Video: The Nissan Altima: A fun, family 4-door

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Today's topic is choice. We have a lot of it in the good old US of A. When it comes down to family sedans it's positively mind boggling to wade through the possibilities. The list includes Camry, Accord, Malibu, Sonata, Avenger, Fusion, Milan, Sebring, Aura, G6, Mazda6, Passat, LaCrosse, and Optima. Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of them all. Let's not forget that many of these come in different flavors such as 4- and 6-cylinder, all-wheel drive, luxury, sport and hybrid. Yikes.

I've driven almost all of these and can confuse you further by assuring you that nearly all of them are well done. Competition is so fierce that good is about as bad as it gets in this segment. Recently my two favorites have been Accord and Malibu. Now there's a new Nissan Altima. Toss another choice on the pile. It looks good, performs deftly, keeps its occupants safe and comfortable plus has oodles of features. That's a tough combination to beat. FYI, Altima is also available as a two-door coupe.

I'm driving a high-end 3.5 SL model. Why should this car be on your test drive list? First off, it's smart to do good research whenever a major purchase is being made and shoppers are only cheating themselves if they test drive less than three vehicles. Let's start with Altima's superficial element first - styling. It has always had an appealing athletic shape, and the new model refines and sharpens it. With a windswept profile that ends in rocket booster taillights, this Nissan makes a statement and it sure isn't vanilla. The cabin, while dark, is well laid out and lit with a deep orange hue that's got more chutzpa than last years gold. While design is subjective, give the Altima props for not looking like everything else on the road.    

Backing up the Altima's rakish good looks is Nissan's 3.5-liter V6 with 270 horsepower. Tuck this smooth engine under the hood and Altima can really scoot; 0-60 happens in around 6.5 seconds. Sorry but I haven't driven the 170 HP 4-cyliner for comparison. Altima is a front-drive car and torque steer, which is a tugging of the steering wheel under hard acceleration, is minimal. That's a good thing. I normally don't like the droning dynamic of continuously variable transmissions because they sound like they're slipping and sliding into the right ratio rather than decisively shifting, but Nissan's Xtronic often performs like a regular automatic tranny. The manual shift mode is programmed with simulated gear shifts to make it feel like there are distinct gears.

Those who like to take the twisty route to Safeway for milk and bread will enjoy Altima's crisp handling. It carves corners without letting sharp bumps or body roll ruin the experience. Two of my preferred suspension set-ups come with Malibu and Accord and Altima slots in between the stiff Honda and Euro smooth Chevy. Road noise is a bit louder than the quiet Malibu but on a 150-mile road trip I didn't have to shout to my passenger by any means. In mixed driving I'm seeing a 24-mile-per-gallon average - not bad considering the performance. 

With its redesign, Altima gets a welcome upgrade in the cabin. Materials look good and all of my favorite tech toys are here including Bluetooth hands-free phone connection, touch screen nav system, back-up camera and keyless ignition. This last feature, which is one of my favorites, is standard on all Nissans. Even with all these electronics, Altima remains easy to use, unlike some cars that require basic knowledge of the Pascal computer language. Seats, heated leather in this case, have all-day comfort and decent lateral support. Tunes sound great on the Bose sound system (complete with XM satellite radio and an aux jack for MP3 players). Laptop computers easily stash into the huge glove box.

In the safety department Nissan gives the Altima the expected six airbags. A quick trip to NHTSA's Web site finds the government has awarded Altima five stars for all categories except for rollover, where it earns a four. Anti-lock brakes are standard on all Altimas. The SE I'm driving has electronic stability control that's available on the V6 cars and standard on the hybrid. 

In back there's room for three average adults but the safety minded will notice there's no center headrest. Everyone gets map pockets though and unlike Malibu there's a foldable center arm rest with cup holders. The seat backs split and fold to expand the trunk (oddly, Accord's doesn't split). Altima scores a 7 in the Toilet Paper Trunk Test. That's one pack larger than average. Just be careful of the hinge arms that can crush cargo. 

My gripes with Altima are few. The steering wheel's telescope feature is not easy to use. Truth be told I originally wrote this story claiming there was no telescoping wheel, that's how difficult it is. Keen reader (and Altima hybrid owner) Davis Sacks set me straight. Yes, Altima is sold as a hybrid but only in a handful of states like California. Sorry Seattleites, you're out of luck. Finally, Altima has lots of features but they don't come at a bargain price. V6 SLs start at $29,300, and the loaded car I'm driving runs $32,600. While this isn't anymore than the cost of a similarly equipped Accord, shop Sonata, Malibu and Aura to find lower sticker prices (but few gadgets). FYI, base 4-cylinder Altimas with 6-speed manual transmissions start at around $21,000.

After a week in the Altima I've found it to be one of my all around favorite mid-sized sedans. But don't take my word for it. As I've stated before in Driving Northwest, only you can tell what's right for you and the only way to know is to head out and kick the tires. There's a lot of choices out there but don't be daunted. In the market for a fun family four-door?  Don't leave Nissan Altima off your test drive list.