2007 Altima Hybrid

Over the past couple of days I have had the pleasure of driving an Altima hybrid for about a hundred or so miles. As most of you folks know, I drive about anything and have no real preference for hybrid, traidtional engines types, or whatever but am fascinated by all cars and what they can and cannot do.

My overall impression of the Altima Hybrid is that is was not designed with the traditional hybrid consumer in mind. The hybrid technology appears to be an afterthought, or marketing gimmick to increase the number or potential buyers. I say this becasue the base model I drove had no on board system with which to monitor all the hybrid functions to help determine peak efficiency. It really looks like Nissan, given a choice, would have rather not entered the hybrid market at all.

The vehicle itself, in my opinion, after driving Honda and Toyota hybrids, appears to be cheaply made. There isn't anything wrong with the car that stands out, but little glaring details that appear to be concessions to cost considerations seem to be everywhere.

The following items stood out the most in my initial impressions:

The passenger visor mirror was not lighted.
The gear shift cover plate had a hole "plugged" so it can fit different transmissions and vehicles.
The aux. power outlet (lighter plug), was in the bottom of the center console and did not have a cover on it so any "stuff" would fall inside and there was no secondary plug that I could easily find.
The dimmer for the dash array was a little turn knob poking through the protective plate which was awkward to adjust and simply looked "cheezy".
The stereo spoeakers were quite poor and lacked any sense of midrange sound and the base was way too loose.
The seats were the most uncomfortable seats I have sat on since my old 1988 Ford ranger pickup truck and the adjustments were too limited for any sort of comfort.

Ok... Now that I have aired my complaints, on to the good stuff....

The car handles quite well. It cornered precisely and I was able to get rubber at 10mph going around a corner and goosing it. There is no problem with torque steer despite the fact it will accelerate as well as many v6 automobiles (plenty of torque).

The actual ride of the car is "flat" in terms of achieving a reasonable balance of comfort ad precision, much like a Camry or Civic hybrid, but not as cushy as a Prius. I even had the car on a dirt road with potholes and mud, (gotta love spring in Maine), and it was a real pleasure to stay connected to the ground and be comfortable at the same time.

Getting in and out is an easy task. The controls are all well lit and unobtrusive. My only complaint in that regard is the double tray in the center console which is, in my opinion, useless if you need to open it and will be easily broken my teenagers scrambling to find the latest cd to put into the deck.

The transmission..... I am undecided on the transmission.....

It is not as smooth or as seamless at anything that Toyota or Honda has to offer. However it is precise and offeres efficient performance. My suspicion is the comparative roughness of the transmission is what allows it to provide better performance with less softness. This may be a preference for younger drivers wanting to "feel" the power but I think traditional hybrid owners will be put off by it if they take the time to compare the Altima with the Civic or Camry. It just doesn't feel as "nice" or as well built as the Toyotas or Hondas.

All in all it is a pleasant car to drive, a reasonable value for the money, but not as desireable a choice as any of the Toyota or Honda models that Nissan has targeted as competition. I think the generally younger crowd that wants more performance while maintaining an impression of economy and conservation will be the most successful buyer demographic for this car, especially if Nissan does what they will likely need to do, and reduce the cost of the base model as it simply doesn't measure up in terms of quality with its competitors.