I test drove the 3.5 V6 Nissan Altima today...

[Lucky]

Sable is NOT included. It's pointless to do so. B/C if Ford could include the Sable, then Toyota could include the Avalon/ES300.


Not to nitpick but I cant see a relationship between:

Taurus--->Sable

and

Camry---->Avalon (or ES300)

IIRC, Taurus and Sable are basically clones of each other, right? My stepmom got a new Avalon recently and there is no way that you can compare the Avalon to the Camry. If anything, compare the Avalon to the lexus.

 

[conjur]

I'd compare an Avalon to a Buick...that's how they market it basically.

 

[Lucky]

The avalon's got enough back seat legroom that you could probably fit an entire circus back there. Its the most of any car I've ever been in.

 

[StageLeft]

Only an underfed crack addict would buy a buick over an avalon.

lucky You can fit a swimming pool in the back seat of avalons!

 

[freebee]

I'd buy a buick over an avalon.....the buick park avenue with the supercharged 3.8l. Its an old mans car with an extra dose of viagra.

 

[Ornery]

Compare G. Marquis VS Avalon VS Altima

My in-laws have an Avalon and it is roomy. My first choice would be a Grand Marquis, but I'd give an Avalon a good hard look.

Dear Tom and Ray:

• I need a four-door, six-passenger car with good reliability and safety features that I can use to commute 70 miles daily to work -- plus haul the family around on weekends. I'm looking for a car that will still be around when the payments are finished and have reasonable resale value. I've had more than my share of problems with my 1990 Ford Taurus, so I don't want another one of those. I'd prefer American-made, but would buy a foreign model. What comes to mind for me? -- Mark
  
  Tom: If you don't like the Avalon for some reason, my second choice would be a Ford Crown Victoria. But I think you're going to like the Avalon, Mark.

Anyone else find it interesting how 4-doors have proliferated, even in so called "Sports cars"? Talk about "Grandpa-car image"!

 

[GMachine]

As long as you buy the car for the complete experience. If you buy it and think you're God, there's always some guy with a built up late model camaro/ta that can out handle you and destroy you as far as hp and torque are concerned.

 

[TuffGuy]

NFS4 - you're got to be kidding me. the '95 and '99 camrys are very good "driver's cars." have you even driven the new one? and you MUST be kidding about the bmw comment. have you ever dirven a 3-series or a 5-series? they are EXCELLENTis terms of driver feedback. they don't feel as bloated as the new camry.

also, i was NOT impressed with the camry's interior.

ornery - i had another jackass on my tail last night. we were going ~75mph, he was about two lengths behind me AND he had his high beams on. since there was no room for him to pass me, i proceeded to slow down to about 65mph, when he tried to pass me i sped up to 80mph, he got behind me again, i slowed down again, he tried to pass again, i sped up again... about 5 times. FINALLY he turned off his high beams and moved a little further back and we proceeded to cruise at ~75mph. put that little bitch in his place.

 

[Ornery]

"...there was no room for him to pass me..."

No comprende! Never been a problem for me to pass... no matter what!

I will add that I wouldn't harass anybody already traveling at 75MPH!

 

[NFS4]

<< Not to nitpick but I cant see a relationship between:

Taurus--->Sable

and

Camry---->Avalon (or ES300) >>


Badge engineering is what I'm comparing...so there IS a relationship. The Sable is a Taurus in a tuxedo (different interior, body panels, suspension tuning, standard and optional equipment, etc.). The Camry/ES300/Avalon all share the same body structure/suspsension/wheelbase/basic V6 engine/transmission/etc. Same goes for the RX300 vs the Highlander (although the Highlander has a slightly longer wheelbase). Did I leave out anything??

