15mpg on the freeway? what speed were you driving at? i'm hoping to get above 30mpg on the freeway at about 75mph haha.

i heard that you won't be at EV mode once you go above 5mph, is that true?

right now i'm still waiting for my loan application to be approved. i'm told that my rate will be high since i'm a first time buyer and i'm not gainfully employed. they also suggest that i refinance once i've made payments for 6 months to a year as my credit history would have improved a lot.

anything that you guys don't like about your altima hybrid?

 

I was pretty shocked too how low it was. I am not sure why but I did remember accelerating more than I did when I first got the car, and the mpg readout was showing lower. The ICE is still pretty tight with only 200 miles on it. I've driven about 40 miles since the last fillup and so far the needle has not moved and it's above the full mark.

That's too bad about the rate. How about the price? If you are gainfully employed and you file a tax return you should qualify for the tax credit. However, it can be only applied to the tax incurred. If you incur 2k in taxes that all you can use the credit for.

So far, the small trunk would be the one pitfall. Because it's a stripper, I don't have an automatic dimmer for the mirrors and the outside ones aren't heated. I guess a little rain-x on on them should help the water slide off. The mirrors on the door do not fold. I believe one of the packages has that. The cd player does not play mp3s. At least, it can't play my cds with mp3s. The aux port works though and one can hook up an ipod to it.

So far, it's been a good experience. Oh, the EV mode depends on the load. If the ground is level I can feather the throttle and get it up to 20-25mph in EV mode. Even if the ICE turns on you can get into ev more when you are coasting. I've seen the EV mode light come on at 40mph.

 

Mine was a stripper as well. Just like with any other car the base model is pretty bare inside. If you want a well rounded car then the NAH "base" model is it. It doesn't really excel in any one category.

*economically priced (only because of the factory and federal incentives)
*decent gas mileage
*mid sized
*not bottom of the barrel (i.e yaris/fit/versa)

If you opt to spend the extra money and get the fully loaded version it's just not cost effective to buy this car. It would take too long to make up the difference in price of the car vs fuel cost.

The gas mileage hasn't really wowed me yet. If I was purely interested in saving money on gas I would not have purchased this car. I could have spent less money on a cheaper car and get similar gas economy.

Overall I am very happy with my Altima hybrid. It drives nice, looks nice & gets pretty decent gas mileage.

 

Our dealer was in a state that didn't officially sell the NAH so we got an upgraded model (convenience package) for a decent price - although still a grand or two above those CA prices even considering the upgrade. In any case the discount was enough so that we can get the savings from gas immediately, and the car isn't bare bones.

Driving around today in the city I got around 40mpg, but it was suburban driving and the average MPH reads like 37. I can also keep it in EV mode up to 25mph or so, which is not bad - cruising around the neighborhood completely silent.

 

The great thing about a base car is there is less to go wrong it as far as electronics and a little less weight.

It's true that you could a get cheaper car that gets the same gas mileage but it would be hard to match the ride and comfort of the NAH. But I would not have paid sticker price for it either. The gas savings does not justify the extra cost over a 2.5S or 2.5SL. With the financial incentives it's a great buy.

I am not sure about the mileage yet. I've driven it a little slower and the gas gauge is barely moving compared to the last time I measured the gas mileage. I am coming from a Lexus that gets about 16MPG so I am happy about the mpg.

 

Ah your state doesn't officially the NAH. It's good you were able to get one for close to the prices we have here. Does the dealership have a mechanic trained to work on it?

 

Well, we are in Delaware, so not too far from New Jersey dealers that actually sell them. Might be a problem though if the car is completely dead. The Delaware dealer says their top mechanic is trained for the hybrid but his familiarity of expertise is questionable if he isn't ever going to see one again.

Today the vehicle wouldn't start for a while with the ABS light coming on and the ready light not turning on. It did start after a while though - hope this isn't the start of trouble for me.

 

A couple of times, I found that I started up the car and then turned it off when I hit the start button again. I had to cycle through the start cycle again. The trick was that I had my foot on the brake pedal when I hit the start button and it automatically goes into ev mode. I am not sure you experienced that but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

No, it just refused to turn on and the ABS light was on. I think that indicates it thinks there is something wrong with the brake system.

In any case we don't even have the owner's manual yet - the dealer lost it or something, they are ordering us another.

 

Well, that's not good news.

Here's a link to the manual in PDF form. You can download it and read it on your computer until you get the hard copy.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/pdf/200...Altima-HEV.pdf

Page 2-10 discusses the ABS light. It lights up whenever the ignition is in the On position. It seems that if it does fail the brakes still work but without the anti braking system. There isn't any mention of the car not starting, at least in this section.