Good Morning-
I have been driving a 2014 Nissan Altima in the "S" trim as a rental while my 2010 Impala is in the Body shop after I was rear ended the past 3 days. Thought you may enjoy a simple review/impression of the car if you are looking for a car in this segment.
The Good:
-Fit and finish throughout the vehicle is very good, above average in my opinion.
-The ride for a mid size vehicle is great, smooth, supple and controlled all at the same time. Best ride I've experienced in a long time.
-For a base model it has some nice features such as LCD info display in the instrument cluster, smart key/push button start, power seats and tilt/telescopint steering wheel.
- The engine at idle is very smooth and great on gas to boot, as a rental it was reading 34.8 MPG, very good as I'm sure it had been driven in the typical rental way.
My Dislikes:
-The CVT transmission...... This was my first experience driving a CVT. At first it wasn't too bad and was actually kind of neat. After driving it for 3 days in the real world it honestly SUCKS. Off the line its fine however, trying to merge into traffic or accelerate briefly you have to rev and keep revving the snot out of the engine to get anywhere. Then it will rubber band you into traffic.
- Noise, mostly from the buzzing engine/CVT snot revving combo. Since the engine has to rev and maintain RPM's while getting up to speed it resonates into the cabin, very loud car unless you are just cruising on the highway. There was also this weird buzzing/vibration from the drivetrain in the 12-1,500 RPM range, sounded like I was lugging the engine, problem is you have no choice, just how it drives.
- The radio is pretty bad, sounds quality even after tweaking the EQ settings is subpar.
- The steering is way too sensitive. If you are not very gentle with the wheel the car turns in very harsh.
Conclusion:
While I was initially impressed with the ride and build quality I don't think I could live with this car as a daily driver. IMO The engine and CVT combo kills what could be a excellent DD.
If you have any questions on specifics let me know.
I have been driving a 2014 Nissan Altima in the "S" trim as a rental while my 2010 Impala is in the Body shop after I was rear ended the past 3 days. Thought you may enjoy a simple review/impression of the car if you are looking for a car in this segment.
The Good:
-Fit and finish throughout the vehicle is very good, above average in my opinion.
-The ride for a mid size vehicle is great, smooth, supple and controlled all at the same time. Best ride I've experienced in a long time.
-For a base model it has some nice features such as LCD info display in the instrument cluster, smart key/push button start, power seats and tilt/telescopint steering wheel.
- The engine at idle is very smooth and great on gas to boot, as a rental it was reading 34.8 MPG, very good as I'm sure it had been driven in the typical rental way.
My Dislikes:
-The CVT transmission...... This was my first experience driving a CVT. At first it wasn't too bad and was actually kind of neat. After driving it for 3 days in the real world it honestly SUCKS. Off the line its fine however, trying to merge into traffic or accelerate briefly you have to rev and keep revving the snot out of the engine to get anywhere. Then it will rubber band you into traffic.
- Noise, mostly from the buzzing engine/CVT snot revving combo. Since the engine has to rev and maintain RPM's while getting up to speed it resonates into the cabin, very loud car unless you are just cruising on the highway. There was also this weird buzzing/vibration from the drivetrain in the 12-1,500 RPM range, sounded like I was lugging the engine, problem is you have no choice, just how it drives.
- The radio is pretty bad, sounds quality even after tweaking the EQ settings is subpar.
- The steering is way too sensitive. If you are not very gentle with the wheel the car turns in very harsh.
Conclusion:
While I was initially impressed with the ride and build quality I don't think I could live with this car as a daily driver. IMO The engine and CVT combo kills what could be a excellent DD.
If you have any questions on specifics let me know.
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