Reviews of 2016 Nissan Ultimae by Private Parties
- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.5i, four cyl.
- Engine Ability
127kW, 230Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) vii.5L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
ane Spd Auto (CVT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Prophylactic
NA
2016 Nissan Altima SL Review:: United states of america quick drive
The US-market buys Nissan Altimas at a staggering charge per unit, opposite to Australia. Nosotros spent some time in LA finding out why.
- Spacious cabin
- brilliant seats
- quieter than before
- preventative rubber equipment
- cushy enough ride over long LA highways
- Uninspiring CVT and engine combination
- middling infotainment
- dynamics inferior to Ford Mondeo/Fusion
Allow'southward be realistic, the Nissan Altima sedan is a scrap anonymous in Australia.
Disregard attempts to sex activity up the Altima up through Nissan'south factory backed V8 Supercars connection. The parallels are marketing-led, though that isn't to impugn the hard work done by the team to make a competitive touring car.
Truth is, the Nissan Altima is more of a rival to the fleet-focused Toyota Camry than the premium Mazda 6. Information technology'southward safe, spacious and evokes vanilla. And that's quite ok. It has a identify.
The problem is that, unlike the locally-fabricated Camry, the Altima is non specially popular in Commonwealth of australia. The Camry averaged 2300 sales per month in 2015 and won 53 per cent market share. The Altima? A monthly average of 124 and ii.nine per cent share.
It would be like shooting fish in a barrel to call the Altima a victim of the SUV boom that has injure medium cars, but the fact is, even the niche Skoda Octavia outsold the Nissan last year.
So why are we covering it? Well, to understand a mid-sized car, you really have travel to the land of them — the United States. Americans beloved their medium sedans about as much equally their pickup trucks, and they honey few cars in this segment more than the Altima.
Fortunately, I was in the U.s.a. a few weeks ago roofing the Detroit motor evidence. A quick trip westwards to California — principally to defrost from the common cold, and swallow In-N-Out burgers — required the organisation of a set of wheels.
What amend than the ubiquitous Nissan? Especially when you consider that the company's Usa wing launched a significantly upgraded model late final year, with new front and rear design, motel updates, chassis tweaks and extra safety equipment amidst the changes.
"One of the near all-encompassing mid-bicycle makeovers in Nissan history," if you believe the brand. "No area was left untouched". Hmm.
Nosotros wanted to know what it was like to drive US market place's tenth most popular car, at dwelling. Particularly when you consider the fact that information technology is almost entirely ignored in Australia. Have we missed something here? Does scarcity, in the Nissan's case, really decrease value?
In LA, Altimas are just everywhere. Sit in gridlock for a few minutes and wait around. Y'all'll see some other Altima somewhere in frame. And a Camry. Next to a Honda Accord. Unless they're obscured by a dual-tyred RAM or F-Serial.
Americans bought or leased about 330,000 of them last yr alone. In other words, Nissan US sells as many Altima sedans in two days equally Nissan Australia sells in an entire twelvemonth. It'due south far and away the visitor's top seller.
In SL spec, our car starts in the The states at $28,570, which is about $A40,500, exactly what an equivalent Altima Ti costs in Australia (before your inevitable discount). Who said cars in Commonwealth of australia were overpriced, again? Given the SL costs the same as a Camry, more or less, it's decent value. In the US, y'all tin besides lease Altimas for well under $200 per month with 12,000 mile almanac limits. No wonder they're so pop...
The "major update" to the 2016 Altima, revealed in September last twelvemonth (three years into the automobile'due south life-cycle), brought with it a redesign. This new design language can also be found on the US-market new-generation Murano and Maxima, neither of which come to Australia.
Our exam car, compared to the old version — and the Altima notwithstanding sold in Australia, we'd add — get new sheet metallic front and rear, a much more muscular frontal design with revised grille and headlights, new bumpers and boot lid, and different tail-lights. Improved aero comes from active grille shutters and underfloor covers.
Don't eat too much Kool-Aid, the mid-life update here isn't equally significant as what Toyota did on the new Us-designed Camry, where every single console changed (see our video interview with the master designer of that car here). But the overall await and stance was rather aggressive on our SL test motorcar, well-proportioned and even a shade desirable.
The MY16 Altima is also quieter thanks to acoustic glass and the application of more sound insulation, specially in the firewall, and stiffer thanks to additional high-tensile steel in the pillars. There are fifty-fifty new door seals, put through 200,000 open/close cycles, plainly. I hope past robotic arms…
The cabin also gets a few tweaks, though as with the Camry the overall blueprint updates seem less substantial than what's happened on the exterior.
Our tester had the optional 7.0-inch touchscreen-based NissanConnect organization with satellite-navigation, split-screen capability and mobile apps. It gets 3D-effect map views, voice recognition (if you tin fake an American accent or tone down the bogan-chic Aussie twang), and turn-by-plough navigation (presumably to find Shake Shack more easily).
