http://www.nissanusa.com/altima/spec...AltimaHEV.html

 

I suspect that "better city" plus "poorer highway" will equal "poorer overall". I believe hybrids give numbers MUCH higher than reality for the city driving test. I cannot even get close to 40 in town, because EPA "town" doesn't exist. I do get higher than the highway figure, tho.

Let me guess now that the hybrid Altima will come in at least 3-4 MPG below the average for the TCH, once it is up and running in the database.

 

Before committing to buy the TCH I considered the 07 Altima (non Hybrid). I wanted the smart key, leather, Nav etc...Well when I went down to the dealer and sat in an 07 Altima with leather I was very disappointed. The seat was horrible. My wife and I looked at each other and wanted to get up and walk out. The seats were hard. We couldn't imagine sitting on those seats for any length of time. Just to make sure it wasn't THAT car that had hard seats, we sat in another Altima and it was the same story...

 

The Altima is on the sporty side as far as mainstream midsizers go. R&T got a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds with the hybrid. They averaged 37 mpg.

 

I will go out on a limb and predict a 2 MPG better listing for the altima than the TCH.

BTW, I was driving in city settings today, and never got less than 41 MPG in the rain with most times around the 43 MPG range.

On the way home I took the freeway, and got 45 MPG over a 65 mile drive. WTF? Don't know how as I was driving 70 - 75 MPH wich I almost never do.

 

Saw my first Altima Hybrid today, drove behind it for a few blocks, and I gotta say that it is a much better looking car than the TCH. With dual exhaust, it looks just like an Altima SE. I prefer the "sporty" look, so I would definitely have chosen the Altima over the Camry if I was only looking at the outside (which is also why my TCH is looking more and more like a CamrySE each week). Only time will tell if the Altima hybrid engine is as good as the Camry, given the fact that Nissan licensed the HSD from Toyota.

 

Altima Hybrid is available in California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine and New Jersey. Service of hybrid components outside those states is limited and could involve some days delay.

Sucks for most of us!

 

It also can be sold in bordering states. For instance, I've seen it advertised at a dealer here in Oregon. Of course this doesn't help if you are in the Midwest or South.

 

I don't know, I like 07 Camry better than Altima, for some reason it seems to me plain-Jane, more than Camry and that dual exhaust seems little bogus, similar to the bulge on the hoods of some cars, pretending to have supercharger there. After all, Altima has 4 cylinder engine not some exotic V12 and dual exhaust is a little pretentious for this particular car. I used to own 240SX and that was sports car, tight, well balanced with very good grip in the corner (I almost wiped out brand new Accord, it just didn't stick to road in the turn, like 240SX did, I had to learn quickly). Maybe I'm old fashioned, but 4 door sedan should be 4 door sedan, there are enough 2 door sports cars around to choose from, besides it would look a little funny to drive sedan with wife and kids in the back, like you would drive sports car, with tires screaching on every corner and kids flying from one side to the other, just like on the roller coaster. LOL. But with the full tax break, same synergy drive and Nissan ambitions for sporty looks, Altima is worth looking into for anybody who wants hybrid car, like Camry. It's good to have choices.

 

Coming from someone who [i'm embarrassed to admit] owned a G6 and also looked at an Altima, you are absolutely right. I couldn't pinpoint exactly WHAT I didn't like about the Altima til I read this post. I really didn't like the G6 interior... or exterior for that matter. I kick myself daily for ever being guilted into buying such a car.

But it just makes me appreciate my TCH more