2008 Nissan Altima Sedan Review

After much reading and driving, I finally arrived at a decision regarding what car to buy.  The contenders were the Honda Accord, Chev Malibu, Toyota Camry, and the Mazda 6.  Rather than discuss the other vehicle attributes, I'll stick with the Nissan.

 First off, the engine that I went for was the 2.5 litre 4 cyl (according to Car and Track, they got an all-around 25 MPG over 1000 miles of mixed driving - not bad for a car that can go 0-60 in 7.9 seconds and puts out 175 HP)  It has a CVT (continuous variable transmission) rather than traditional gears.  This means that the engine rpm and gearing are always best suited for performance and gas economy. 

The one dissapointing thing is that the 4-banger has no traction control - you have to move up to the 3.5 litre 6 to get the little goody.

Interior wise, it was very comfortable and had plenty of leg room (I'm over 6') but lacked a bit of head room in the back seat due to the moonroof (the ceiling dips down some to accomodate the roof when it is opened up.    Also, there is plenty of storage - lots of bins and compartments, along with a cavernous glove box.  The trunk is decent - a split fold down rear seat is nice but it (the trunk) still has those irritating hinged arms for the trunk lid as opposed to pistons (like the Maxima has)  the arms come down into the trunk when the lid is closed potentially crushing whatever is in the way.

That is it in nutshell - the only other thing worth mentioning is that the repair record for Nissans is very good - I own 2 (one from 2000 and one from 2003) and am very happy with them.

Go our and grab one now!