2006 Nissan Altima 2.5S (nearly) one year review

[86fleet]

Exterior- Still looks like new. It has decent quality paint (though I've noticed slight orange peel in some areas, it's hard to find), and tight body panel gaps, and overall looks well put together. My opinion of the styling hasn't changed all that much in the past 10 months. It still not my type, but better than the Accord or Camry.
4/5 stars

Interior- As much as I hate to admit to being a dash-feeler, I have to complain about the materials. The mouse-fur door door trim and the abundance of hard plastic remind me too much of my 1993 Grand Cherokee. That being said, the interior is well built, and has many convenient places to store stuff. I also have to complain about the gauge and radio display color: the amber color is too much of an 80's electronic throw-back. On the plus side, the gages are set back in individual clusters and thus hidden from view of the prying eyes of nagging passengers. The seats are very comfortable, and both the front and back have loads of leg room. The interior is also well designed in the sense that the controls to the radio, Ac, etc. are easy to find while driving and have a decent feel to them Overall, the interior has it's flaws, but they don't detract that much from the driving experience
3.5/5 stars

Performance- As in my first review, I still think the car's handling is a nice blend between performance and everyday drivability. The brakes and suspension are neither to firm nor too soft, and the steering light without being aimlessly overboosted in the Detroit tradition that I'm used to. However, I've noticed that the pedals are a little to sensitive for me, (resulting in jerky acceleration and stops), but I'm sure I'd get used to them if I drove it more often. The engine is smooth and surprisingly powerful for a four cylinder, but it doesn't like hills, and other high load situations. The excellently tuned transmission makes up for some of this shortcoming, but I still wish it had more power, especially in the low end. It's been averaging 19mpg, but considering the stop and go (with emphasis on the stop) nature of my mom's commute, that's not that bad, and much better than the single digit milage that the Grand Cherokee got on the same commute.
4/5 stars (mainly for the handling)

Reliability: The main problems have originated around the front suspension and steering. The car used to pull to the right pretty noticably, but this has been fixed after two alignments. However, in the past few weeks, a clacking sound has developed in the front end. Hopefully it's nothing major. While the car hasn't been entirely trouble free, it certainly isn't a lemon and the problems were all minor enough to wait for schedualed maintainence vists.
4.5/5 stars

General: There's several general problems I have with the car. The first are the doors. Not only do they lack a nice closing thud, they also are a pain in the ass in tight parking spaces, especially on slopes, because the stop points on the doors' range of motion are poorly placed. I also have a problem with the rear visabilty. Before I drove a loaner Dodge Magnum, I thought this was just as a result of learning to drive in an SUV, but I had an easier time backing up in the Magnum, gun-slit windows and all, than I have in the Altima. Finally, I have a huge issue with the seatbelt pretensioners; they allow almost no forward movement before locking up. On every other car I've ever ridden in with this feature there is enough slack to allow you to lean over to reach something on the floor, but in the Altima, you often have to un-buckle do this.

Overall: The 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5 S is a great car for the money. All cars have flaws, and despite the rather long list I've been able to come up with, the Altima is at or above average in the key areas. If you're in the market for a relativly new used mid-size sedan, the Altima should definatly be one of the first cars you look at.
4/5 stars

[caddycruiser]

Good review, and very similar to my reaction of just riding in a co-worker's '03 (with the original interior and such). Expected a really junky, tin can car, but aside from some harder materials inside, I was really, really impressed with how nice it felt on the road.

That said, the all new '07 seems to have fixed most all of the last gen niggles, especially as far as overall build and finish, and stepped up the refinement several notches more. Easy to see why, I think, they continue to be so popular and sell so well ever since the '02 intro.