I've had my 1999 Altima GXE for two years now, and I think I can finally give it a fair shake in a review after putting 30k miles on it (total mileage is currently over 90,000mi) . When I was shopping for a used car in 2003, I was really looking for a Nissan Maxima but the insurance was heavy, it used premium fuel and every manual transmission example I found was driven to death.
The Altima was a plan B car - and I bought it expecting something in the "boring transportation" line. However I have been pleasantly surprised with this car.
First, reliability. When I bought the car it was 4 years old and in excellent mechanical and cosmetic shape. I checked as many mechanical items out as possible before I bought the car. I'm a car nut and do as much maintenance on my vehicles as possible, and being a college grad student I can't afford big bills when it comes to keeping myself on the road. The Altima has been bullet-proof reliable. Keep in mind that I've followed the recommended maintenance intervals strictly - but even so I can find no fault with the car's reliability. I change the oil every 3-5000 miles with Mobil-1 synthetic oil (slight overkill) and the engine does not burn or leak any oil. Parts costs are reasonable. This car is well built, with none of the rattles or squeaks more common with domestic brands - particularly ironic when you consider that the Altima is made in the US...
The Altima is an odd-size car, in the sense that it is smaller than a Maxima, Camry, Accord, Taurus etc. but larger than a Civic, Focus, Corolla et al. I think this in-between size is great: it is roomier than a compact car (which it technically is) but not as big and heavy as a midsize sedan. Four adults can ride comfortably for medium length trips, five for short rides to the restaurant etc. My GXE model came without the bells and whistles of the GLE and SE models, so I can't comment on options like power leather seats, trunk mounted CD changer, a moonroof or alloy wheels.
As for performance, a big surprise...quite good. I expected the car to be reliable, but I didn't expect it to be much of a performer. The 150hp/155lb-ft 2.4 liter twin overhead cam 4 cylinder engine is not as smooth as, say, the 3.0 liter V6 in a previous generation Maxima but it is far from thrashy when revving. Most important , it is torquey. The engine pulls well throughout the rev band, though you will feel an increase over 3000 RPM. I was a little worried about the car's weight - 2900+ pounds is getting heavy for a 4 cylinder car. However, it will haul from 0-60 in 8 seconds, equal to the contemporary V6 Maxima and significantly better than the 4 banger Jetta or Civic EX, cars that I cross-shopped.
Steering feel is excellent, very direct, precise and not over-boosted. The Altima was not designed as a sports sedan, so it does have more body roll in corners than I'd like but as a result it has a comfortable ride over bad pavement. Still, the ride is firm enough for hard driving. These cars tend to be shod with cheapo crappy tires, but a set of quality rubber will improve the handling enough to satisfy all but the hard-core once you get used to the little extra body roll - I have Falken Ziex ZE512 Ultra High Performance All-Season tires which I can recommend for their good performance qualities. The car does not have ABS but braking performance is very good, especially with quality tires.
I am a "spirited" driver and despite my lead foot the Altima averages 24mpg on 87 octane fuel. I was able to average nearly 30 mpg when driving slower, which is probably more in line with most reader's driving styles. I don't recommend using 89 octane or higher - I experimented with it and gas mileage and performance were unaffected. Freeway driving is a good experience in this car - high speed passing power is not quite as good as the Maxima but it is more than sufficient for most people. I noticed that the car was a little sluggish when accelerating in the 85+mph range but the car will happily cruise at high speeds. A 500-mile trip at 80-90 mph in 90 degree weather with the air conditioning on was accomplished without any drama. Gas mileage will drop noticeably when driving over 90 mph (obviously). In sum, the car doesn't quite match V6 performance but most of the time you won't really notice. I can't speak for automatic transmission performance.
Complaints. Not many, but no car is perfect. The styling of the car is unoffensive but a little anonymous - people with flashy taste might be disappointed. It has grown on me in the past two years but nobody will mistake it for a BMW. The manual transmission can be a little clunky. Throw distance is good, but sometimes I find myself hunting for gears. First through third gear could be a little lower ratio. It's effective but Audi or Porsche transmission it is not. Altimas made in 2000-2001 have an updated transmission that supposedly addresses these complaints. I noticed a creaking in the rear suspension when going over bumps in cold weather which I traced to a squeaky rear suspension bushing. The car's performance and safety are unaffected by this. I have spoken to Nissan mechanics who have said that the squeaking is a known issue among some Altimas and the solution (replacing the bushings) is relatively simple, though I am inclined to ignore it, since I can't hear it while listening to music anyway.
On the whole I am very pleased with this car and would recommend it. It is a good compromise between performance, practicality and cost.
Amount Paid (US$): 7100
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1999
Model and Options: GXE with 5 speed manual
