Nissan Altima Is A Fun Coupe At A Reasonable Price

February 01, 2008 11:00 pm • Last Updated: December 12, 2009 4:07 am

By San Express-News

Here's a fun car that won't break the bank.

With a starting price under $21,000, you can enjoy the sportiness of the Nissan Altima, but in a coupe body style.

This is the first coupe version of the Altima, the midsize Nissan that has been one of the brand's most popular vehicles.

The coupe version went on sale in May as an early 2008 model.

This isn't just a two-door version of the Altima sedan, though. The exterior is significantly different, taking some of its styling cues from the beautiful 350Z sports car.

It's built on the same architecture as the front-drive Altima sedan, which makes it quite different underneath from the rear-drive 350Z.

But the coupe has snazzier styling than its two biggest competitors, the Honda Accord Coupe and the Toyota Camry Solara, although the Accord has been redesigned for 2008 and now is a lot closer to sporty-looking than it has ever been.

One of Nissan's strengths of late has been cutting-edge styling, though, and the Altima Coupe carries on that tradition admirably,

The push to create great styling began for Nissan with the first Altima, introduced for 1993 to replace the boring Stanza.

For 2002, there was a complete revamp of the Altima, making it larger than the Camry and Accord — after years of being smaller than its competitors.

Then last year, the Altima moved into a new generation, on an all-new platform that is actually slightly smaller outside than the 2002-2006 model. Interior space remained virtually the same, though.

Among the most notable changes are the improvements to the interior, which was a major point of criticism about the previous Altima. Instead of the cheap, bland styling of the previous model, the new Altima's interior looks like that of a more expensive premium brand.

The rear end has a raked appearance similar to that of the sedan, but the rear side windows are much smaller, giving the coupe a more drastic swoop from the roof to the rear bumper. This is where it is most like the 350Z.

Coupe models are 182.5 inches long, compared with 189.8 for the sedan. Both have the same width, but the coupe is nearly 3 inches lower than the sedan, with an overall height of 55.3 inches.

Because it's supposed to be sportier, the coupe is designed to handle better than the sedan as well. To that end, the wheelbase is 105.3 inches, 3 inches shorter than that of the sedan.

Even with the great styling, the coupe will have limited consumer appeal because it has two doors instead of four.

Coupes have come and gone in the U.S. market, with some automakers abandoning them altogether at times on account of apparent consumer disinterest. In fact, just as the Altima Coupe is coming to market, Toyota is doing away with the coupe version of the Camry (the Solara), citing poor sales.

But now that aging baby boomers mostly have finished raising and educating their kids, they are buying more of the cars they want instead of the cars they needed when they had children at home.

Powering the Altima Coupe are versions of the same engines offered in the sedan. The base engine is a 2.5-liter, double-overhead-cam, inline four-cylinder rated at 175 horsepower and 180 foot-pounds of torque.

The uplevel engine is a version of the VQ-series 3.5-liter V-6 used in a number of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, including the 350Z.

In the Altima coupe, it's rated at 270 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. (In the Z car, this engine puts out 306 horsepower and 268 foot-pounds of torque.)

Coupe models come with a choice of Nissan's continuously variable transmission (CVT) or a six-speed manual.

For sure, the V-6 engine and the manual gearbox are the choice of those who want to get the sportiest performance out of the coupe, and this is the drivetrain that was included in our test vehicle. Nissan says the V-6 manual can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in about six seconds.

Coupe models are offered in the base S model and the uplevel SE, which we tested.

The starting price is $20,490 plus $625 freight for the 2.5-liter S model with the six-speed manual transmission; with the CVT, the price goes up just $500 to $20,990.

The SE model comes with the V-6 engine and begins at $24,970. As with the S model, the CVT can be added for $500.

The nicest thing about Nissan vehicles is that for the most part they are designed to be fun to drive, and the Altima Coupe is no exception. I found the car to be quite sure-footed, especially on tight Hill Country curves that can test any car's abilities.

The power steering is speed-sensitive and in those curves was tight and responsive, with no hint of wallowing.

Sports cars are supposed to feel like that, but it's rare for a car that's designed as an everyday vehicle that can carry a full load of passengers.

Altima Coupes with the four-cylinder engine come with 16-inch wheels, while the V-6 has 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.

Standard equipment on all models includes four-wheel antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, traction control, sport-style front bucket seats, a 60/40 split-folding rear bench seat, and keyless entry and ignition system with push-button start.

Options on our test car included the Premium Package ($3,200), which added a Bose audio system with nine speakers, a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, satellite radio, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-trimmed seats/doors/shifter, heated front seats, auto-dimming rearview mirror and a universal garage/gate opener, along with the Technology Package ($2,000), bringing a navigation system with XM real-time traffic information for many major cities and a back-up camera system that shows what is behind the car on the navigation system's 6.5-inch LCD monitor.

Standard safety features include front-seat side-impact air bags and roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for front and rear passengers and atire-pressure monitoring system. Electronic stability control, a $600 option, is available only on the V-6 and was included on our vehicle.

With all the options and freight, total sticker for our car was $31,395.

EPA fuel-economy ratings for the four-cylinder coupe are 23 miles per gallon city/32 highway with the manual transmission and 23/31 with the CVT.

Our tester's V-6 engine and manual gearbox combination gave the vehicle ratings of 19 city/27 highway.

The package: Midsize, two-door, five-passenger, four-cylinder or V-6 powered, front-drive sport coupe.

Highlights: Nissan has added a coupe version of its popular midsize Altima sedan for 2008. This is a sporty car with great styling that is quite different from that of the sedan.

Negatives: Electronic stability control should be standard, but is a $600 option; cargo space is half that of the sedan version.

Engines: 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder or 3.5-liter V-6.

Transmissions: Six-speed manual or continuously variable automatic.

Power/torque: 175 HP/180 foot-pounds (I-4); 270 HP/258 foot-pounds (V-6).

Length: 182.5 inches.

Curb weight: 3,052-3,271 pounds.

Brakes, front/rear: Disc/disc, antilock.

Trunk volume: 7.4 cubic feet.

Side air bags: Front seat-mounted, roof-mounted side-curtain for both rows, standard.

Electronic stability control: $600 option, available only on V-6 model.

Fuel capacity/type: 20 gallons/unleaded regular (I-4); unleaded premium (V-6).

EPA fuel economy: 19-23 mpg city/26-32 highway.