OKAY, you win! I finally got an Altima. Happy? Because I sure am The Corolla I had originally received on my reservation from a local HLE had bad brakes, so I swapped it for this high-mileage but fresh-out-of-the-shop 2011 Altima at the airport. As a die-hard preferrer of American brands, and having heard so much criticism of other FCARs like the Impala and Malibu (although for the latter it was deserved), I decided not to complain and see if even a highly-used model such as this one could possibly change my opinion. After a day and a half with it and taking it an extra 60+ miles further than I had to, I'd say it most certainly did.

www.nissanusa.com/altima

Car Description: 11 ALTIMA S (2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 S)
Class: F6

The S trim is the intermediate trim level for the Altima. This particular vehicle didn't have any of the optional features, and had a MSRP of $23,210. This is the highest-mileage vehicle I've ever driven (and upon browsing the highest mileage vehicles thread, I think I may have set a record with 56,941 miles on the odometer when I picked it up! I added 101 miles to that number, but I don't apologize


Powertrain: The 2011 Altima comes with the 2.5-liter "QR25DE" inline 4-cylinder engine, which produces up to 175 horsepower and 180 ft-lbs. or torque. This is average for a full-size car with a 4-cylinder engine; I would have liked a 6-cylinder engine, but you can't be too picky with Hertz -- and 4 cylinders was enough for this car. The continuously variable transmission, however, is less common in the class, and what's even more unusual is how well it performs. Sure, it does rev high occasionally, especially when going the distance from 60 to 80 mph on the highway, but does get you from 0 to 60 in 8.6 seconds.* The manual mode was also very responsive except for the first two gears; from a stop, it felt as if second gear was non-existent other than the number "2" on the screen. The EPA rates the fuel economy of the Altima at 23 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway; I pushed this car very hard (with mostly mountain driving!) and averaged 24, which is decent, but I did expect better.

*This isn't to say acceleration is bad -- it's actually surprisingly good, but only occasionally. It's weird: it seems to get you to 20 or 30 very quickly, then it almost pauses while the RPMs increase from the 2000-3000 range to the 4000-5000 range and then you go the rest of the way up to 60 and beyond. And this is when you're flooring it. If it could get that faster acceleration rate from the start, I think the Altima would benefit greatly.

Ride/Handling: The Altima truly surprised me in this category. It's a pretty tight car, with a stiff suspension, tight steering, and firm braking. The brakes squeaked a bit occasionally but that's because it has over 57,000 miles on it (although the brakes on my personal 2004 Malibu MAXX with over 80,000 miles never squealed ). I did a lot of driving on windy, steep roads in the Wasatch mountain range, and I was really impressed with how well it handled on the switchbacks and hills.

One thing I want to point out is that the brakes did save me at one point. I was cruising down a long, straight hill (3 lanes, and it must have been at least two miles long), when out of nowhere a deer walked into my lane. I was able to stop before hitting it; if I was in the Corolla, I may not have been able to write that ride report.


Interior: I'd say the interior of the Altima is slightly better-than-average compared to other FCARs. The Charcoal cloth trim suited the car fine. Four to five people can fit comfortably in the car. I'd like to point out that the front seat was one of the most comfortable ones I've sat in for an FCAR, even if it wasn't leather; I'd say it was one of the best, but even manually-adjustable lumbar support would have been welcome Both of the front seats can be adjusted manually.

The radio cluster, consisting of decent-looking square buttons in two rows, was pretty intuitive and the screen easy to read. The climate controls mainly consisted of two large dials, but the fan had (I counted) 26 (!) power level notches. The AC also did a great job of cooling down the car quickly. I found two DC power outlets -- one below the radio cluster in the storage compartment, and one in the center console, next to a USB outlet. There was an auxiliary jack directly on the radio cluster in line with the buttons. The gauge cluster is also easy to read and gives you the information you need, including instant and average fuel economies, fuel range, and so on.

My favorite feature was the push-button engine start/stop control. I haven't had that in a rental car since my Corvette and I just think it's so cool There was a charging slot for the proximity key below the steering wheel and to the left. Something that wasn't so nice though was the manual light controls. Perhaps Chevy and Ford spoil me but I feel like this should be standard on all FCARs.

There is a ton of storage space. The trunk is pretty big. The center console has a tray level in it, which was the perfect size for a rental contract. There are plenty of cup holders. And the Altima has the largest glove compartment I've seen in my entire life -- which actually isn't a great thing, because the manual slides around and you can hear it (I stashed the insurance paperwork in a narrow slot on the top portion of the compartment!). Speaking of hearing things, road noise is well muted in the Altima. The engine can be loud if you really push it (or if it pushes itself) but it's not too bad.


Exterior/Design:The Altima is pretty generic when it comes to its exterior design, but you can see they tried, especially with the tail lights. The Brilliant Metallic Silver paint suited it well, although for some reason I kept thinking I had a dark blue car. The dual exhaust pipes were cool, though.

One thing I wasn't so pleased about in terms of design was the windshield wipers -- although they covered the vast majority of the windshield, a good inch or two on the left was left untouched. This could have easily been fixed if the wiper just rotated further; instead you were left with a narrow pie-slice being missed.

Features: This car was the stripped down, basic version of the Altima. Its standard features include two DC outlets, and aux-in jack and USB port, steering wheel-mounted cruise control, push-button engine start/stop control and proximity key, a tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel ^, a sunglasses holder (where I almost left mine!), and a ton of cup holders in various places. I would have liked automatic headlights, adjustable lumbar support, and Bluetooth connectivity, but I was able to cope without these luxuries.


Value: This was a swap from a Corolla I had received from a HLE that had bad brakes. I paid $25 all-in for 2 days and 2 hours for a compact car (Chevy Aveo or similar) using the USAA CDP and a $10/day-off PC, so this is an abnormally good value. If I received this on a FCAR reservation I would have been happy too, although a newer car with more features would be nicer of course.

Summary

• 2.5L inline 4-cylinder engine (175 hp, 180 ft-lbs. of torque)
• CVT with 6-speed manual mode
• 23/32 mpg
• Second trim level

PROS:

• Nice pickup from a stop
• Great handling all-around
• Comfortable seats
• Proximity key
• Push-button engine start/stop

CONS:

• Very stripped-down model
• No lumbar support
• No automatic headlights
• Manual mode not always very responsive

Although it was high mileage and it was old, the Altima blew away nearly all of my preconceptions about Japanese automakers -- they do actually make cars that are comfortable and fun to drive, yet don't put a strain on your wallet. I was doing the SLC station manager a favor by taking this, but I was surprised how much I liked it.

Final Verdict: Nissan pretty much got the full-size car right with the 2011 Altima 2.5 S, and this was in 2011 and with a 4-cylinder! Some more power and a more responsive manual mode would definitely help, as well as some more features. Regardless of those shortcomings, this is really one of the better FCARs in the fleet.

-J.

P.S. I still prefer the Impala LTZ