (in the place on the dash where you would expect to find a tach), with a separate horizontal bar graph indicating current dynamic mileage and a SOC meter as well. I didn't see any indication of cumulative mileage. The power gauge also shows brake regen., by moving the needle counterclockwise. So clockwise is power out of the system, and counterclockwise is power back in. It doesn't show the energy the ICE puts into the battery as far as I could tell except the SOC meter slowly moves up.
I wondered if the car might be a little "gutless" but it seemed just fine in the city. The ICE is Nissan's 2.5 L four, tuned for the Atkinson cycle, so it puts out a lot less HP than the Altima 2.5S engine. The electric motor/generator compensates well for this loss of HP.
I couldn't feel the car transition from regen braking to hydraulic braking. Nicely done, Nissan. In fact, the car was very smooth in everything I asked it to do.
About two blocks before I returned to the dealership, the SOC and temps were high enough the ICE started to shut down from time to time. It wasn't a long test drive - about 4 km and 15 min.
All in all, quite nice. The car sells for about $32,000 Can., $36,000 including all taxes (reg. and licence are always separate and the owners responsibility in Canada and amount to less than $200). The Hybrid Altima is aimed at being competition for the Camry, and an equivalent Camry is about $3000 more. In fact, even the Prius, with equivalent equipment, is about $2000 more.
If you don't want people to know you're driving a hybrid, this is one good choise along with the Camry and Civic. It looks the same as all the thousands of "normal" Altimas on the road, except it has a rear spoiler. Curiously, the Hybrid Altima is a little higher than the "normal" version. I couldn't figure out why. Perhaps because of the slightly higher weight, Nissan put in a slightly taller suspention.
They're making my decision more difficult - Pruis, Civic Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, or Altima Hybrid!
happy_hybrid1 and newcars: go to www.fueleconomy.com to get real world mpg ratings NAH is at about 34 avg with 2 people posting their mileage
It would be nice to find out for sure.
i'm not sure what they did, i do know that nissan had to redesign the engine a bit to fit in the electric motor.
i'm not sure if it's an atkinson cycle engine though
I'm pretty sure it's an atkinson cycle. It's lower HP and more fuel efficient. Basically what the atkinson cycle does is change the valve timing. That raises the effective compression ratio. The idea is to -completely- burn the fuel, even if it means a loss of power. The otto cycle (what we normally see in an ICE) is optimized for power out. This tends to waste some fuel (which burns in the exhaust manifold and the cat).
A friend used to own a Sentra Spec V. When I told him about the test drive and how easy it was to save fuel while driving, he commented "good to see they didn't use the 2.5L engine, as it was a fuel gobbler". I guess it's amazing what can be done with that engine. BTW, you don't want to be running that engine at really high RPM. The counterbalancer system has a reputation of failing with that kind of abuse. Those racing the Spec V remove the counterbalancer system so it will not fail on the track. I'm pretty sure this doesn't apply to the hybrid though. It runs the engine up to about 5500-6000 RPM. A safe area.
On the mpg issue, the reports that I am seeing everywhere BUT Car and Driver is the 35-37 mpg is what you can expect.
I searched the inventory for San Diego, Riverside and Orange Counties and only found one vehicle with tech package. All the rest were the basic model. Our local dealer could not find one in the color we want enroute as well. So it looks like we will have to order one.
I am glad I did. Contrary to some of the magazine reviews, I felt that there was a significant driving performance difference. The Altima felt much more peppy. I understand that the Camry can also accelerate almost as quickly but you need to really step down hard on the accelerator.
In terms of interior design, I found the two to be comparable although different. I read reviews that gave Camry the edge but I actually felt the Altima had marginally better material feel. I am not going to comment on the exterior design as I think that is purely personal preference.
If you are interested in either hybrid, I highly encourage you to try them both out first.
You have to make those trade offs your self But the drive train and the suspension and the feel and In my opinion the stats I have read from many user post favor the Altma by all most 2 mpg.