Existence the US, you also get the ability to stream SiriusXM radio for all the Howard Stern you could wish for. The affair is, though, this arrangement looks a petty lo-fi compared to, say, the Mazda 6's MZD Connect.
It'southward better than the Camry'south, nonetheless. Furthermore, the sound-slow and the 9-speaker BOSE organisation made this a very pleasant high-mode high-miler. As with the Toyota, in that location's no digital speedo, but the U.s. police force won't take away your points for going 2mp/h over either…
Nissan will tell you the revised materials in the motel — such as our car'due south leather seats and contact points, and trim finishes — are craftsman-like and rival "upscale luxury sedans". The ambience doesn't, but everything feels very tough and hardy, which is more than important.
Familiar are the Goose egg Gravity forepart seats standard on all trim levels, developed with NASA research data (legit). Suffice to say my 5-hr stretch on-road didn't necessitate a five-hour stretch of my legs and shoulders afterwards. They're just fantastic (the seats, that is. My shoulders are iffy…)
There are good levels room in the rear likewise, with plentiful space for 3 adults abreast and ok (if not fantastic) headroom even with a sunroof fitted. Big seats, large cupholders and something pliant across big expanses — Nissan knows what'due south needed.
What'due south information technology similar on the road? Forget the V8 Supercar tie-in, the Altima has never been a dynamic champion. Only its compliant suspension setup and lite, slightly vague steering are fit-for-purpose if a highway high-miler is your want.
Our test SL was fitted with the base QR35 2.5-litre petrol four with variable valve timing, rather than the vaguely interesting 183kW three.5-litre V6. It offers a class-competitive 136kW of power and 247Nm of torque. Electric current Australian versions get 127kW/230Nm, merely it'southward unclear if this is a translation effect. Nissan doesn't mention any power bumps…
Torque is sent to the front wheels via a CVT, admitting a retuned one in 3rd-generation form, which Nissan claims is more responsive to throttle inputs off the line and during rolling dispatch, and kept quieter thanks to the aforementioned actress firewall insulation.
Naturally, the CVT still drones along and lacks the divers ratios that one is used to, simply information technology's decent as far as unmarried-speed transmissions go, and is fairly linear and responsive effectually boondocks much like a conventional slushbox automobile. The engine is no firebrand, but the Altima will happily sit at 130km/h at less than 2500rpm all day.
Fuel economy is x per cent amend than earlier thanks to aero tweaks and a new engine compression ratio. Information technology's now best-in-class, Nissan claims, with a highway reading of 39mpg (7.2L/100km). Our long, long highway cruise yielded mid-30s. We'd still accept the 6-pot.
Nissan swears black and blueish that this iteration of the Altima is sportier. The contained suspension setup (benchmarked against the Euros) comprises new shocks rear springs and bushings, plus new tyre designs. But the fact the sporty Altima SR has 20 per cent less body roll than the SL tells you that our car has a surplus when pushed…
Our SL tester rode on 17-inch alloy wheels. Not particularly low profile, but nevertheless partly responsible for an occasional 'busy-ness' in the motel. The Altima is cushy, but can become mildly brittle over LA's cruel road joins. Good, non dandy.
Nissan also claims to accept sharpened the on-centre steering response via a re-mapping of the hydraulic power steering valve, though it even so passes the directly-ahead 'sneeze test'. It's light and devoid of feedback, but the car is actually somewhat poised and eager to turn in when pressed. Not to Mazda 6 or Ford Mondeo levels, but sharper than a Camry.
The smashing Active Understeer Control organisation brakes the inside front wheel to remove the expletive of front end-bulldoze cars, and information technology does and so relatively well. This, plus the inoffensively calibrated ESC, mean you lot tin accept a quick punt about.
One area where the 2016 Altima does feel Euro premium is in the realm of active and preventative safety.
You become Predictive Forrard Standoff Warning, radar-based Blind Spot Warning, Forrard Emergency Braking, Intelligent (radar-guided) Cruise Control and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.The bullheaded-spot monitor is especially welcome, because the C-pillar and small-ish side mirrors give y'all a sizeable gap in rearward vision.
The radar prowl proved effective enough, though the pickup of the CVT/engine once the obstacle ahead clears was mediocre, a bit like a previous-generation arrangement.
And so that's the 2016 Nissan Altima, in US-specification. Equally we said, it'due south not clear if this new-look version will come to Australia, or if the Thai plant will just go on making the older ones. Nissan Australia isn't saying much on that front.
Our experience more than anything else was to spend some time while in the U.s. driving a car endemic and loved by more than people than most whatever other.
The Altima is utterly inoffensive and occasionally excellent, which last time we checked was the clandestine to most successful popular stars. Guess it applies to cars too…
villarrealshink1946.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.drive.com.au/reviews/2016-nissan-altima-sl-review-us-quick-drive/
0 Response to "Reviews of 2016 Nissan Ultimae by Private Parties"
Post a Comment