2009 NAH Test Drive and Purchase Experience
#1
06-13-2009, 07:50 PM
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Posts: 6
2009 NAH Test Drive and Purchase Experience
I recently purchased a 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid fitted with the technology package at Tonkin Nissan in Wilsonville, Oregon. The final cost was just over $24K after a fat $3,500 Nissan rebate, a $2,350 federal tax credit, along with a $1,500 state tax credit, and there is no sales tax in Oregon. The dealership experience was very good. The staff was friendly, professional and well informed. The only issue was simply availability: There was just one NAH in stock when I arrived for a test drive.
A fully appointed Altima hybrid is very comfortable, handles surprisingly well on the road, accelerates strongly for a hybrid, and produces very low (AT-PZEV) emissions with good fuel economy, averaging 34 MPG so far. The car is fun to drive and exudes an overall sporty look and feel. Steering is accurate and it corners well, with strong brakes and an overall solid experience on the road. Noise levels in the cabin remain fairly low in nearly all paved driving conditions, except when gunning the engine all-out. The electric motor is eerily quiet as the car begins to roll, and there is a distinct growl whenever the gas engine eventually starts.
Inside the cabin, the first thing I notice is how comfortable the leather seats are, and the car’s excellent front, side and rear visibility. There are 6 air bags and most impacts zones have a 5-star safety rating. The navigation system works well, especially XM traffic monitoring and the rear-view video camera. The Bose sound system uses 9 speakers to produce strong and clear sound throughout the cabin. I trained two Bluetooth phones and downloaded both contact lists in less than 10 minutes. Communicating with others hands-free is now safe and simple: When a call arrives, the XM radio programming fades away automatically; after the call finishes, the radio quickly returns. The only problem I have with the phone system is a noisy cabin microphone; callers have trouble hearing me when driving at highway speeds, although I can hear them just fine. The microphone works much better in the city driving at slower speeds. Smaller misses include the lack of fog lights in the hybrid model, the lack of a full iPod docking bay, and available trunk space is limited because the main battery is stored there.
I also test drove the Toyota Camry hybrid and Prius, Honda Civic and the new Ford Fusion all on the same day. In general, the final cost, warranties and incentives are approximately the same for these vehicles when similarly equipped, so my final judgment mostly depended on the test drive. For me, the Nissan Altima hybrid was the clear choice.
A fully appointed Altima hybrid is very comfortable, handles surprisingly well on the road, accelerates strongly for a hybrid, and produces very low (AT-PZEV) emissions with good fuel economy, averaging 34 MPG so far. The car is fun to drive and exudes an overall sporty look and feel. Steering is accurate and it corners well, with strong brakes and an overall solid experience on the road. Noise levels in the cabin remain fairly low in nearly all paved driving conditions, except when gunning the engine all-out. The electric motor is eerily quiet as the car begins to roll, and there is a distinct growl whenever the gas engine eventually starts.
Inside the cabin, the first thing I notice is how comfortable the leather seats are, and the car’s excellent front, side and rear visibility. There are 6 air bags and most impacts zones have a 5-star safety rating. The navigation system works well, especially XM traffic monitoring and the rear-view video camera. The Bose sound system uses 9 speakers to produce strong and clear sound throughout the cabin. I trained two Bluetooth phones and downloaded both contact lists in less than 10 minutes. Communicating with others hands-free is now safe and simple: When a call arrives, the XM radio programming fades away automatically; after the call finishes, the radio quickly returns. The only problem I have with the phone system is a noisy cabin microphone; callers have trouble hearing me when driving at highway speeds, although I can hear them just fine. The microphone works much better in the city driving at slower speeds. Smaller misses include the lack of fog lights in the hybrid model, the lack of a full iPod docking bay, and available trunk space is limited because the main battery is stored there.
I also test drove the Toyota Camry hybrid and Prius, Honda Civic and the new Ford Fusion all on the same day. In general, the final cost, warranties and incentives are approximately the same for these vehicles when similarly equipped, so my final judgment mostly depended on the test drive. For me, the Nissan Altima hybrid was the clear choice.
Last edited by SonicAgamemnon; 06-14-2009 at 08:31 AM. Reason: Simple font change, additional phone system information
#2
06-13-2009, 11:10 PM
Re: 2009 NAH Test Drive and Purchase Experience
Thats awesome that you didnt have to pay state sales tax and get an extra $1500 state tax credit! Can you post some pics of what your interior looks like?
#3
06-14-2009, 08:45 AM
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Posts: 6
Oregon is going green and large Nissan rebates
Yes, Oregon is certainly going green, and the state tax incentive reflects that. Having no sales tax is certainly nice when buying bigger ticket items; however, income and property taxes are higher than average here.
Nissan is currently offering large rebates, the largest available from any dealership here in Portland, but they are ending this month.
I'll post some photos of the "blackbird" later today...
Nissan is currently offering large rebates, the largest available from any dealership here in Portland, but they are ending this month.
I'll post some photos of the "blackbird" later today...
#4
06-15-2009, 07:25 AM
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA
Posts: 6
2009 NAH "Blackbird" Photos
I uploaded all the photos to an album, if you want to see more than the few I'm posting here in the thread:
Thread
Topic Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
heheman3000
Nissan Altima Hybrid/Infiniti M35h/ Q50 hybrid
9
06-26-2009 10:30 AM
noflash
HCH II-Specific Discussions
29
12-15-2008 08:10 AM
