2.5S - My Cure For The Common Car (Now Includes Cross-Country Trip Update)!

After driving family vehicles for the past decade and a half ranging from a 1984 Olds Custom Cruiser Wagon (“Hey buddy, is that a boat or a tank?”) to a couple of mini-vans (1997 and 2000 Grand Caravans - OK for carting people and gear, but don't ask for real comfort or performance), we decided that with our family starting to downsize that it was time for us to move into full mid-life crisis mode and move back to a car.

Needs/Wants
We were looking for four key ingredients in a car - large passenger cabin with comfort for all whether you sat in the front or back seats but especially behind the driver, better than average greenhouse, good creature comforts, and better-than-average torque that was well matched to engine horsepower.

Comparison Shopping
Knowing that this is a review on the 2002 Altima, I won’t divert too much here other than to list our considerations followed by the justification for the Altima.
• Hyundai's Sonata,
• Hyundai XG 350,
• Honda Accord, &
• Toyota’s new Camry.

Both Hyundai models were very well equipped. The top end Sonata is one of the better all-round values on the road today, yet it was decidedly too small in the rear seat (we still tote around our 15 yr-old man-child). The XG350 was a little too hard on gas, and bears decidedly dated styling. I still am trying to figure out why Accords and Camrys are so popular – both have very average performance, boring styling and cardboard-like seats with limited options if you want to upgrade to leather interior.

The Winner is:… 2002 Altima 2.5S (with some extras)

OK – now on to the real reason for this review & our choice of vehicle – the new 2002 Nissan Altima. Nissan has totally redesigned their mid-size entry with plenty of improvements. By now few are unaware of the class-leading horsepower and size. Both were big point gainers for us when we were shopping.

Exterior Styling
Regardless of what anyone says, the main reason that one is drawn to liking or disliking an automobile is the exterior styling. The Altima possesses tired-and-true Passat-like styling with a number of very cool twists. At first glance the raked hood with side seams – apparently for crumple zones – gives a decidedly aggressive look from the front and side. This coupled with the long looking windows makes the Altima look much bigger than the competition (it is in fact only a few centimeters longer than the Camry – the next largest competitor). The high back-end with its jeweled taillights are nothing short of gorgeous, in this writer’s opinion – mind you, this is a taste thing, and I recognize that some people simply don’t like the jeweled taillight trend. What this feature does for the Altima is work with the rear window to provide a nicely framed setting for the high rear deck (another great styling feature). Long ago most manufacturers moved the trunk lid closure all the way down to meet the rear bumper, and Nissan has followed suit with this feature – a very nice touch indeed. The doors open to 70% which is great for getting in and out – except for the fact that the mid-way open holding point isn’t as tight and easy to find as it is on most other vehicles, leaving the doors to close back on you at times if you aren’t careful. Headlights, like their rear brethren are jeweled, and throw more light at the road than any other I have seen in this class – there is also an optional auto setting which will get further attention later in this review.

We selected a ‘chamois’ (pronounced "sham-waz" in French Canada quarters, or "shaw-mee" in the rest of North America) 2.5S with the convenience package and upgraded the interior to blond leather (more about this later).

Interior Styling
Moving to the interior you find an absolutely cavernous passenger cabin. Coming down in size from a van, we knew that we would be giving up tons of storage and travel space, but figured we should be able to recoup that in comfort alone. We weren’t disappointed. In fact – the space in the rear seat of the Altima is larger than the rear 3-seat bench was in our 2000 Grand Caravan. Nissan achieves this by incorporating a cab-forward design – remember that phrase coined by Chrysler a few years ago? The concept is simple – move the wheels forward (or rear) and outward. What this does is put the wheel wells almost entirely in the engine or trunk compartment. Any additional space required to accommodate the mechanics or trunk space is achieved by raking the vehicle’s front and raising it’s tail-end higher. The end result is more hip and leg room than any mid-sized car on the market. The Altima is large enough inside to compete with most full-size cars. With a 6 foot driver in a comfortable position, an average sized adult can easily sit behind, and in some cases, can even cross their legs. Both the front seats have loads of front to back travel to easily accommodate an individual of any height. The rear bench still is most comfortable for two – but only because of the middle bump in the seat and floor (to accommodate the exhaust pipes, brake lines, etc.). We opted for the convenience package, which essentially turns the S into an SL without sunroof, ABS and leather. It includes steering-wheel mounted controls for the radio/cd player and cruise. Includes auto up-down driver & passenger windows in the front, an auto-down feature for front windows from the remote control, a vehicle alarm system, 16” alloy wheels (on Continental all-season tires), sun-visor extenders, convenience nets in the trunk and auto-headlights. The auto-headlight feature is one of the niftiest things I have ever seen. You set the headlight switch to auto, and a sensor in the dash automatically turns the headlights on and off depending on the ambient light is senses. This is great when driving into multi-level or underground parking lots, at dusk, and other times when light is dimmed. Just set it and forget it, Mr. Popiel!

