Inside, the Altima GLE scores high marks with room and comfort. Every
Altima benefits from an open and airy cabin with excellent all-around visibility.
The dash and the windscreen are positioned low and forward respectively,
giving the front passengers ample personal room coupled with an excellent
view over the hood. The cockpit is sufficiently spacious, but it could
benefit from a wee bit more elbow room. Regardless, the interior has a
warm, luxurious feeling, thanks to its woodgrain and leather.
Up front, the leather buckets provide a great driving position and adequate
lateral support, a particulalry effective blend for highway cruising. Rear
seat leg and head room rates as average for cars in this size class. The
Altima is rated for five passengers, but like so many smaller mid-size
sedans is really better suited to two in the rear. A rear seat plus is
the handy flip-down console/armrest with integrated cup holders.
In general, all interior controls are logically laid out and easy to
locate and use. Climate controls are located high in the middle of the
dash, easily accessible by the driver and passenger alike. The fan knob
could be larger, but the controls are otherwise well-designed. However,
we'd prefer to see the audio controls, which are adjusted more frequently,
at the top of the stack.
Unlike some mid-size cars, the Altima's radio controls are large enough
to operate with gloves on. The standard 50-watt AM/FM/cassette system has
plenty of power, but if plenty isn't enough, Nissan offers a 160-watt upgrade
that includes a CD player.
Our sole complaint with the Altima's otherwise excellent control layout
lies with the steering wheel position, which feels slightly left of center.
But this is one of those small design idiosyncrasies that quickly becomes
transparent after a few miles on the road.
The Altima suspension provides a balanced ride that's tuned more for
smooth ride than attacking twisty back roads, but manages to deliver a
sporty feel even so. Front and rear MacPherson struts mounted on a sub-frame
cushion jolts to the cabin, while front and rear stabilizer bars reduce
body roll in cornering maneuvers. If you want a little more authority in
handling responses, we recommend that you check out the SE model, which
firms up the suspension with firmer shocks and a larger rear stabilizer
bar.
Like most front-wheel drive vehicles, pushing the Altima to its handling
limit will yield understeer--the tendency for the front end to go straight
when pushed too hard in a corner. That said, the Altima confidently handles
its 3020-pound curb weight without drama and reacts predictably in emergency
maneuvers.
Our test car's braking performance was very good, thanks to the four-wheel
discs that go with the optional ABS.
All Altimas are powered by Nissan's 150-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder
engine. Unlike most of the Altima's competitors, there's no V6 option.
However, the Altima four is more powerful than virtually all its competitor's
four-cylinders and provides more than adequate power for stoplight getaways
and freeway merges.
As always with smaller cars, we prefer a manual transmission--better
fuel economy, better performance. But the performance of the Altima automatic
is above average for four-cylinder cars in this class, and fuel economy
ratings are respectable at 21/29 mpg city/highway.