I am an evenly proportioned 6'6" tall male, and have great difficulty finding cars I fit in, mostly due to inadequate leg room. I sat in 130(!) cars at the Dec. 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show (a good workout let me tell you). Price was not much of a concern, and yet I found only two sedans that I fit in comfortably. One was the Buick Lucerne, the other was the Nissan Altima.
The Altima's V6 has as many horsepower as the Buick's V8, at less cost and lower weight. Easy choice there.
You may wonder about the Nissan Maxima -- same engine and transmission as the Altima, with more back seat room -- but I found that the dash layout of the Maxima was not friendly to tall peoples' knees.
So I bought the Altima 3.5 SE, with the sport suspension and the continuously variable transmission (CVT). It also has low-profile V-rated tires. As a result the ride is not luxo-cruiser smooth. You give something up to get good handling. But the CVT is smooth and well-behaved, worth a lot on uphill grades. I *hate* it when other cars' 4-speeds have to search for the right gear during cruise control or in the mountains. The Altima's transmission is wonderful on hills and steep grades. Don't be afraid, they really got it right.
I am continuously amazed at how many features there are in the Altima's SE package. Things you would pay hundreds or thousands for in a Mercedes are included on the Altima for less than $30k total. The interior cabin layout is well thought out, the glove compartment is huge, and there are two more large storage areas accessible to the driver! Backseat passthroughs will make it useful for transporting the occasional long item.
Reliability will be my only concern going forward, yet I find that Nissans have a good record for that. The keyless entry and pushbutton start have not been a problem. I understand they had some issues with keyfob reliability before the 2007 model year, but that has supposed to have been fixed and I have had no problems.
It also takes premium gas, but gets good gas mileage (at least compared to my truck).
I am very pleased at having purchased a stylish, sporty sedan for a good price, that fits me personally, as well as fitting my driving habits.
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