So while my 2012 Sportwagen is stuck in purgatory at the dealership for a new headliner, new sunroof drains and some carpet due to a water leak (CPO is covering it - $50 deductible) and they did not have any loaners (would have loved to try a 2019/2020 Jetta) they booked me with Enterprise where I was handed the keys to a 2020 Nissan Altima 2.5S with ~12k miles on the clock.
I have had a number of Altima's as rentals (4th-6th generation) and this 6th generation is just a reminder on how solid of a value these cars are. Even in base S trim it comes very well equipped with pretty much everything you would want if looking in the low $20k price range.
Power, handling, ride:
So call me crazy but I miss the "real" CVT operation from the 4th gen and early 5th gen. 5th gen switched to simulated shifts but mainly only while driving hard and it still mostly operated like a CVT during normal driving. They have now expanded the fake shifts to some lower speed normal acceleration and in this car they are noticeable - they took 1 of the major benefits of a CVT (shock free shifts) and tossed it out the window.
Power is completely adequate for the 2.5 4 banger - I believe its rated at 188HP and 180 lb/ft or about class average. It is a bit slow to get on the boil when you mat it, prior gens seemed to have faster to react CVT's but my last one was probably 2 years ago so my memory may be foggy. It is more sedate driving that the 2.5/CVT combo really shines - when you are riding the big 4 cylinder torque wave you can really get up to speed pretty quicklywith the engine sitting around 2k RPM and you barely hear yourself accelerating. Best thing this side of an electric car for sedate acceleration.
Ride and handling are decent enough. I know the Altima has always sat on the sportier side of the midsize segment, but it seems they keep making each generation lean more and more towards the comfort end of the spectrum. The steering is a major buzzkill as its pinky finger light and just feels like it is disconnected from the wheels. The 16" wheels on this car handle bumps quite nicely and the overall structure is incredibly solid.
Interior, exterior, styling and features:
Interior is pretty ho hum. Perfectly functional and easy to use but its not going to win any styling awards, honestly it is kind of boring. Has standard fare Nissan switchgear which dates back at least 2 generations. Large display screen, Apple Carplay and Android Auto are all standard even in this base model and it was ULTRA easy to connect my phone to the car for music and phone. Base model comes standard with autonomous emergency braking but is strangely missing blind spot warning - I believe there are extra packages that have the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise. Remote start seems to be standard as this S has it.
Fuel Economy:
I believe the Altima is one of the midsize fuel economy champs at 28/39 - I think the Camry might slightly beat it at 30/40. My short trip commute really sucks it so pretty much any car I have driven gets pretty horrific fuel economy. I reset the fuel economy monitor when I picked the car up and I am sitting about 18MPG average over ~30 miles - 37% below EPA city, 2019 Camry I had as a rental with same commute was about the same over ~30 miles. I will say my turbo diesel does not lose as much MPG with the crap commute - my 2012 is rated at 29 city and I average 24-25 MPG on each fill up so only lose about 16-17% over city.
Overall:
These really are solid cars and very pleasurable to have as rentals - great long distance cruisers from my experience. I'm still not terribly convinced on the Nissan CVT reliability and resale on the Altima is pretty horrific because Nissan dumps them en-masse to fleet customers. I would vote this one a lease it type car so you can dump it before the CVT can cause issues and not have to suffer from the depreciation hit.
I have had a number of Altima's as rentals (4th-6th generation) and this 6th generation is just a reminder on how solid of a value these cars are. Even in base S trim it comes very well equipped with pretty much everything you would want if looking in the low $20k price range.
Power, handling, ride:
So call me crazy but I miss the "real" CVT operation from the 4th gen and early 5th gen. 5th gen switched to simulated shifts but mainly only while driving hard and it still mostly operated like a CVT during normal driving. They have now expanded the fake shifts to some lower speed normal acceleration and in this car they are noticeable - they took 1 of the major benefits of a CVT (shock free shifts) and tossed it out the window.
Power is completely adequate for the 2.5 4 banger - I believe its rated at 188HP and 180 lb/ft or about class average. It is a bit slow to get on the boil when you mat it, prior gens seemed to have faster to react CVT's but my last one was probably 2 years ago so my memory may be foggy. It is more sedate driving that the 2.5/CVT combo really shines - when you are riding the big 4 cylinder torque wave you can really get up to speed pretty quicklywith the engine sitting around 2k RPM and you barely hear yourself accelerating. Best thing this side of an electric car for sedate acceleration.
Ride and handling are decent enough. I know the Altima has always sat on the sportier side of the midsize segment, but it seems they keep making each generation lean more and more towards the comfort end of the spectrum. The steering is a major buzzkill as its pinky finger light and just feels like it is disconnected from the wheels. The 16" wheels on this car handle bumps quite nicely and the overall structure is incredibly solid.
Interior, exterior, styling and features:
Interior is pretty ho hum. Perfectly functional and easy to use but its not going to win any styling awards, honestly it is kind of boring. Has standard fare Nissan switchgear which dates back at least 2 generations. Large display screen, Apple Carplay and Android Auto are all standard even in this base model and it was ULTRA easy to connect my phone to the car for music and phone. Base model comes standard with autonomous emergency braking but is strangely missing blind spot warning - I believe there are extra packages that have the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise. Remote start seems to be standard as this S has it.
Fuel Economy:
I believe the Altima is one of the midsize fuel economy champs at 28/39 - I think the Camry might slightly beat it at 30/40. My short trip commute really sucks it so pretty much any car I have driven gets pretty horrific fuel economy. I reset the fuel economy monitor when I picked the car up and I am sitting about 18MPG average over ~30 miles - 37% below EPA city, 2019 Camry I had as a rental with same commute was about the same over ~30 miles. I will say my turbo diesel does not lose as much MPG with the crap commute - my 2012 is rated at 29 city and I average 24-25 MPG on each fill up so only lose about 16-17% over city.
Overall:
These really are solid cars and very pleasurable to have as rentals - great long distance cruisers from my experience. I'm still not terribly convinced on the Nissan CVT reliability and resale on the Altima is pretty horrific because Nissan dumps them en-masse to fleet customers. I would vote this one a lease it type car so you can dump it before the CVT can cause issues and not have to suffer from the depreciation hit.