Edmunds posts "Road Test" of the 2002 Altima

[BigSmooth]

Check it out:
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/48102/article.html

 

[N8Magic]

Finally.

Something that can kick Bruce Lee's ass.

 

[Perknose]

You gotta read between gushing thumbs-up approval at the beginning and end of this article. Not quite Honda level precision or quality here. Makes me wish the Honda boyz would get off their complacent asses and put some Altima panache in their boring yet wonderfully built, incredibly competent machines.

Some excerpts (and why, if it's my money, I'd hold off):

Tranny: "Initially, we found it easy to grind gears thanks to the recalcitrant linkage and a clutch whose take-up point was sharply defined and occurred too close to the floor. Other gripes were voiced about the uncomfortably tall gear lever and tactile feel as the stick moved between gates. "This gearbox feels as though it's filled with rapidly congealing Aunt Jemima's maple syrup," noted one driver. "Definitely not of the snick-snick variety," opined another."

Steering: "Perhaps some of that skittishness can be traced to the Altima's steering, which is easily the weakest part of the performance equation. Aside from its quick steering ratio and responsiveness off-center, few comments about the tiller were positive. From our test log: "Doesn't filter enough road vibration." "Doesn't deliver enough road feel." "Too light on center." "The turning radius on this car is excessive." "Frighteningly light and disconnected on bumpy pavement or when the front suspension is unloaded." "Not confidence-inspiring at speed." These, if you haven't guessed, are bad things to be said about a sporting sedan."

Interior: "In terms of materials, it's immediately obvious that some cost-cutting was required to keep the price of the Altima competitive. The leather upholstery has a nice grain to it, but feels rather dried out. The plastics exhibit a low-gloss finish, but feel inexpensive to the touch. Particularly glaring is the way the emergency brake operates when tugged; it feels almost as though you could pull the handle right out of the floor. The cupholder lid is likewise flimsy.

Fit and Finish: "We wish we could report that our test Altima was flawlessly assembled, but that was not the case, at least on the inside. The lower right dash panel was loose and poorly aligned, we found the finish inside the passenger door pull to be chipped, the center console wiggled and waggled quite easily, the front door armrest inserts were unevenly assembled, and we felt that center stack panel fit on the lower passenger side was sloppy. We also detected an irritating rattle in the rear parcel shelf and the front passenger seat squeaked over rough pavement."

Not to give you the wrong idea, though. They loved the damn thing:

"Though the 2002 Nissan Altima isn't perfect (what car is?), Nissan has unquestionably created a new benchmark in the midsize sedan class. Nothing it competes with can touch its alluring combination of style, performance, size, feature content and value in a single package. Affordable luxury, indeed."

 

[ShadowHunter]

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Well Coke does too so....