2010 Nissan Altima Sedan

“My, how you have grown!” When you test drive the 2010 Nissan Altima, avoid sounding like a clueless uncle greeting an adult niece at Thanksgiving dinner. If, like much of America, it’s been a while since you’ve been in the market for a sedan—rather than an SUV—it’ll be tempting to repeat that familiar Turkey Day refrain. (Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday that reminds us why we no longer live with some people.)


If you haven’t paid attention to the Altima since Bill Clinton was president, know it’s grown from a compact economy car into a powerful, confident-handling, midsize, entry-level luxury sedan that maintains Nissan’s sporty flavor and, especially for 2010, offers assertive styling. Also, your niece is 22, not 11.

Styling

The Altima sedan is the heart of Nissan’s car lineup, fitting above the smaller Versa and Sentra and below the larger Maxima. Altima is such a broad model that it competes, in one way or another, with everything from the Honda Civic to the Toyota Camry SE to the Lexus HS 250h.


The four-door Altima Sedan comes as the 2.5 CVT, 2.5 S and 3.5 SR CVT. Also, under the Altima umbrella is the Altima Coupe and Altima Hybrid sedan. (We’ll leave the coupe and hybrid sedan for other reviews.) Here’s how to decode Nissan’s model nomenclature. The “2.5” indicates the car is fitted with a very strong 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter, four-cylinder. The “3.5” means it enjoys the awesome 270-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine. All Altimas are fitted with a “CVT,” which stands for “continuously variable transmission.” More on CVTs later. Prices start around $20,000 and go to almost $30,000 for the gas-engine cars.


We had a chance to sample almost every version of Altima sedan during a visit to Nissan’s national headquarters in Nashville. Here are the short answers: If you’re looking for a very roomy, affordable sedan, consider the 2.5 CVT. If you’re willing to pay a bit more for Nissan’s sporty feel, the 2.5 S CVT is an excellent choice. Those who like to go BMW hunting in the stoplight Grand Prix or on a curvy back road will be very entertained by the 270-horsepower 3.5 SR CVT. The Altima is spacious enough to hold five full-sized adults. Unlike those in most five-place vehicles, the Altima’s center-rear seat is a livable space for grown people, at least for shorter trips.

2010 Updates, CVT

Changes for 2010 feature a more assertive hood, grille and front bumper cover. Inside, the Altima gets new fabrics. Electronic stability control, which Nissan calls VDC, now comes on all Altimas, but that’s not too newsy as it will soon be government-required on all passenger vehicles. The 3.5 SR CVT (formerly called the SE) now comes with high-intensity discharge headlights.