While the Camry/ES300 are the closest siblings, the Camry platform has a HUGE "extended" family (vehicles based of the Camry chassis). This includes:

Camry
Camry Solara
Sienna minivan
Highlander
ES300
RX300

I'd go even further to say that the Camry chassis is probably one of the most versitle around. It can handle everything from a 2-door coupe to a convertible to a sedan to a minivan to a SUV. Pretty damn impressive


<< NFS4 - you're got to be kidding me. the '95 and '99 camrys are very good "driver's cars." have you even driven the new one? and you MUST be kidding about the bmw comment. have you ever dirven a 3-series or a 5-series? they are EXCELLENTis terms of driver feedback. they don't feel as bloated as the new camry. >>


WTF are you talking about; this is a classic case of someone not reading before they speak I mentioned BMW only ONCE in this whole thread. And with that, I made the point that Americans are not "drivers" people as a whole. If they were, everyone would be driving BMW's and Nissans instead of everything else. How could you mess that up?:Q

And again, where did I say that the Camry was a driver's car? I stated that my car (a '95 Camry LE) is adequate for my needs. Where did I say that it was a driver's car?? And yes, I have driven the '02 Camrys. In fact, I was the first one here to go drive one and then come back and report on it.

I mean, how could one person totally misread posts like that??? Do you bother reading before posting?

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Buick Park Avenue..now thats a comfortable car! Extremely quiet and a good highway cruiser. My uncle has one...it has the 3.8L V6 <no supercharger>...I've never seen him take it over 3k RPMs..hehe

 

[LAUST]

The feeling of driver response is also related a LOT to the tire... BMW is going to leave the lot with a much better road performance tire then a Camry.

last week was my week to pull off my winter set and put back on my Yok's, my winter Fisk's (cheap open lug tire) when you turn the wheel it basically has a typical mushie feeling and will continue to drive that direction and give almost ZERO response, I put on my Yokahama AVS's and I turn the wheel 30 degree's and let go of the wheel it will turn the steering wheel straight, it has excellent feedback even in a 32.8" tire, it's a very responsive tire but it's also a high performance class almost 33" on a 16" wheel and has an H speed rating. They are awesome in all conditions except snow, even moderate off-roading is good.

Toss the low profile wheels and a great set of tires on a Camry THEN compare them, the BMW will probable still be a better handler but that Toyota will start giving you feedback you never expected it to.

Wheels and Tires (All unsprung weight) can change the world when it comes to a vehicle, if it can change the response of a 4x4 there is all the proof you need.

 

[cedman]

As an Altima owner myself, I'm always amazed from the responses from this forum about it. Whenever someone mentions a Nissan here, there is an overwhelming response that they are Nissan fanboys or how cheap the interior the of the car is. Granted the interior of the car and the quality of materials are suspect. Like what NFS4 has mentioned in another post, Nissan will be making changes to their interior. At that point, what are you guys going to complain about now. If its not one thing its another. I'll bet the next target of your criticism will be how Nissan ripped of the tail lights from the Altezza

Now I don't make a ton of money so, I need to stretch every dollar that I make. In a perfect world, I would love to drive a BMW M5, but lets faced it, not everybody can afford a $80,000 car. For what I paid, $24,012. My 3.5 SE came with the following options. AT, 6disc Bose with 8speakers, Traction control, ABS, 8 Air bags, sunroof, spoiler, AC, floormats, side sills, alarm and most impressive of all, 240hp V6. I challenge any you to find a car as loaded as that and offer as much performance for $24,000. I'm sorry an Accord and Camry can't compete with that. Please lets not compare different breeds of car. I know...I know, a the WRX is faster and the Acura CL has better quality, but they are totally different class of cars. Thats why I bought one. Let's just see if Honda can step up to the plate and see what the 03 Accords can offer.

 

[LAUST]

<< but lets faced it, not everybody can afford a $80,000 car. >>


Not many people seem to understand that but you and I

I do think Nissan should put different lights on their cars though along with the IS300... Turn Signals should be YELLOW, D.O.T. should enforce that I think, adding more variables to todays drivers just makes it more a nightmare out there.