Nissan Altima 3.5: A sedan with a sports car’s heart

Being one of the most popular sedans in its segment in the United States, the Altima delivers on luxurious American spacious feel with technology that can only have come from Japan.

MANILA, Philippines–Nissan’s strong resurgence in the local automotive industry is a much-welcome turn of event for the Yokohama-based manufacturer. And as with any automotive company, the best way to turn back the tide is to introduce real winners in your lineup.

The Altima is indeed a winner. Being one of the most popular sedans in its segment in the United States, the Altima delivers luxurious American spacious feel with technology that could have only come from Japan.

The Altima is, quite frankly, huge, almost as big as the Jaguar XJ. It also feels quite similar when driven: soft and smooth, serene and relaxed. But floor the throttle, and the VQ35DE, one of the most celebrated engines in the world, will come to life with a very angry growl!

The coke-bottle styling, aggressive radiator grille and HID headlamps help give the Altima a sophisticated twist, despite being aimed primarily at the land of flab and fat. It’s also 120 pounds lighter than its predecessor, thanks to the extensive use of high boron steel and aluminum.

All told, it weighs in at 1550 kilograms, significantly lighter than what it should have been with conventional, old technology. The rationalization of platforms worldwide means Nissan can develop a better, sharper and lighter platform that consumes less fuel and is more engaging to drive, as well as safer in terms of crash and impact results.

The big, burly VQ35DE V6 engine is a real gem, having been used in Nissan’s 350Z sports car. It is related to the closed-deck VR38DETT found in Nissan’s infamous track-monster R35 GTR, as well as the VQ37VHR on the more recent 370Z sports coupe.

It features an open-deck all-alloy design with 24 valves and four camshafts for a very silky smooth operation. It delivers an impressive 270 horsepower and 340 Newton-meters of torque, driving the front wheels via Nissan’s third generation X-Tronic CVT transmission. Finally, a CVT worthy of the VQ35!

The Altima has interesting features like the Nasa-developed Zero Gravity seats, BOSE 9-speaker surround sound system and the big VQ35DE V6 engine.

The X-Tronic behaves much like a regular automatic transmission: instant response from standstill, and a quick locking rate to deliver the power quickly and almost no lag—which, aside from enforcing the sporty feel all Nissans deliver, also reduces fuel consumption as you quickly ease off the throttle and find your preferred cruising speed on the road.

Paddle shifters can simulate six forward gears, handy when tackling a tough stretch of road, or braking engines when coming down a steep mountain pass with a full load.

Suited for cruising

The Altima, though being billed as a sports sedan for the masses, is really more well suited for cruising or, even better, chauffeur-driven motoring. But should you find yourself in the driver’s seat, you will benefit from the Nasa-developed zero-gravity seats that help improve blood circulation on long drives, leaving you relaxed and refreshed.

I thought it was a load of bull, but after spending the better part of three hours on a long drive down south and getting stuck in traffic, my legs and bum still felt cooler, and less sore—even being in the same position for a long time. The perforated leather seats are also heated and cooled, depending on how you flick the switch besides them on the center console.

The simple infotainment system has an LCD screen to show your audio settings. It has Aux and USB connectivity, and is designed to work seamlessly with your Apple mobile device—although it doesn’t seem to work well with Android-powered devices.

The LCD screen also doubles as a rear-facing camera screen—handy when parking the Altima’s long bum on a tight spot, such as my car in my office parking space, where I have to slot it into two structural columns.

But the Bose nine-speaker surround sound system is, perhaps, the most impressive and most powerful (not to mention super clear and clean sounding) audio system ever fitted into any car in this segment. It plays my MP3 tracks very clearly, and can even compensate with some noise filtering and mild amplification when connected to your media device via a simple Aux-in cable. I was definitely left very impressed, my ears ringing from the aural pleasure from playing some old school rock.

Less impressive though is the beige/ivory/cream leather interior. It’s not as soft as that of its rivals, and attracts dirt, grime and grease like metal shavings to a magnet—if your hands are even mildly sweaty, you’ll rub all the dirt on your hands onto the steering wheel.

Impressive drive

But on the move, you’ll forget all that, as the Altima delivers an impressive drive: The seating position is excellent, and the handsome, three-spoke steering wheel adjusting for reach and rake.

There’s also auxiliary buttons for the infotainment system, the in-car computer and cruise control mounted on the steering wheel, plus the aforementioned paddle shifters.

The zero gravity seats also have ample thigh support for someone my size, so you can really spend long stints behind the wheel of the Altima without the sore limbs.

On the open road, the muscular VQ35 delivers ample power with a great sense of urgency; response is almost electric, and the torque is like a tsunami, revving all the way to redline with gusto better-suited to smaller displacement, race-tuned engines.

The steering is slightly heavy on center, thanks partly to the off-set steering wheel, requiring more effort to move away from dead center, a trick to improve straight-line stability. But as you pile on the lock, effort lightens, just enough to keep fluid steering movement easy.

The brakes are a bit snatchy when cold; and with the soft-ish suspension, it can get you bobbing and nose-diving. But after getting used to the feel and warming them up, the Altima’s brakes become one with your foot, confidently allowing you to brake just a wee bit later and closer to nailing your ideal (imaginary) apex.

The somewhat overly long front and rear overhangs greatly hamper parking maneuverability. These were designed with the most stringent pedestrian crash impact results in mind, so these long overhangs are actually soft and carry little mass—meaning, at high speeds and dynamic maneuvers, there’s very little inertia at either ends of the car, helping handling and responsiveness.

The Altima is a pretty safe car too: Six airbags come as standard (dual front, dual side and curtain airbags), as well as ABS-EBD brakes, traction/stability control, and active understeer control—a form of torque vectoring which helps the big Altima corner more confidently and safer, resisting terminal understeer and sending you right through the Armco.

The good news is that on the highway, the Altima can accomplish a fuel-consumption reading of 14 kilometers per liter when cruising carefully at 90-100 km per hour. In-city driving was a surprising 6.4 kpl, and my combined city/highway driving delivered an impressive 8.5 kpl with about 70-percent city use and 30-percent highway. I’m sure that with a more conscious driving effort to be efficient (I admit that my 11EEE’s pack a lot of lead in them), consumption should improve further.

Healthy aftermarket

The Altima also has a healthy aftermarket following. Intake, exhaust, suspension and wheel/tire upgrades are plentiful online, making the Altima a popular alternative for the gentleman (or woman) who likes to personalize and individualize his (or her) beast of burden.

It would definitely look better with bigger 19-inch or even 20-inch wheels rather than the current, small-looking 17-inch wheels shod with Michelin Primacy 215/50R17 tires, but the tall sidewalls definitely contribute to the smooth ride.

The Altima is a winner. It might not be the absolute best in its segment, but it deserves to stand toe-to-toe with the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Mazda 6 and Subaru Legacy.

It’s vastly underrated, too, which is a shame. Try it, get behind the wheel and experience what Nissan has to offer. Hopefully, we’ll see more of these great cars from Nissan. Hello Nissan Pilipinas, R35 GTR please!