Performance review

I sell infinity and nissans, so i get to drive everything on a daily to weekly basis, heres my performance oriented review of the Nissan Altima 3.5 and 2.5
"oh.... and remember, oversteer is a good thing"

Handling
The altima is a very loose car and has a slow response on the steering wheel, only minor feed back is felt on the wheel. When going down a winding highway at 140kph+ I felt rather scared this car would come loose on the back end and send me into another vehicle, but I kept in mind that loose cars are nimble cars, so I took an offramp without slowing down much and to my suprise, the car managed to oversteer and while I thought it would lose control the back end did move over but quickly realigned and gave me full control back, all without any correction to the steering wheel. The fact that it over steered on an off ramp is not really suprising because plenty of cars will do that at high speeds if you handle them right. So I tested further, going into the city a took a corner at about 55kmh and purposely forced the wheel a bit more, and again the car over steered and while the back end came loose it went exactly where I had pointed the car and not an inch more. Some of the problems came up during highway driving, if you simply do a quick flick on the wheel, such as a left right left, the car goes all over the road and takes a second or two before full control is back. Even when there was a slight change in pavement while I was changing lanes the car in a sense almost uncontrollably quickly shifted about 3 feet more than I had desired. While this kind of driving is loads of fun, it was a bit ackward, and definitely is not for inexperienced drivers. Initial take of provides very little traction and wheel spin is very common, But while spinning it still maintains a fair amount of power to the other wheel. I found the 3.5 has alot more traction, gives more road feedback and the steering wheel is not as loose and it certainly has power.

Engine- 2.5 and 3.5
Both are quiet and while the 3.5 will give you a quarter mile of about 14.6(?), the 2.5 is a good 4 banger but like all 4's it's sluggish and needs a good kick in the but to get moving, The 2.5 is the major downside of this car. It seems that either the package associated with the 3.5 or the weight of the engine gives the vehicle better feel and handling.

Transmission
--- 2.5se --- It's a 4 speed gated automatic transmission, gated means instead of pressing a button, you simply shift between a series of gates, and its a pain in the but, the tranny gives a smooth ride and smooth shifting points, gear one-two shift was a bit rougher.
--- 3.5v6 --- Similar layout in the transmission with gates, but it's shiftable, you shift to drive and than to the left, and now push foreward and back to change gears. A bit more user friendly because there is fewer anoying gates and it actually felt very nice when shifting.

Hand brake
Located beside the gears, a standard hand brake lever with a button, takes care of doing 3 point turns, just get some speed, turn hard press button and pull, release near completion of 180 turn and step on the gas. too much fun.

Seats-
---Cloth--- My back was in loads of pain in less than 2 hours. TOO HIGH up for that sporty feel, more like a mini van really. Did not like them and find the design is very calm.
---Leather--- These seats have a very nice finish, hold you well during a turn, but again they are mounted much too high and if I bought this car, I would without a doubt change the seat mounting brackets. I'm only 5'6 in height, and I felt like I was gona touch the roof of the car. Very anoying.

Dashboard-Interior
Dashboard is a bit too far for comfortable use while driving, caution should be used because you may need to lean foreward to use the controls, (if you sit in the correct position). Overall the dash looks very clean, with just the right angles, loads of storage space in high and low places makes the dash highly versatile. The materials are light, feel a bit flimsy but don't look cheap, in some places it looks very good. All the controls are easy to use and look very nice. The Climate controls are 3 very simple nobs you can twist left or right. Radio controls are about 1 inch too far, the available steering wheel mounted controls are nice but can be set off during a turn. The manual or electric seat controls are very convenient and easy to use, but the manual controls do require some force.. You can see about 70% of the hood from inside the car, gives the vehicle a nice feel. Again my main concern was the seating height and how it ruins the entire experience.



Finally................
It's a fun car with all the handling potential you will need, not for your average teenage driver or old granny, but an experienced driver who knows how to handle oversteer will be pleased by the vehicles potential, the 2.5 engine may save you on some gas, but if you intend to pass anyone, you better go with a 3.5v6. Personally I like cars that are firmer and still offer handling and power, the 2.5 Altima is far too unpredictable for me. The 3.5v6 altima is an excellent car all around, with all the right features and a plush interior, I just wish it did not have the seats so darn high.






P.S.
Drive safe, drive smart, don't talk on the phone, don't drink and drive, watch the road, don't be rude to other drivers, know your car. Please.