It turns out, the vehicle wasn't put in the computer inventory so that it wouldn't be seen by the other dealers. They wanted to sell it themselves.
After 3 days, both my wife and I are ecstatic. We are switching from a 99 Acura RL. The only things that we are missing is the much smoother ride and driver's seat memory (I am 6"2" and she is 5"2"). Otherwise we like the car a lot. She loves the bluetooth phone connection and was actually able to use the nav system to find a restaurant for a breakfast meeting when she got to the neighborhood where she knew it was but wasn't sure of the exact location. This without hardly any playing around with it before hand (I thought I would be the only one using the nav!
I, of course, liked the challenge of maximizing EV mode. I was able to drive to from the grocery store 3 blocks away with almost no gas engine.
The best part is the my style conscious wife does like both the exterior and interior look.
Trying to push my parents into one of these.
I agree with all of the good things owners have said about performance, handling, general quality, but I feel that the gas engine is unusually rough at low speed. I really like the low gear braking on the cvt. If you look ahead while driving, the low gear allows you to use the hydraulic brakes very little and to maximize battery recharge.
I have a minor gripe about instruments. Who needs a speedometer with 160 mph, especially since some of that space could have been given to a tachometer even in the base model which I have. It has been more than 20 years since I have bought a car without a tach. I understand that high-option models have a tach in the nav screen, but a car of this cost and competence should have a tach in all models.
About the tach, I would like to install one, but I need access to the engine control module. Does anyone know where the ecu is and how to get at it?
Edmunds needs to update its description of the features of this car. Edmunds continues to repeat Nissan's earlier promise that base models have a power drivers seat. This falsehood was on Nissan's web site in April when I bought my car at long distance, relying on Nissan's description. After I complained to Nissan, Nissan said that their web site had a disclaimer of accuracy. Sometime in May, Nissan finally revised its web site, but Edmunds still has this false info.
Despite my irritation over the power seat and my disappointment about the lack of a tach, I would definitely buy this car again. joha
I've been averaging just over 39 mpg for the first 1,000 miles.
I asked also about whether the computer on other Altima hybrids runs the engine to keep the battery at 75-80% almost all of the time, as mine does. Is my experience typical or not? Thanks.
when i drive, and the battery level is high, it will keep it in EV mode longer then when the battery level is low, but you still need to baby the throttle in order to do this. i would say after i drop to about 50% on the gauge, the engine will turn on a lot more frequently
I am definitely going to buy an Altima Hybrid this week, but now I need to figure out how I want it equipped.
I also have 2 questions about the car:
1) Has anyone had any problems with the keyless ignition system?
2) What do you do if the car is left parked for a while and will not start?
Thanks.
1. i haven't, but i heard of some people who have. Nissan is developing a new key to fix a problem that keys have when they are right next toe a cell phone
2. i think they have directions. i think you can charge the battery, but read the manual if this ever happens. there's free 3 year/36,000 roadside assistance on all new Nissan's
No Fog lights Bad
No Led tails BAD
No HID head lights BAD
Rear View Camera GOOD
Auto up down Passenger GOOD
MP3 Player GOOD
6 disk CD Changer Good
XM SAT Receiver Good
No PLUG Both BAD
Price - this is sort of a funning thing. A stripped NAH is being offered on the market (California) comes out cheaper than the TCH. The fully loaded NAH (with the technology package) comes out more than the TCH. The list price for both are pretty close when comparably equipped. My suspicion for most people is that they will get a better price, be it a NAH or TCH, based on the demand and supply of the models in their local markets. The NAH has the tax credit for those who can use it and that can be material to the cost consideration.
Handling - I was rather surprised how much better the NAH handled given that both are family cars and share the same hybrid system. The Altima feels like it is quicker (not sure if it really is) and more stable in turns. These are family sedans so do not expect performance car handling from either.
Styling - this is largely personal preference.
