Having been disappointed more often than not when I've rented cars, given the opportunity, I take the extra second or two and inspect what's available to me so the several days a rental is essentially mine is as enjoyable a experience as possible. This past week I did just that and I passed on a gaggle of Malibu's, Camry's and Fusion's and went with this non descript Nissan Altima instead. Why? For no other reason than because it had Nissan's lovely, if evergreen, 3.5 liter V-6. While the wife wasn't happy with the color, the stench of Febreze covering up cigarette smoke, general filth, grime and wear and tear didn't help either, the idea of several days with a big old fashioned V-6 instead of a hybrid or over turbo boosted four-cylinder was strong enough to overcome Alamo's terrible prep job. Seriously, Alamo; what the hell?
Cut to the chase - the big engine did not disappoint. Smooth and rev happy, it pulled like a freight train with the slightest tap of the gas and when called on for passing hurled this rather large, amorphous blob of a car with ease; the jump to 80, 90 miles per hour from 60 coming on in the blink of an eye. No frantic, manic turbocharged surging and with a growl that's becoming less and less common with the influx of annoyingly antiseptic "modern" engines and drive trains. I swear, car engines sound more like blenders than ever. While this car had an incredible amount of torque steer, I had so much fun driving it that I was able to look past that and its wretched CVT transmission. Nissan has retuned the CVT so it behaves more like a conventional transmission; the only time I knew it was a CVT was at low speed and when I floored the gas. Outside that, the CVT was seamless and I got a respectable 26.7 miles per gallon. Impressive.
Now, I could gush all day long about how perfect the driving position was, thanks to an infinitely adjustable drivers seat, how nice the electro/hydraulic steering was and that the brakes grabbed like a race car's. If you want an in depth review of this car you can google for one but I want to discuss the fact that as much fun as this car was, given the chance I would not buy one. And that's too bad seeing what an enjoyable, comfortable car this is but there are several reasons for my general ambivalence towards it.
First off, with two kids coming to the end of their college careers, my family doesn't need a staid, responsible even if quite fun to drive "family car"; been there done that 2002 Ford Taurus et al. Hold on, for the record our Taurus was not fun to drive. Anyway, secondly, if we were looking for a family car, there are a myriad of other choices out there that offer similar if not greater performance for similar money. And they're, subjectively, better looking automobiles. I'd also steer clear of anything with a CVT; as smooth as the one in this car was, they're notorious for breaking down and being expensive to repair.
Furthermore, I can understand why the family sedan is a dying breed; they just don't have the utility that cross overs have and, again, they don't have any of their styling mojo. Regardless of the fact that most of today's family sedans can run circles around most cross overs. And that's saying a lot considering how fabulous performers cross overs are today.
Regarding styling, while Nissan cleaned up the front end of the Altima for 2016 making it less of a Mazda 6 wannabee and more of a...well...I'm not sure what this car is...more of a generic 2018 sedan? Altima has never been a looker. Awkward at worst and somewhat interesting at best, the Altima has always been a lost middle child going back to when it first replaced the Stanza back in 1993. Regardless of the fact that the Altima and Maxima share the same chassis now, that wasn't always the case, as far as its slot in the Nissan lineup goes, is the Altima a cheapo Maxima or a upscale Sentra? Even the name of the thing seems like a knock off of its big brother Maxima.
I get the value proposition - our rental here came pretty well equipped with just about everything modern cars come with and it was pretty easy to figure out how to work its myriad gadgetry and drive briskly right from the start. I just can't see past its plight as nothing more than a rental. If anything, with the similarities between the Maxima and Altima, I might be inclined to look at a gently used, loaded Maxima. But an Altima? Sorry, love ya, red but no can do.
For four days turtling through south Florida holiday traffic, I did have a oh-so-spirited 400 mile round trip to the Jacksonville area, I could have done a lot worse than this unassuming power house of an appliance. By the way, for 2019, Nissan has redesigned the Altima making it even more dishwasher and microwave oven like in the process. And, newsflash, the V-6 is gone being replaced by, sigh, a 2.0 liter turbo in line four. Oh. Look. I'm doing 100 miles per hour in the blink of an eye but the experience is as satisfying as pureeing an avocado in a blender.
Good thing, then, that despite the shocking shape the car was in, I rented this when I had the chance. Quite fun. By the way, when we dropped the car back off at Alamo before our flight home, we tactfully complained about how smelly and dirty the car was and they knocked 10% off our bill. Pays to be nice.
For four days turtling through south Florida holiday traffic, I did have a oh-so-spirited 400 mile round trip to the Jacksonville area, I could have done a lot worse than this unassuming power house of an appliance. By the way, for 2019, Nissan has redesigned the Altima making it even more dishwasher and microwave oven like in the process. And, newsflash, the V-6 is gone being replaced by, sigh, a 2.0 liter turbo in line four. Oh. Look. I'm doing 100 miles per hour in the blink of an eye but the experience is as satisfying as pureeing an avocado in a blender.
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