And now on to the seating. Leather, you either love it or hate it – and we happen to be on the love side of this equation. People who don’t own leather furniture generally don’t realize that leather is easily the most comfortable of all seating surfaces. It has the unique ability to retain a room’s temperature, and then acclimatize almost immediately to the heat reflected by your body when you sit on it - this way, you never feel too hot or too cold. That’s why leather initially feels cool, but never hot, nor sticky. We found out early on in our buying experience that Nissan is the only manufacturer will custom install leather interior in any vehicle. You heard it – any vehicle!! So – if you don’t want to pay for all the ‘bells and whistles’ (in Honda or Toyota-speak, that can be as much as $6K CDN in optional packages) you can have high-grade leather (your choice of colour too) custom installed to your vehicle. We decided on the perforated leather (an additional $50.00 CDN - the leather runs around $1500.00 CDN depending on the dealer) as it tends to ‘give’ a bit more when you sit down, and facilitates air flow within the passenger compartment. All Altima models come standard with air conditioning (higher end models include auto-climate controls as well). It is very good, especially considering the amount of greenhouse in this vehicle. Just to help it a bit, however, we did have the windows tinted to legal limits. I recommend this for any car. Using the a/c’s bi-level setting, you can get cooling to the floor in the backseat via rear-directed heating vents that are located beneath the front seats. One minor point on the front buckets – they could have a slightly longer thigh pad, and could use more bolstering on either side – especially when you want to take advantage of those ponies sitting underneath the hood. By the way – interior noise is very low, allowing you to have conversations without yelling at each other (try that in your min-van Mr. Chrysler!).

Performance
The one thing that seems to precede the Altima wherever you go is it’s class-leading horsepower and torque. We opted for the 2.5, 175 HP 4-cylinder mated with the manual shifter. This car quite simply boots! Off the line starts are as quick and punchy as you want them to be, and coaxing power out of the engine is a breeze – especially with the manual transmission. The shifter is a bit long, though, and the linkage is a tad clunky. I imagine this will be taken care of in the 2003 model (we simply couldn’t wait for that though). I understand that Nissan did fix the cheap wired feel that was on the demo cars. I notice very little body roll (remember, we drove a van for 5 years), and the 4-wheel disk brakes stop you on a dime – and that’s without the ABS and traction package. Overall ride is very comfortable – you feel the road just enough, especially with the speed assisted steering. The rear multi-link suspension is outstanding – just sporty enough, but not too stiff. The 3.5SE has a stiffened suspension for a true sporty feel. It would be nice feature if Nissan were to install Michelins as stock on the new Altimas though.

Summary
Overall, we are very happy with this car. It meets all our needs, has plenty of space, and rides like a dream. Long gone are the days of the Datsun B210 and 310 – cars that were spartan in appeal and appearance. This car is also a very long way from it’s fore-runner, the Stanza. The word is now out that Honda is now rushing to release their “Altima-killer” Accord. Good luck guys, this is one great vehicle.

Just In - Altima Makes Cross-Country Trip from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to Salt Lake City, Utah in Style
We just got back from nearly 4 weeks on the road with our new Altima. This car was absolutely wonderful on the highway - no drift at all when broad sided by heavy winds in Nebraska and Wyoming. Gas mileage was good - although we had a Thule roof rack and car-top carrier loaded down, which did impact overall mileage somewhat. Mountain climbing and canyon driving in and around Salt Lake City was a cinch. A/C performed flawlessly in 40 degree centigrade weather (including 90%+ humidity). A pleasure to drive for so many hours. A big bonus was the electric adjustable seat, which allowed me to reduce fatigue by making ever so minor changes to the seat angles.

Now with just over 11,000 km on the vehicle, I only have 3 minor adjustments for the dealer to make under warranty:
1. Hand brake cable needs to be re-tightened.
2. Clutch pedal requires minor adjustment.
3. Brake lines appear to require bleeding (minor stutter when pedal is initially pressed sometimes).

Otherwise, all's well that drive's well.

Oh - and one other thing - not that this matter much from a driving and performance perspective, but - I have had more people ask me what car it is I am driving, and how affordable it was. I have never owned a car with this much curb appeal. It's a nice ego boost for sure.