Ride comfort - I was primarily concerned about quietness as bumpy roads don't bother me as much. I had a hard time comparing the two cars as I did not drive identical roads. The TCH and Camry have uniformly been praised for being quiet. I thought the TCH was more quiet. The NAH did not seem overly loud however and I found the NAH's speed sensitive radio to compensate for any noise.
Conclusion - as I mentioned, I would have been fine with either the TCH or NAH. I choose the NAH.
I had a question for the car experts. I haven't read my manual yet but does anyone know when the blue light comes on on top of the battery gauge- what does that mean? It would come on sometimes and then go away. I don't know if this is supposed to be telling me something (something wrong?) or is this not supposed to be happening at all? I think it has to do with the battery status but not sure why it keeps coming on and off. Thanks.
i don't use cruise control because i think that it uses more power than what i can with my foot. try it out and let me know...just keep your eye on the power meter
We went to a local auto mall with the full intention of working our way down the manufacturers' hybrid offerings. Just to be fair, we tried to get a second drive in the Escape. The salesman wasn't interested, and tried to steer us to an Explorer (thanks for listening..no sale). Then we went to Honda. The Civic was too tight (I'm over 6 feet tall). The door actually hit my shoulder and bounced off when I first tried to close it. No sale. We tried the Accord, and while not disappointed, it just didn't do much for us. Very vanilla car. Toyota came next. We ignored the Highlander (40K for a mid-sized SUV seems a bit excessive), and tried the Camry. Again. Nice car, but the entire car, including the "feel" of the thing, was beige. We have many friends with Priuses (or is that Prii?) and have driven them quite a bit, so no need for a test drive there. So far, of all the cars, the Camry seemed closest to what we wanted. If we could only find something a little sportier...what to do, what to do.....
Nissan was next in line. We'd heard they'd just come out with a new Hybrid, but hadn't seen it and new virtually nothing about it (the internet mentioned Altimas, but there was very little information about the hybrid, including on Nissan's own website). We walked up to the door of the dealership (North Bay Nissan in Petaluma, California) and were greeted warmly by a salesman. When we told him what we wanted, he said, "Wait a sec...I'll get the keys". We very clearly told him we were just comparison shopping and were NOT going to buy a car. No worries. His attitude changed not one bit.
Our salesman walked us out to the Altimas and said, "Here they are." He immediately began demonstration the keyless entry system, and got us into the car. Immediately, it felt right. Everything logically laid out, easy to understand, intuitive. Everything well made. Everything what you'd expect to get in a Japanese car. The salesman continued to tell us about the car, getting only a minor fact here or there wrong (and those facts were about competitors' cars..he's forgiven). After looking under the hood and recognizing very little of what we saw, we went for a test drive.
Having experienced the casual acceleration and benign handling of the other hybrids, I fully expected the Altima to be yet another unimpressive car, performance-wise. I was wrong. The car accelerates like a V-6, and handles VERY well (maybe not Maserati quality, but pretty darned good for a 4-door sedan). Braking is sure and smooth, and the car corners with authority. Acceleration from 60 to 80 is truly excellent, but gas mileage goes out the window (or where every it goes when it disappears).
After a short drive, we returned to the lot. Our salesman then said, "Why not sit in one of the fully-loaded models that's not a hybrid, but the fully-loaded hybrid will be just like this, when they come in?" We sat in the leather-wrapped interior, listening to the Bose stereo, and watching the XM traffic radio do its job, showing congestion on a nearby freeway. We were sold. We put our money down.
We received our new hybrid in mid-June 07. Again, though the car was sold, the same salesman stepped us through the systems and things to look out for. Though he could have been spending time with new customers, he took the better part of an hour to get us comfortable in our new car. We have, since then, been driving the heck out of the car.
Our early gas mileage wasn't very good. This is due partially to the fact that the engine hadn't broken in yet, and partially due to the fact that we hadn't learned how to drive a hybrid (like you have an egg between your foot and the gas pedal). At time has progressed, our highway mileage has nailed the EPA estimate of 36 MPG. Our city mileage is getting better, but currently hovers in the low 30's, well below the 46 MPG EPA estimate. No worries. It's a lot better than the full-sized SUV we just sold.
