RX8Club.com - Enthusiast Impressions:Nissan Altima Coupe

Had to get some warranty work on the Titan this past weekend, so while the truck was getting worked on, my wife wanted to take a look at Nissan's 2009 line up. She instantly gravitated to the Altima Coupe.

In appearance the coupe is on the large size. Resembling its more luxurious cousin the G35/G37 , it falls short in the sexy department , instead it gets the thumb down treatment to attract the more common folk. In simple terms its V-A-N-I-L-L-A! The stance is narrow, the wheelbase is long , and the car sits high off the ground sitting on 18" rims.

The interior is a little bit better than the exterior design. The steering wheel is nice in size, the leather seats feel comfortable and offer many positions for support. The dash is nice,Nissan is using a eye pleasing design on the dash now. Chrome circles appoint the tach and speedo. The readings of the gauges are actually clearer, a big complaint for me in the Nissan vehicles pre '09 models.My biggest complaint still, the materials are bottom of the barrel for this car. The plastics and vinyls are cheap feeling and looking in this car.

I hopped in the back and to my surprise for a car that looks large on the outside,it is awefully small for the inside. The back seats are very uncomfortable, 6'-2" guys and over would have a misrable time in the back seat. And to add insult to injury as your knees would start to lose feeling in them , you will be getting cooked by the lack there of a roof. Because the rear roof falls short , you are invited with a low sweeping rear window , in that space your head is fully exposed to the sun . Nissan must have gotten complaints so they offer a retractable sun screen as a option. Should be standard on this car in my opinion.

Well hopped out and open the trunk, AH HAH!!!... so thats where all the extra room went to, the trunk is rediculious large!Large enough you could fit a large size piece of luggage and two bodies and still have some room for small groceries.
I wish they would have sacraficed trunk room for rear back seat room, the back seats are a joke. You have more leg room in the RX-8 than this car, dead serious!

Time for the test drive....

Our sales guy drove up in our test car, the top of the line Altima coupe with all the bells and whistles, the 270HP V6 edition, CVCC autotragic. As he drove up the car was noisy, Nissan still hasn't fixed there VQ's from sounding brash. Hopped in and as my wife and the sales guy was getting in i blipped the throttle. Ewww.... the sounds from the engine were not pleasant , didn't even bother to get out to hear the exhaust. Unfortunetely if you opt for the V6 , you only get the autotragic as it is standard on the top of the line Altima coupe.

As we drove off , the car felt solid, planted , ready to run. So i did just that, WOT , and she took off, minimum torque steer through the steering wheel,slight wheel spin, i was impressed. Nissan finally tackled that issue, kudos to them. At the speed limit the Altima rides like a big car, go to 50 mph and beyond and the road noise becomes present. It has to be the cheap tires thats on the car that is causing all the road noise.

Stomp on the gas and the VQ comes to life, the autotragic has no shift shock, its butter smooth all the way to redline. I go to sport shift mode which is done by the stick, i honestly can't tell the difference, only that if your in gear to long it will up shift for you. So why have sport shift then?!!!! The car severly needs paddle shifters and a transmission that will give more control in sport mode. Its marginal otherwise.

On straits the car moves brisk, the feeling is strong, but you know your not in a sports car by the weight of the car.It feels heavy , like its carrying some extra bulk. Take the Altima on the twisties and the car becomes nose heavy , borderline sloppy as its weight tips it in the corners. Proper throttle control is a must , understeer is felt strong on tighter radius turns on long sweeper turns the car feels more stable but unsettled. The brakes were excellent although it will cause the car to severly bow, so applying the proper brake pressure is a must.

So can i recommend this car for enthusiast purposes?

No i can't , The car is good for picking up groceries from the supermarket, going from point A to point B,even toating around friends , as long your friends who have to sit in the rear aren't taller than 6'-2".

The Altima Coupe does a fine job in the straits,lacks in the corners pretty bad.Unskilled drivers would wreck in a heart beat with this FWD 270HP understeering animal in the corners if pushed to its limits. A aftermarket suspension , lighter wheels/tires combo would do wonders, but then you would have to find a way to shave off the extra weight, and for that extra coin + a 31k price tag your better off buying a entry level 370Z.

Next test, 370Z.:)