Baby’s Got A Cool Set Of Wheels!

The 2002 Nissan Altima offers excellent handling, powerful brakes, the latest safety features, lots of room and a choice between a powerful yet economical 175 horsepower 2.5 liter DOHC four cylinder power plant or a muscular DOHC 3.5 liter, 240 horsepower V6, all wrapped up in a cutting edge sports sedan design. With more power and more room contained within Nissan’s new flowing design than both the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, anyone considering purchasing a mid-size automobile should give it careful consideration.

Baby Needs A New Set Of Wheels!

My wife Diane and I purchased our dear old 1989 Nissan Maxima brand new over twelve years ago. It served us very well over the years, being Diane’s favorite vehicle ever. She loved the way it handled crisply, how it accelerated assuredly and she felt comfortable with the overall size and quality of the car. It never broke down, it always started and it always seemed eager to serve. In addition, Max was rather handsome too! When we purchased my beloved VW Passat a few years ago, Diane’s Maxima became her full time vehicle.

Alas, all good mechanical things usually come to an end, and when Max developed some transmission trouble a few weeks ago, we decided it was time to put the old warrior out to pasture instead of investing more money in him and we went out and bought another car.

I was all set to go down to a local Honda dealer and pick out an Accord because I love their reliability and Honda’s attention to detail. I figured that we wanted to get ABS and side air-bags in the car because of our impending adoption of a little girl, so I started pricing out a 2002 Honda Accord EX because it comes with those safety features standard and has an excellent crash rating. With a four cylinder engine and an automatic transmission the Accord would have cost somewhere between 20,000 and 21,500 when all the negotiating was said and done. I figured I might check out a 2002 Toyota Camry too because they are also pretty indestructible. Then we saw the new 2002 Nissan Altima, and my best laid plans went astray!

Baby Gets A Cool Set Of Wheels

We ended up with the new Altima for several reasons. One of the main ones is that it reminded Diane of our Maxima, and the familiarity just made the car feel comfortable to her. Since she is going to be the primary driver of the car, her comfort and tastes were paramount. I have my incredibly nimble German Passat to pretend I am Mario Andretti in when tackling the race tracks, err highways of Eastern Long Island, so Diane was going to get the car she felt best driving. Secondly, the car offered the best combination of power and safety out of the three aforementioned vehicles, even though it cost a bit more than the Accord EX and about the same as the Camry LX when similarly equipped. Thirdly, it was, by far, the sharpest looking vehicle of the three. So, Baby has gotten a shiny black Altima with 16 inch Alloy wheels and a "frost" gray cloth velour interior, and I have to admit that she looks darn good driving it!

Reviewed Model: 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5S with Automatic Transmission
Prices:
Base MSRP, Including Destination Charge: 19,389.00
MSRP Including Options and Destination Charge: 23,844.00
Actual Purchase Price (after negotiation): 22,020.00

Options Purchased and MSRP of each:
Bose Audio System with 6 CD Changer
and 8 Speakers 899.00
ABS/Front Side Airbags and Front & Back Side Curtain Airbags 749.00
Power Glass Sunroof 849.00
Fog Lights 259.00
Convenience Package 1,679.00
(Convenience Package includes: 16-inch Alloy Wheels, 8-Way Power Drivers Seat, Automatic ON/OFF Headlights, Vehicle Security System, Steering Wheel Mounted Controls, Dual Illuminated Vanity Mirrors, Trip Computer and other small items.)

Highlights of Standard Equipment included in Base 2.5S with Automatic Transmission:

2.5L DOHC 175 HP, 4 cylinder engine with Front Wheel Drive; Air conditioning; 4 Speed Automatic Transmission; 4-wheel power disc brakes; cruise control; power windows; power door locks; keyless entry system, AM-FM Radio with CD player and 6 speakers; dual front airbags; Front and Rear Anti-Sway Bars.

Warranties:
3 year/36,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty
6 year/60,000 mile Power train Warranty
6 year/Unlimited mile Rust-Thru Warranty

Accessory Packages: That's How They Make Money!

My only gripe is that Nissan (and many other manufacturers such as Honda and Toyota) tends to build cars with certain accessory packages linked together. In the 2.5S, if you are looking for the ABS/Airbag package and the Convenience package, you most likely need to also get the Bose Audio System with 6CD Changer and the Power Sun Roof. Now, the 8-speaker Bose Audio system is awesome and the six CD changer is very convenient, but we did not necessarily want a sun roof because I find we rarely use the one we have in my Passat. Alas, we really had no choice because we could not locate a 2.5S with ABS/Airbags and the Convenience Package without the Bose and the Sun Roof. It added a bit to the MSRP of the vehicle, but after negotiations we only paid about $200 over dealers invoice for the car and less than $1,000 dollars more than we figured we would have spent for a car without those options. This car certainly was not inexpensive, probably costing a little more than similarly equipped Honda Accords, but it does have a little more juice!

How Does It Run?

In sum, the Altima is smooth and quiet, with great handling and better than adequate acceleration. The body feels solid and the four-wheel disc brakes stop the vehicle effortlessly. The all-wheel independent suspension with rear multi-links and the 205/65R-16 Continental all weather tires make for excellent handling while maintaining good ride characteristics. The ride is fairly firm but supple and not too harsh. It is firmer than our old Maxima’s ride, with considerably less body lean and understeer, but it rides a bit more softly than my stiffer VW Passat. On longer trips that little bit of softness will be appreciated, but it still handles almost as well as my German Autobahn cruiser. Road noise is nearly non-existent and minor bumps are not transmitted to the cabin.

