• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

If the new Altima's interior is that crappy, why do people keep buying it?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
The base Altima I sat in the dealership had worse interior materials than my '95 Sentra GXE.
Just about everyone's complaint or suggestion for improvement (from Altima forums, car reviews) is interior quality.
It's apparent to everyone and a major concern IMO.

WTF isn't Nissan listening and responding?


The VQ is not the reason because I see one 3.5 for every ten 2.5's out there.


lolyourface, you've pimped out your Mazda/car threads enough on the forums these past few months.
You can stop hi-jacking my thread now 😛
 
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Did anyone read my post?? :frown:
Click to expand...

I didn't 🙂 But that's the point I was trying to make - some people, well actually the majority of car buyers care more about other things than the interior.
 
Btw the 98-2001 Altima had a really good interior. Very well put together, quiet without any rattles, great materials, and decent design (ok it was bland, but still).

I thought Nissan nailed it with that generation of the Altima, it is a very competent car.
 
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Btw the 98-2001 Altima had a really good interior. Very well put together, quiet without any rattles, great materials, and decent design (ok it was bland, but still).

I thought Nissan nailed it with that generation of the Altima, it is a very competent car.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Altima had a really good interior since the introduction of the car in '93(?).
Remember the commercials where it would mimic luxury cars (balancing a triangle of glasses on the hood with the engine running while on a dyno).

It was a competent car except the KA24DE pretty much sucked... it was too sluggish.
It was also too small to compete with the Camcord's and didn't have a V6 option.
 
Originally posted by: psteng19
The base Altima I sat in the dealership had worse interior materials than my '95 Sentra GXE.
Just about everyone's complaint or area for improvement (from Altima forums, car reviews) is interior quality.
It's apparent to everyone and a major concern IMO.

WTF isn't Nissan listening and responding?


The VQ is not the reason because I see one 3.5 for every ten 2.5's out there.


lolyourface, you've pimped out your Mazda/car threads enough on the forums these past few months.
You can stop hi-jacking my thread now 😛
Click to expand...

Well, Nissan didn't wait 2-3 years after the Altima's intro and tweaked the interior a bit for 2003. I'm sure the interior will be further improved in a mid-model cycle refresh. Hopefully, Nissan doesn't add that tooth to the grill when that happens.

 
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: rbloedow
Originally posted by: Trinitron
If the new Altima's interior is that crappy, why do people keep buying it?
Click to expand...
People buying into hype thats all. Everyone thinks that because they have 245 hp V6s its an Indy car or something.
Click to expand...
No, people are buying it because the VQ is one of the best V6 engines in the world, period.
Click to expand...
Less than 20% of Altimas sold come with the VQ so that isn't the reason.
Click to expand...

I know, I was going to include that in my reply but I was feeling lazy at the time 😛
 
Originally posted by: psteng19
The base Altima I sat in the dealership had worse interior materials than my '95 Sentra GXE.
Just about everyone's complaint or suggestion for improvement (from Altima forums, car reviews) is interior quality.
It's apparent to everyone and a major concern IMO.

WTF isn't Nissan listening and responding?
Click to expand...
Nissan had to cut corners somewhere, given the price😛erformance, am I wrong ?
 
Originally posted by: psteng19
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Btw the 98-2001 Altima had a really good interior. Very well put together, quiet without any rattles, great materials, and decent design (ok it was bland, but still).

I thought Nissan nailed it with that generation of the Altima, it is a very competent car.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Altima had a really good interior since the introduction of the car in '93(?).
Remember the commercials where it would mimic luxury cars (balancing a triangle of glasses on the hood with the engine running while on a dyno).

It was a competent car except the KA24DE pretty much sucked... it was too sluggish.
It was also too small to compete with the Camcord's and didn't have a V6 option.
Click to expand...

Thou shalt not insult the KA24DE. It was a better 4-cyl motor (in terms of power) than the Camry/Honda 4-cyl of the time!
 
Well, Nissan didn't wait 2-3 years after the Altima's intro and tweaked the interior a bit for 2003. I'm sure the interior will be further improved in a mid-model cycle refresh. Hopefully, Nissan doesn't add that tooth to the grill when that happens.
Click to expand...

