2016 Altima-Rental car

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I had a chance to rent a 2016 Altima 4 cyl during the holiday weekend. I first was a little bit upset cause ideally i want to drive the new Hyundai Elantra or Kia Optima .. Anyways, this Altima is surprisingly good to my standard. I was very hesitate to drive CVT but this vehicle CVT performed well. There are so many CVT issues from Nissan (from youtube); honestly i am not sure how people can destroy it during the first few years of ownership.
My last Nissan was in mid 90's. This Altima totally changed my mind towards Nissan and CVT. Wife have a 2012 Camry SE and this Altima is better than that. I guess people should not stuck with Honda Accord and Toyota Camry for their choices family sedan.
 
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Nissan and in particular Jatco (part of the Nissan Family) really put their feet down after the cvt debacle around 2013. The new transmissions are much much better. Like other changes, many cannot deal with something new so they trash it on the internet.
 
i am not sure who manufactured this particular CVT trans.... However, i noticed 2 things... First, when i am descending while throttle is off.... i feel the the trans is logically control the speed not like my Camry with regualr 7 speed that it keeps rolling faster and faster... Second, it has the crazily good gas mileage.. Plus, i really appreciate the simple dash layout and easy to use buttons. Both front seats are extremely comfortable and supportive.. The ONLY thing that i can recommend for improvement is the slow bluetooth connection (the media connecting time after you pressed the button-screen keep saying "loading.......").
 
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Originally Posted By: PimTac
Nissan and in particular Jatco (part of the Nissan Family) really put their feet down after the cvt debacle around 2013. The new transmissions are much much better. Like other changes, many cannot deal with something new so they trash it on the internet.

Did not know there were any changes in it, good to hear. My brother has a 2009ish Altima and really likes it and has not had any problems with the transmission.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Nissan and in particular Jatco (part of the Nissan Family) really put their feet down after the cvt debacle around 2013. The new transmissions are much much better.

Good to hear they've made improvements. I had a 2013 (or maybe 2014?) Altima rental, and the CVT programming was awful, IMO. It kept the engine at super low RPMs, even during regular (non-spirited) acceleration, which caused a lot of vibration/roughness and felt like the engine was lugging. If this was addressed, then that's awesome because I did like the car otherwise.
 
I hear ya. I rented a few cars back then with CVTs and they were slow to respond. Your description of lugging is spot on and we have had some good discussions on that particular subject and its possible link to LSPI. When I drove, it felt like the engine was lugging but there was no knock, maybe due to the knock sensors?
 
2015-16 really brought on improvements to the driver feel for Nissans with the new Xtronic series CVTs. I like it better than the Subaru CVT's I've put lots of miles on.

I can't say enough how awesome it is in our 2016 Quest with the 3.5L V6. We're at 45K miles on it. (same basic drivetrain as Murano and Pathfinder)

On our van, it will do the 'fake shift points', but only under very hard acceleration. Normal driving or foot to the floor, it will not, yet you detect no rubberband effect.

Like said, the going downhill compression braking with them is perfect. Very smooth grade logic.
 
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Had a 2017 uplevel Altima loaner when my Nissan was in for service. Now knowing that every one is somewhat different, I will say that:

My old 2014 Rogue was better in almost every way except rear seat legroom. The zero gravity seats did not seem better than the excellent (for a Asian car) seats in the rogue. Also I find as I get older, I want the seat cushion at buttocks height so I don't have to climb UP and out of a sedan. I'll make exceptions for real sports cars only.

All I can say is big Y-A-W-N! on the Altima.
I recall my old mid 90's Kia Optima being a better car. Magic carpet ride too. Of course that had a 5 gear manual stick that adds to the connected factor.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
All I can say is big Y-A-W-N! on the Altima.

I dont think anyone here was claiming that Altima is fun. But as long as it's unobtrusive and not annoying, and rides well, then it should work well as basic A to B transportation, which is what this segment is about.

I find all the cars in this segment kind of "yawn", so I stay out of it.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
All I can say is big Y-A-W-N! on the Altima.

I dont think anyone here was claiming that Altima is fun. But as long as it's unobtrusive and not annoying, and rides well, then it should work well as basic A to B transportation, which is what this segment is about.

I find all the cars in this segment kind of "yawn", so I stay out of it.
smile.gif



That's true. Also, comparing an Altima to a Rogue, or a Quest like I did, is not really a comparison after all.
 
I have driven a lot of Nissan Altimas (rental cars) in the last several years. With a large tank these things are unbelievable long ranged with an easy 500 miles between refills......one trip to Chicago was 480 miles round trip and it still showed 150 miles of fuel remaining.

All the CVT's can be miserable in the mountains, providing very poor choices for engine braking UNLESS it is a model with the autostick option that lets you pick through the 7 ratios or so that are available.
From my experience those with only low and drive gear selections are unable to provide the proper ratios and result in lots of brake use/wear or alternately having to step on the gas to maintain forward speed when in low gear.....but high is way to high...... .

Likely the poorest drivers just happily burn on the brakes but those of us that also own 5 and 6 speed manual transmissions are aware of proper usage!!
 
Originally Posted By: 2008wrx
There are so many CVT issues from Nissan (from youtube); honestly i am not sure how people can destroy it during the first few years of ownership.


They are likely not destroying it if it is the first few years. Most likely a manufacturing or design problem given how tricky a continuous engaging and disengaging metal to metal friction can be. All it take is one little slack in contact pressure and the belt and pulley slip, and worn out.
 
CVTs are probably here to stay in vehicles like accord, Altima, camry and the like. They are probably engineering them to a little better over time. When I step on the gas in mine, the revs go up to around 2,000 or so with the gears moving up to get the wheels up to speed. More efficient (though different sounding) then regular ATs that force the motor to speed up and slow down to get up to cruising.
 
I got a friend a 2015 Altima from Hertz with 75K miles. About $11.5K out the door with CA taxes and another year's registration.
I serviced the CVT with 4.2 quarts of Valvoline Synthetic CVT fluid.
The original fluid was dark; afterwards the car was smoother.
About 3 months later I serviced it again, along with the engine.
This time the fluid looked better.
I also purchased a 2013 dipstick to better check the level.
I added a few more ounces.
The Altima runs beautifully; I really like this car.
As stated, gas mileage is good; the car is a joy to drive.
What's not to like?
 
I have a 2008 Altima 2.4 SL with 115,000 miles and it still runs beautifully, CVT and all. No serious repairs in the 10 years, only routine maintenance such as tires, brakes, shocks, batteries, etc. I also rented half a dozen new Altimas over the past three years, including a 2017 last week, and they are great machines. Love the ride, layout, and appearance. While I will check out other options when I next buy new, maybe next year, Altima remains on the top of my list.
 
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
I have a 2008 Altima 2.4 SL with 115,000 miles and it still runs beautifully, CVT and all. No serious repairs in the 10 years, only routine maintenance such as tires, brakes, shocks, batteries, etc. I also rented half a dozen new Altimas over the past three years, including a 2017 last week, and they are great machines. Love the ride, layout, and appearance. While I will check out other options when I next buy new, maybe next year, Altima remains on the top of my list.


totally.... when Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata cost more than Nissan Altima, Accord has Turbo (that i dont like) and Camry is so expensive nowadays...
 
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