2016 Nissan Altima SL review – NEWSTARS Education

2016 Nissan Altima SL

MSRP $28,570.00

“Nissan’s comfortable and economical Altima finds a sweet spot in the crowded midsize sedan market.”

Avg

Solid engine power
One of the best continuously variable transmissions on the market
Comfortable and quiet
A good safety story
Excellent value for your dollar

Against

It can use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

When the mid-cycle refresh of the Nissan Altima debuted last year, we wrote a first drive-by impression of the new car. Now, almost a year later, it’s time for a more detailed review with the convenience of direct comparison with the competition.

In the world of midsize family sedans, the Toyota Camry is still the 800-pound gorilla, selling more units than any other passenger car in America. In the first eight months of 2016, Camry sold 269,746 units, an average of 33,718 cars per month; more than 1,000 Camrys every day. The Honda Accord is second, with 231,415 units sold this year. It is followed by the Nissan Altima with 217,290 cars so far this year, or 27,161 units per month on average. Those are incredible numbers and make the Altima absolutely critical to Nissan’s bottom line. This is a car where Nissan can take no chances, but still have to stand out in terms of features and economy.

Building good value

In the tightly competitive midsize car market, value and economy permeate the entire buying and ownership experience. Competition starts with the purchase price, so let’s talk about competitors. The 2017 Camry now starts at $23,935 including fees. This is the highest base price in the segment. The low price leader is the Hyundai Sonata at $22,135, followed by the Chevrolet, Mazda, Kia and Subaru all in the $22,000 range, while the Honda Accord starts at $23,190. The Altima comes in at just over $23,335 including fees. Keep in mind that the Nissan on sale today is still a 2016, and the Honda and Toyota are 2017 models. Prices may change – but not by much.

What you get for your money is comparable in the market segment. Different manufacturers emphasize different qualities, but midsize sedan buyers evaluate cars based on purchase price, brand reputation, fuel economy, safety, comfort, practicality, and likely resale value. Because the competition is so fierce, you can’t really find exceptions in this market, and the Altima lives in the right place.

Emphasis on fuel economy

Nissan uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine as the foundation of the Altima. The Nissan engine has a competitive 182 horsepower and 180 Nft of torque in 49 out of 50 states. If you guessed that California is an exception, you’re right. If you guessed that the Californian car produces slightly less power, you’re right. In California, the Altima has 179 horsepower. Equipped with a four-cylinder engine, the Altima returns an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 27 mpg in the city and 39 mpg on the highway. In combined driving, the EPA expects the Altima to deliver 31 mpg.

Nissan has done a good job of extracting maximum fuel economy from the transmission while giving you the driving experience of a conventional automatic.

By contrast, the 2017 Camry with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder gets just 24 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The Accord matches the Altima’s city mpg rating, but falls short at 36 mpg on the highway.

Nissan achieved fuel economy by raising the engine’s compression from 10.1 to 10.3 and improving the Altima’s aerodynamics through some grille and chassis improvements. The 2016 and newer Altima design delivers a drag coefficient of 0.26, which is about as good as it gets. The Tesla Model S comes in at 0.24, along with several Mercedes models, but among economy midsize cars, the Nissan is the smoothest.

Nissan also offers the Altima with their trusty 3.5-liter V6 with 270 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque, but that’s not where the fat part of the bell curve spends its money. The V6 Altima will get 22 mpg city, 32 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined. That’s pretty good, and if you prefer your driving experience to saving money on gas, you don’t have to give up a lot of gas money to get the extra engine power.

Continuously variable transmission

There’s another ingredient to the fuel economy story, and that’s the Altima’s continuously variable transmission. On our first drive through the hills of Malibu, we thought the CVT was the Altima’s weakest point, but spending a week of regular driving with the Altima softened our preconceptions. The four-cylinder engine has enough torque to drive the CVT very well in the real-world use the Altima was built for. If you want to take off from corners of ever-shrinking radius in the hills, what are you even doing in a mid-size car? Nissan makes perfectly good sports cars for that.

Jeff Zurschmeide/Digital Trends

The Altima is only offered with front-wheel drive, and a CVT is your only transmission option. If you want a manual, there’s the Accord or Mazda6. But if you’re buying an automatic like the vast majority of midsize buyers, don’t dismiss the Altima for its CVT. Nissan has done a good job of extracting maximum fuel economy from the transmission while giving you the driving experience of a conventional automatic. In fact, a CVT may be better suited to translating engine torque into acceleration than a traditional automatic, as the CVT can be tuned very precisely to make the most of the Altima’s powerband.

