Road Impressions: Nissan Altima- a very pleasant surprise
Andrew Frankl
Getting out of a Mercedes 500SL into almost any other car must be some sort
of a disappointment but to my surprise the new Nissan Altima proved to be
anything but.
First of all it is very roomy. It is wider than the previous model, in fact
it is two inches wider and three inches longer. It feels like a big car
with its large windows and adequate headroom even with the optional
sunroof. The colour of the test car-a sort of metallic bronze is probably
the sort of colour that will attract SFPD's finest only in extreme
circumstances, it would be a lot less obvious at 80 miles per hour on the
road to Sacramento than a blood-red Ferrari. Nice, but not in any way
ostentatious. Solid, dependable, these are the sort of words that come to
mind with this car. It also has a large trunk(boot). The two golf bags were
swallowed up with ease and when I went to buy a pair of skis (yes, I know
it's only September but have you tried just before Christmas?) with the help
of the folding backrests, those too were taken care of with no problem
whatsoever. The family all liked it very much, at 70 miles per hour we were
carrying on a perfectly quiet conversation as a result of all the
sound-proofing that went into the car. |
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I won't bore you with details of torsional rigidity but I am told by Nissan
that that have improved it by some 20%. All in all a very competent car in
the 15-20 thousand dollar range depending on the specification as long as
you are live in a relatively flat part of United States. When with three
people plus golf clubs we attempted to drive up the hills in Berkeley it got
somewhat embarrassing. I changed down, put pedal to the metal and heard my
passengers cough in a way which suggested that maybe something was
lacking... well, it was something that an extra 45 horses could have cured
immediately but regrettably these were conspicuous by their absence.
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Not to put too fine a point on it the car is lovely but underpowered. The
engine sounds very pleasant when not pressed, for normal driving along the
highway it's just fine but don't ask for dramatic acceleration and be
patient if you are crawling up a long hill. The instrumentation is excellent
and all the various knobs and controls are where one expects them in Nissans
which is nice because it saves a lot of fumbling and searching, especially
in the dark. Also nice is that the car is made in the United States.
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Over the years there have been suggestions that only cars made in Japan and
Germany were put together properly, well, all I can say is that there were
no rattles of any kind that I could detect. It's been ages since I have
driven on Firestone tyres and the ones on the car proved to be a pleasant
surprise. The company did go through a rough patch but since they've become
part of Bridgestone the product has improved beyond recognition.
On TACH's secret test route in the hills of California the grip was
excellent and the expected tyre squeal was minimal. They say that
competition improves the breed, well it is certainly so in the case of
Firestone. (Not to mention proud parent Bridgestone who are currently
giving Goodyear a run for their money in Formula One.)
All in all, perfectly competent, much improved car but do ask about a power
option-which may be forthcoming - if you are thinking of driving up and down
the streets of San Francisco every day to and from work. The test car we had
came with various extras such as anti-lock brakes, power sliding roof, floor
mats (surely these should be included in the price of every car, even a
Yugo!) and 15" aluminum alloy wheels bringing the total to 22 thousand dollars.
The Altima GLE does between 22 and 30 miles per gallon depending on where
you live and how you drive. The equipment list makes very impressive reading
from leather seats to an eight way adjustable power driver's seat, CFC-free
air conditioning and an excellent 100W AM/FM Cassette/CD with six speakers
to power door locks, dual illuminated vanity mirrors (very PC ) and a remote
keyless entry system to mention but a few. If only Nissans' legendary Mr K.
spent less time playing with that Jack Russell and more time looking for the
missing ponies he would have an outstanding rather than a good car in the
Altima.
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