Economy

Fuel economy is excellent; we have gotten about 30 MPG on the highway and about 25 MPG in the city with the 2.5L four yet it seems to have more than adequate power to pull this 3,000 pound car. (EPA rates this car at 23 City/29 Highway MPG.) At 175 HP, the engine has about 25 more horses than the standard Accord and Camry 4 cylinders and almost as many horses as my Passat V6. With its 20 gallon fuel tank, the Altima has a lot of range between fill-ups.

Interior

The interior is very roomy and comfortable. The front seats offer very good support and with the Convenience Package you get a power 8-way adjustable driver's seat. The front passenger's seat is also adjustable in eight ways (including lumbar support) but it is not power. The rear seats are quite roomy with enough room for two large adults to sit quite comfortably. You can fit a third person in the back, but with less comfort. The 2.5S comes with a cloth interior that is very attractive and comfortable. Neither my wife nor I like leather seats very much, so cloth was fine by us.

The dash is laid out simply and logically with excellent displays and soft-touch controls. I find it very attractive. With the convenience package on the 2.5S you get audio controls on your steering wheel which makes it very easy to adjust the sound system while driving without taking you eyes off the road. (This feature is standard on the 2.5SL and the 3.5SE.) The only error in design I have found is that when you are driving on a bright, sunny afternoon, the sun can wash out the display on the audio system if it is at the right angle.

The trunk is very roomy and deep, and the back seat folds down in a 60/40 arrangement to extend the cargo area. The audio system's speakers do not hang into the trunk space and neither do the trunk lid hinges, making the available space completely usable.

Other Trim Levels

The Altima comes in four trim levels:

The 2.5: is a bare bones car without air-conditioning and without a CD player. It prices out somewhere in the $18,000 area, but I don't believe that Nissan intends to produce many of them.

The 2.5S: is the subject of this review. As stated above, your reviewer paid $22,020 for the car getting options such as automatic transmission, ABS/Airbags package, Convenience Package, Power Sunroof, Bose Audio System with 6CD changer and fog lights. MSRP was 23,844 for the car but by checking out places like CarsDirect.com and Edmunds.com and visiting more than one Nissan dealer, I was able to get the car for around dealer's invoice. Moral of this part of the story: shop around!

The 2.5SL: has the four cylinder powerplant and just about every luxury feature that is available on the car, including leather seats, sun roof, all the items in the convenience package, and some additional items such as an automatically dimming rear-view mirror. The price is in the area of $23,500 to $24,000 if you get it with the airbags package and do your homework and negotiate.

The 3.5SE: which comes with the amazing 3.5 liter V-6 that produces 240 HP. I tried out the Altima 3.5SE with its 240 HP V6, which also sports a spoiler, dual exhausts and 17 inch Alloy wheels; that vehicle has simply awesome acceleration and power to spare. It steers a little bit heavier than the four-banger, but still handles extremely well. If I was going to be the primary driver of the auto I might have gone for the V6 in order to satisfy the teenager that still dwells within me, but it appears that most of the V6 Altimas Nissan will produce come loaded with optional equipment that push the MSRP near 27,000! That is a lot of bucks, but if you can find one without a lot of gadgets, that V6 sings! With the Airbags package, automatic transmission, traction control, sunroof and the Bose audio system, if you do your homework and negotiate you might be able to snag one for a little over $25,000.

Safety

The base 2.5S comes with dual front ‘dual mode’ airbags that adjust their inflation rate according to the severity of the impact. This feature attempts to avoid injuries that sometimes can occur to children riding in the front passenger seat due to the inflation of the airbags. It is still suggested that children under the age of 12 ride in the back seat. One should also put all rear facing child seats in the back seat as well.

We also purchased the ABS/Airbags package to further increase the safety of the vehicle. ABS helps you maintain control of the vehicle in hard stops. You stop straighter and do not skid because the ABS system adjusts the braking force of the wheels. I highly recommend opting for ABS in whatever auto you purchase.

The package also includes front side airbags and front and rear side curtain airbags. These deploy in side impact collisions in the same manner as front airbags. The side curtain airbags shield the passengers front hitting their heads on the side windows. I believe that the peace of mind the package delivers is well worth the additional cost.

The Altima also has side impact beams in each door to help prevent injuries due to side impact collisions and front and rear crush zones to absorb impacts. A tether and latch point anchoring system for child safety seats is also standard.

Fit and Finish

Final assembly of our Altima took place in Smyrna, Tennessee, while most of the parts were manufactured in Japan. The fit and finish is excellent, with all doors and lids and panels lining up perfectly and no mars in the paint. It seems that the fit and finish is just as good as in our Maxima which was assembled in Japan back in 1989. There were no problems with any aspect of the vehicle when we took delivery.

Reliability

We have only had the car a very short time, therefore our experience with its reliability does not carry a lot of weight. However, according to Consumer Reports, previous Nissan Altimas and Nissans in general have proven to be very reliable cars. Because our 2002 Altima is a totally new and redesigned model, the reported reliability of past models does not necessarily mean that it will continue the trend. We do know that our old Maxima did go twelve years without a major repair!

Final Comments and Rating

The 2002 Nissan Altima is a wonderful combination of the latest in style, handling, power and safety. The car is stylish enough to look like a sports sedan while having as much or more room than most mid-size family cars. With a solid reputation for great power plants and reliability, Nissan has come up with a winner with their redesigned Altima. If you are in the market for a mid-size car but do not want to drive an Accord like your Mom’s, you might check out this Nissan.

I am going to recommend this vehicle and award it 5 Stars for its wonderful execution, even though it pushes the envelope as far as price is concerned. Now, I think I will go let my wife actually drive her car for a while!