An extensive list of features

Large mid-size sedans compete heavily on features. A year into owning any car and the initial purchase price quickly becomes a distant memory, but you’ll definitely be aware of every feature your car has or doesn’t have. So it’s generally better to plan to pay for the features you want, as time will favor that decision.

The Altima is well priced when it comes to the features you have in mind. You can choose from seven different trim levels with low to mid-range prices to get the features you want. If you opt for the top SL trim, you’ll get a very nicely equipped car with almost every advanced feature on the market.

The base trims of the Altima 2.5 and Altima 2.5 S don’t offer much more than the base car. Call them the Uber Driver models, but for a minimum of $400 the prices would rise to $23,735, you should get the S trim no matter how tight the budget. From the base model, you get a 5-inch color touchscreen with NissanConnect smartphone integration, smart automatic headlights, cruise control, as well as basics like tire pressure monitoring and Bluetooth hands-free calling.

Above the cheap basement models, prices start to rise. At $25,305, you get the SR Sport trim, with 18-inch wheels, paddle shifters and a leather steering wheel, plus a power driver’s seat with wood bolster. Nissan shows its racing heritage by giving the Altima SR an upgraded suspension with special springs and dampers. You also get a 50 percent stiffer front anti-sway bar and a 250 percent stiffer rear sway bar, as well as a nifty trunk spoiler.

The SV trim costs $26,295, and this trim is aimed at families. The SV trim reverts to 17-inch wheels, but you get remote engine start to pre-warm the car on winter mornings, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision alert, and an 8-way power driver’s seat.

The $29,405 top-of-the-line SL trim gets you all the SV features plus leather seats, an auto-dimming mirror, a power passenger seat, and a nice 9-speaker Bose stereo. Then you have the Altima with the 3.5-liter V6 in a choice of sport SR trim at $28,825 or luxury SL trim at $33,525. The top-of-the-line SL V6 includes navigation, but it’s an optional extra on the 2.5 SL.

If your heart says 370Z, but your husband, your kids, and your wallet say sedan, get yourself an Altima 3.5 SR. You’ll have plenty of power to play with, good suspension, and still keep the family happy with plenty of room and a price tag under $30,000. Everyone wins.

One feature: The Altima is still waiting to get Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Nissan is committed to offering those services on the 2017 Maxima, but has not yet said when the Altima will follow.

Silence is a big noise

Another competitive area in midsize sedans is cabin noise. A quiet ride is the primary indicator of luxury. If you don’t believe that, take a ride in a Rolls Royce sometime. For passengers, a quiet ride means they feel a little better at home, and that’s an important value. That’s why Nissan engineers put a lot of effort into reducing noise in the Altima’s cabin. A key feature adopted by midsize cars everywhere is the new windshield design to reduce noise. Then Nissan backed it up with a bunch of under-dash insulation and a few other invisible features to help reduce noise. Pair that with the Bose sound system in the SL trims and you’ve got yourself a seriously comfortable sanctum sanctorum for hours of commuting.

Driving an Altima

The Altima sits toward the sporty end of the midsize category. It’s not the Mazda6, which is arguably the sportiest, but you can definitely tell that Nissan has a strong history with performance cars, especially in SR models. If you opt for the sports suspension in the SR, you will get a sedan that goes straight through bends and communicates very nicely with the road.

The SL trim is more luxurious and insulating, but you still get a car that’s pleasant to drive and adaptable enough to be truly comfortable. The Altima SL still handles corners well, albeit with a shade less confidence. In any trim, you’ll get highly effective brakes and all the basics of a modern family car like stability and traction controls, anti-lock brakes, LATCHES for car seats and so on.

The bottom line

The Altima will likely remain the best seller. This car does what it promises – it gets you and your family where you need to go in an economical and reasonably comfortable way. The Altima is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ when equipped with optional front emergency braking, and you get a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty, with five years or 60,000 for the engine and powertrain. On top of that, the Altima has sportier options if that’s what your heart needs to be happy.

If you’re shopping in the midsize sedan market with all its big sellers, the best thing you can do is make sure you drive all the options. Forget grades and rankings and go drive cars. They are all in the same price range, more or less a few hundred dollars. You might spend an extra day going through all the brands, but you’re bound to find some you don’t like, some you like, and maybe even one you love. It’s the review that really counts.

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Source: newstars.edu.vn