Unlike other hybrids, the Altima is truly fun to drive for a leadfoot like me, as well as ecologically-responsible for people like my green-oriented wife. There is a VERY slight shudder when the gas engine kicks in (either due to a too heavy foot, or for the careful, at about 30 to 40 MPH) but once you get used to it, you don't even notice it. The other oddity is the total silence at red lights. Except for various whirrings in various parts of the vehicle (cooling fans?) the car is silent, waiting patiently for its next command from your foot.
The body style, new for 2007 is a great-looking design, and is very rigid. No squeeks, rattles, or odd noises. At speed the car is as quiet as my friend's Lexus, and freeway performance is VERY good. All controls are at your fingertips, including steering wheel controls for radio, NAV system, blue tooth phone connections, and voice commands.
We got the full "technology" package. The Altima basically comes in three flavors. Base-model (almost impossible to find), convenience package (various nice bits and pieces), and the top of the line Technology package, which includes Bose stereo, as I mentioned, a sun roof, XM, steering-wheel-mounted controls, NAV system, rear-view mirror that self-dims for bright following headlights, and on and on. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the tech package!
This car is what I would call the "2nd Generation" hybrid vehicle. It is a car that addresses many Americans' need for sexy, performing steel, and yet gives a nod to the environment. Early hybrids, like the Prius (remember the original, boxy little things?) were low-performing, reasonably ugly little things, that had a total focus of gas mileage. The newer hybrids (did you know Porsche is about to come out with a hybrid SUV?) are aimed squarly at people who want green, but not too much of it.
Don't get me wrong. This car is not a "greenwash" car (a vehicle that is touted to be a hybrid, but which gets abysmal gas mileage, and is only used for sales campaigns to make buyers think the company selling the c
Altima Hybrid is out. Right now I'm driving a
2007 Lexus RX350, my first Toyota/Lexus product
after driving Nissan products for the past ten years.
While there has been a lot of nice things to
have in my RX and the treatment at the Lexus
dealership has been fantastic( just mainly going in for oil changes and tire rotations
right now), I still miss driving a Nissan.
My previous car was a 2002 Nissan Maxima. I loved that car. It was totaled in an accident;
thus, I thought I'd try something different and
got the Lexus. I still get nostalgic when I
see the 2002 Maximas on the road and I still
love what Nissan keeps producing, although I
do love those Lexus interiors also. The only
negative thing I would say about having a Nissan at this point is that the service guys that I have dealt with in the past(Again, mainly just oil changes and tire rotations with
the Maxima also) have been less than stellar.
To put it bluntly, these guys were just a bunch
of grumps! It's a different story with my service advisor at Lexus. He's great to deal with.
But now I've been reading about the Nissan Altima Hybrid and how it offers a little bit more sport with great gas mileage. That really
is my cup of tea! So when my lease is up in
three years, maybe the Altima Hybrid will be available in Florida so I can seriously consider buying one!
I must say that I live in a very well-to-do area, and have several friends who own Lexus cars. I've ridden in them and driven them. While I wouldn't be so bold as to put an Altima in the same stratum as Lexus, I have to say that, for the money, it's a very nice car. It's the first Nissan car I've owned (I also have a small, very basic pickup truck). I am VERY pleased with the car. It is well made, well-engineered, and a good performer. I'm sold on Nissan! Oddly enough, if you look at the new Maximas, there is only a very small difference between the two models. I've heard rumors that the Maxima line is to be discontinued and the Altima put in it's place (you'll note that base-model Nissans are appearing at the bottom of the food chain..which may be an indicator that this is about to happen).
All they can do is try to make it bigger and softer like an Avalon for buyers who want a $30-35K highway cruiser with a roomier back seat and will not be cross shopping against the sporty G35. Maybe they can call it the "Maxima Armarda" or something and give it a chrome grill and wood steering wheel.
Just dump it.