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Test-Driving and Analyzing the 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe
November 2, 2007 - 12:00amCRV after Cherokee after Pathfinder after the occasional Hummer line the streets of Collegetown. Toss some junkers and a few boring sedans in the mix, and that’s Collegetown’s vehicular landscape. Fine. But the tons and tons of SUVs need to go.
They might be convenient for moving in and out of dorms and apartments, and for carting friends to a party on North or West. But they suck gas down too fast and aren’t exactly sporty, fun and fast — three qualities absolutely necessary for any driving experience.
These three qualities are most often found in, my favorite, sports cars.
Coupes aren’t lining city streets because “the coupes out there are not very interesting or very good,” according to Nissan’s U.S. product manager John Curl, thecarconnection.com reported. With the new Altima coupe, Nissan seems to be aiming to change what autosite.com refers to as a “snore-worthy segment,” which is also composed of the popular also Japanese-made Honda Accord Coupe and Toyota Solara.
As an antidote to SUV-mania, I test-drove a black-on-black six-speed 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SE at Maguire Nissan in Ithaca on Wednesday. “Wow … nice car,” I thought as soon as I sat in the driver’s seat. Nissans aren’t known for their fabulous interiors, but this car seeks to change that stereotype. The interior of the fully-loaded coupe I drove — with heated bucket seats, a push-button start and aluminum accents on the dash — takes stylishness up a notch. Another plus for the coupe’s interior: oodles of legroom in the front and back seats and the most spacious glove compartment I’ve ever seen. Jim Oppedisano, a sales consultant at Maguire who took me on the test drive, noted that the Coupe is great for tall people. Hoorah.
The exterior of the Coupe rivals the interior. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend … and the Coupe definitely glitters. I was reminded of a 14-karat white gold tennis bracelet — or just ten two-karat diamond studs — when I saw the clear, sparkling turn signals integrated onto the Coupe’s mirrors.
Shifting in the Altima takes no more than a quick snap of the wrist, a far cry from the much more arm-labor-intensive shifting I’m used to in my no-frills five-speed 1995 Eagle Talon. The easy shifting is due to a technology what Oppedisano calls “short-shift.” This “short-shift” feels more dignified and sophisticated than old-fashioned “long-shifting,” but takes away from the more-mobile, vroom-vroom driving experience. My Grandpa used to drive a taxi in New York and had a six-speed with the stick on the side of the wheel. I can only imagine how much more jacked his right arm was than his left. Shifting has come a long way, but it’s lost something along the path of progress.
I drive my beat-up, but still fast, Talon with almost reckless abandon. Of course, on a test drive in a car far, far nicer than any I’ll ever own, I toned down the recklessness. On my test drive — the route of which wandered up and around Rt. 13 — I drove with caution, well under the speed limit and without putting any unnecessary stress on the engine. This cautious driving, however, affected my impression of the Coupe because I felt that the new car, even with its Z inspired body, aspires to be a classy sedan. The Coupe, with all its refinement and polish, lacks that gritty sports-car feel.
I brought this lack-of-driving-excitement up to Oppedisano after the drive. He said that, under different circumstances — namely not a test drive — the car does live up to its sports car potential. If this is true, I’m sure the Coupe’s dual muffler exhaust system has a nice throaty sound accelerating up a hill or pulling out onto a highway.
The Altima is no hybrid — thank god for that; it has much more power and zip. But it does get pretty good gas mileage: an average of 19 miles per gallon in a city and 27 mpg on the highway. The Altima I drove has a 3.5 liter engine and is a V6, but it has a less-powerful, less gas-guzzling cousin, with a 2.5 liter engine and a V4, which does get better gas mileage.
Oppedisano, who sold Hondas before selling Nissans, talked to me a bit about differences in terms of bang-for-your-buck between Nissans and Hondas. Oppedisano said that Nissan trumps Honda in terms of value, but that Honda has a higher re-sale value than Nissan. Trade-offs, trade-offs. I haven’t driven any other coupes besides the Altima, but, considering the other features on the fully-loaded new Altima coupe — which included keyless entry, the high intensity discharge xenon headlights most usually seen on BMWs, Mercedes and the like, a Bose sound system, and a Bluetooth headset built into the car — I’ll take his word for it.
Contact jdinapoli@cornellsun.com if you would like to suggest a car I should test drive or would like to have your car — be it a rusty old Geo Metro or a fly Ferrari F50 — featured in Alfa Tomato.