It makes me happy when changes I suggest in my reviews are later implemented by vehicle manufacturers. So the recently introduced 2005 Nissan Altima should make me very happy. When reviewing the car in 2002 I found a number of things I did not like, especially the cheapness and incohesiveness of the interior, awkwardly-styled gauges, floppy shifter, and flaccid seat bolsters. I also felt the somewhat soft front end sheetmetal and numb yet twitchy steering (some of it performed by the engine) could be improved. With the 2005 much of this list has been attended to. Obviously, a test drive was in order. I’ve previously driven the V6 with both transmissions and the four-cylinder with the manual. This time around I actually drove the powertrain most people buy, the four-cylinder automatic.

Styling

Back in the fall of 2001 the 2002 Altima’s styling was striking. It still looks good, but familiarity has dulled its impact. These days the Acura TL is the midsize sedan that gets my second glances.

In my initial review I praised the exterior styling but wondered why the front end was so much softer than the aggressively angular midsection and rear end. For 2005 the entire car ahead of the windshield has been restyled. It’s more angular now, yielding a more cohesive design. Not a huge difference, and certainly not enough to make people take notice all over again, but a welcome one.

In the rear, always the Nissan Altima's strongest suit, changes are largely limited to the color of the turn signals, which are now red instead of orange. The orange looked a bit sharper, but no big deal either way.

In my initial review I had far more issues with the Altima’s interior styling. It was a disaster. Not only did cheap plastic and poorly finished bits abound, but the styling itself went in two different directions, retro and futuristic. It was as if two totally different themes were combined with little in the way of resolution.

Usually a vehicle manufacturer will attempt to fix a bad interior with a few new bits of trim, but not Nissan this time around. For 2005 the original instrument panel and door panels have been entirely scrapped. Their replacements are more conventional, almost too conventional, but are undoubtedly more attractive. Good enough for a car in this price class. For an eccentric interior Nissan sedan shoppers will now have to pay extra for the Maxima.

The gauges have also been restyled, so my former strident criticism no longer applies. In retrospect, I suspect the initial gauges were borrowed from a domestic right-hand-drive Nissan, and thus the gas/temp gauge was backwards. We left-hand-drivers get our own gauge now that Nissan is making money again.

One aspect of the Nissan Altima's new interior I very much disliked: the SL’s plentiful fake wood. This faux timber is a very dark brown that recalls antique furniture in my mind. It looks totally out of place inside the Altima.

While the quality of the revised interior is better, it remains just adequate. I drove the leather-trimmed SL; the leather used is definitely not luxury grade. Secondary controls like the seat heater rockers feel low-rent and the HVAC knobs are the same ones I criticized in the Armada. I drove a 2004 Accord immediately afterward. The Honda’s interior looks and feels a class or two more upscale despite also making extensive use of hard plastic. And it’s not just a matter of the sub-$30,000 sticker. I drove the Kia Amanti the same day. While a very different sort of car (i.e. Korea’s version of the Lincoln Town Car), its interior is far better finished than the Altimas, for less money than the V6.

All in all, the revised interior is definitely an improvement, but only to the extent that it no longer threatens to kill the entire deal all on its own. It figures prominently in the current ads, but still isn’t among the car’s top selling points.

Accommodations

The Nissan Altima has always enjoyed a good driving position. You sit higher over the instrument panel than in the Accord, trading some upscale feel for a better view over the hood. I found the 2005’s seats more comfortable than those in past Altima’s, though I’m not sure if any changes were made. I initially thought the side bolsters felt stouter, but those in the Accord proved to be considerably more effective.

I sat in a cloth-trimmed 2005 in the showroom. The new cloth is a vast improvement over the old. Very attractive with a sporty, durable-feeling texture. In many ways it’s preferable to the leather. As I’ve already mentioned, the leather in the 2.5 SL is nothing special. The cowhide in the 3.5 is perforated, lending it more visual appeal. I sat in one of these, too. The 3.5’s seats felt a bit cushier, though maybe I was just fooled into thinking this by the sound of air rushing through those perforations as I sat down (the sound resembles that made by a cushy sofa even if the feel is very different).

The Nissan Altima's front seats are reasonably comfortable, but nothing to rave about. Like many these days they feel a little undersized to me.

The rear seat remains as roomy and comfortable as ever, vying with the Camry’s for best-in-class. Unlike that in the Accord the rear cushion is mounted high enough off the floor to provide good thigh support.

The trunk is another Altima strong point. Though not as large as the Camry’s it is larger than the Accord’s and most other midsize sedans’. Shaped well, too. And the rear seat folds for even more capacity. Interior cabin storage is pretty good, with a bi-level compartment in the center console.

On the Road

The Nissan Altima's 175-horsepower 2.5-liter four feels plenty strong in this car even with the automatic. It’s no rocket, but well beyond adequate in normal driving. The biggest problem with it is that it sounds like, well, a four-cylinder. A V6 sounds much more upscale. I wanted to drive a four-cylinder Honda Accord for a direct comparison. My salesperson mucked about for over twenty minutes seeking a leather-trimmed four-cylinder, and still pulled up a V6. Sounds much nicer than the Nissan four, and much quicker as well. Duh. I’ve driven the Honda Accord four before, and it might sound a bit better than that in the Nissan, but it’s still unmistakably a four.

With the automatic torque steer is significantly less evident than I recall in the manual, though it has been a few years. Automatics do tend to help in this area, though. The transmission shifts fairly smoothly, which is typical these days. It remains a four-speed. Some competitors, including Honda, provide a fifth ratio for better performance and economy.

The 2.5 SL’s handling is certainly competent but nothing special. A very average feeling car all in all, nothing to rant or rave about. The Accord I drove felt more special, but that was more due to the V6 than the handling itself. The Mazda6 is the handling champ in this bunch, though in my opinion even it isn’t great fun to drive. For great fun along a twisty road you need either a sporty compact or a good rear-driver. Though the Acura TSX and TL come close.

Ride quality is better in the Nissan Altima 2.5 than in the more stiffly sprung 3.5. Better than in the Accord EX V6 as well. The Accord surprised me with loud tire impacts—clomp, clomp, clomp--on every bump and divot in the road. The Altima thankfully muffled these far better. The Accord handles wind and engine noise much better than road noise, but the Altima does almost as well in these areas. Among similar cars, only the Camry is significantly quieter.

All in all, thoroughly competent on the road, just not very exciting, at least in 2.5 form. I guess that’s what the upcoming SE-R is for.

Nissan Altima Pricing and Price Comparisons

For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.

My analysis when this review was first written concluded: Overall, the Altima seems quite overpriced. A number of superior cars are available for less.

Final Words

The Nissan Altima is an attractive, competently performing car. The changes for 2005 address many of my original criticisms. It’s still not the best car in its class, but what ultimately does it in is a price higher than that of any major competitor. I’m not sure what Nissan was thinking in pricing the car so high, but if they can get people to pay it more power to them. My advice: by a better car elsewhere for less money.

A Note on Nisssan Altima Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy an Altima rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Nissan Altima reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Altima--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Acura TSX review
Chevrolet Malibu review
Honda Accord review
Kia Optima review (similar to Hyundai Sonata)
Mazda6 review
Mitsubishi Galant review
2002 Nissan Altima review
Toyota Camry review

Amount Paid (US$): 23000
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: SL with sunroof, ABS