2013 Nissan Altima: Drive review

Redesign boosts sedan's comfort, road manners

The redesigned 2013 Nissan Altima..

What is it?

Nissan's design objective for the 2013 Altima was to create a car that was "a class above" the actual category in which this model plays. Sure, it sounds like a glib promotional line, but we had several people come up to us during the initial drive experience and ask if this was a new Lexus. Clearly they thought they were looking at a premium brand and we won't argue with that. The sheetmetal now has a more sophisticated character, and even the joker-grin grille that Nissan favors doesn't detract much from the expensive look.

While the rear end looks familiar, the deep-draw trunklid stamping produces interesting contours, and the prominent chrome accent bar's subtle shape was influenced by styling from a Shinto temple. The car's profile is clean, and the strategic creases in its sides are right up to date with current design trends.

All in all, the new Altima is a good-looking piece, and it even weighs less now thanks to the use of aluminum for the hood and bumper reinforcements, and expanded use of high-tensile steel. Overall, total vehicle weight was reduced by about 80 pounds.

The new car's dimensions are much as they were for its predecessor, but the new unibody benefits from a front strut-tower brace and an additional structural support at the rear parcel shelf to improve solidity.

What is it like to drive?

The various structural tweaks appear to have worked because the new car feels taut and quiet, with manifestly good front-end integrity abetted by a new multilink rear suspension featuring what Nissan calls connect bushings. These apparently maintain a high level of lateral rigidity, yet allow helpful rear-wheel toe-in when cornering. Sure enough, the Altima feels stable in a straight line, yet it is nimbly responsive to steering inputs. Instead of an all-electric steering-assist system, Nissan bucked the trend and chose electromechanical assist for the Altima, where an electric pump provides hydraulic pressure when needed.

As a result, the wheel feels alive and communicative despite a commendable degree of isolation from vibration and road shock. For keen drivers, this is a unique selling point in the Altima's impressive list of assets. Obviously, heading that list has to be the customer's choice of two engines.

The base engine is a massaged version of the existing 2.5-liter four-cylinder, now producing 182 hp and promising 38 mpg in concert with a new continuously variable transmission named Xtronic. The new transmission has a wider gear-ratio range than before and is said to have had its internal friction reduced by 40 percent. Nissan says the CVT redesign has resulted in an improvement in fuel economy of more than 15 percent with the four-cylinder engine and 10 percent with the 3.5-liter V6 engine when compared with the 2012 Altima.

Nissan retained the 3.5-liter V6 despite the prevailing flight to all inline-fours for midsize sedans by much of the industry, noting that there is still a group of drivers who like V6s. Predictably, the four-cylinder car feels lighter in the nose, able to turn in a fraction quicker than its V6 sibling, but the six-cylinder model rules in the throttle-response stakes.

Some people might not like the unusual engine cadence one experiences with a CVT, but you can't beat it for instant response. Need to move into a gap on the freeway? Step on the gas and hold on. Then, on the open road, you can dial back and let the revs drop to a discreet purr as the CVT spools to its long-striding high ratio. All that's left is to sit back on the new NASA-inspired "zero-gravity" seats (designed to reduce muscular load) and enjoy the trip.

Looking ahead, one sees an appropriately space-age instrument panel with a center info screen that offers virtual three-dimensional displays. The car is loaded with all of the usual modern electronic stuff, including a backup camera that provides not only a rearward peek but also lane-departure and blind-spot warnings, plus moving-object recognition to see toddlers and shopping carts.

Along with navigation and cell phone integration (allowing streaming audio and text-message services), the Altima has available remote start and easy-fill tire-pressure monitoring, where the car beeps to tell you when the correct pressure has been reached.

Do I want one?

Nice as those convenience technologies are, the Altima's major attraction for us is its performance on the road. Both engines are strong and responsive, and the CVT has some brilliant features to help the driver. For one, it stays at the current ratio if you lift off the gas momentarily, such as when trying to merge. For another, it shifts to a lower ratio when you're braking, to be ready for a strong drive off the corner.

And when you do hammer off that corner, there's an active understeer control (which brakes the inside front wheel) to keep you on the right line. With features such as this, we can live with a bit of motor-boating from the drivetrain.

With the four-cylinder model priced from $21,500 and the V6 starting at $25,360, we find the Altima an attractive alternative to the other big players in the class.

2013 Nissan Altima

On Sale: Late June

Base Price: I4, $21,500; V6, $25,360

Drivetrains:

2.5-liter I4; 182-hp, 180 lb-ft, FWD, CVT

3.5-liter V6; 270-hp, 258 lb-ft, FWD, CVT

Curb Weight: 3,108-3,355 lb

0-60 MPH: 7.8 sec, 6.2 sec (est)

Fuel Economy: 27/38 mpg, 23/30 mpg (est)

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