I think the extent of the "improvements" are an added armrest and a new titanium trim or something.
The fit and finish and material quality was still very subpar. It was hardly an improvement.

The bucktooth grill looks decent on some Nissan's

The one on the new Maxima is just too big, so they have aftermarket grills being proposed

Just needs the Nissan emblem in the middle for some balance.
 
because when they say its cr@ppy they are comparing with other foreign cars😉 maybe they should just call it standard american interior quality😛
 
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Originally posted by: psteng19
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
Btw the 98-2001 Altima had a really good interior. Very well put together, quiet without any rattles, great materials, and decent design (ok it was bland, but still).

I thought Nissan nailed it with that generation of the Altima, it is a very competent car.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Altima had a really good interior since the introduction of the car in '93(?).
Remember the commercials where it would mimic luxury cars (balancing a triangle of glasses on the hood with the engine running while on a dyno).

It was a competent car except the KA24DE pretty much sucked... it was too sluggish.
It was also too small to compete with the Camcord's and didn't have a V6 option.
Click to expand...

Thou shalt not insult the KA24DE. It was a better 4-cyl motor (in terms of power) than the Camry/Honda 4-cyl of the time!
Click to expand...

It sure didn't show it then. My 125hp Accord is still a hoot to drive. Gotta love well-geared 5-speeds🙂
 
I used to drive a 95 Plymoth Neon and now a 01 Honda Accord. When I first sat in the accord, the interior blew me away. Juding from people's previous experience with cars, the Nissan Altima is a big improvement.
 
The V6 Alty sells because of the VQ. The I4 Alty sells because it's around 18K and a lot of space, and interior is good enough for that price range.
 
Originally posted by: psteng19
Well, Nissan didn't wait 2-3 years after the Altima's intro and tweaked the interior a bit for 2003. I'm sure the interior will be further improved in a mid-model cycle refresh. Hopefully, Nissan doesn't add that tooth to the grill when that happens.
Click to expand...

I think the extent of the "improvements" are an added armrest and a new titanium trim or something.
The fit and finish and material quality was still very subpar. It was hardly an improvement.

The bucktooth grill looks decent on some Nissan's

The one on the new Maxima is just too big, so they have aftermarket grills being proposed

Just needs the Nissan emblem in the middle for some balance.
Click to expand...

It's a very nice padded armrest, in fact. 🙂

Yeah, that aftermarket grill for the Max will look good with a Nissan emblem in the middle.

 
I think the interior has a decent design and is well-put together. The fit and finish of the Altimas I've been in is actually quite good. The actual materials used are the problem IMO, and maybe some people don't see that as a big deal considering the price of the base car is quite low. As NFS4 said, 80% of buyers are opting for the 4-cylinder versions of the car, which are selling for around $20K.

Having said that, Nissan did listen to the criticism and at least they tried to spruce up the interior a bit on the '03 models (and maybe even more so on the '04s, I don't know).

Anyway, even though the Altima's interior materials may not measure up to some of its competitors, it is still a viable choice for many people. Read Edmund's long-term wrap-up to see all of the things they liked about the car (comfort, storage, reliability, safety, etc.) It even had better resale value than they expected.

And let's not forget that even the 4-cyl engine has more hp and torque than most of the competition, and is (IMO) just as refined.

I think all of the other good qualities possessed by the Altima allow people to get past the quality of the interior materials. I probably wouldn't buy one myself, but I can see how it would be an attractive option to those 16-20K buyers/month.
 
*shrug*

i think my Altima's interior looks fine.

i have the 4cyl....it has decent pickup (the 175 HP engine is suprisingly peppy), good gas mileage, good price, looks nice, very smooth ride, and it's spacious.
 
i see more and more altimas on the road each day. Probably 2-3 brand new ones. I guess people are tired of being lemmings and buying a boring ass Camry or Accord.
 
The interior isn't horrible or anything... it's quite good compared to what Toyota and Honda (in the past) have in their Camry/Accord. Plus, many people prefer the styling of the Nissan. The image that goes with it is less "appliance on 4 wheels" than Toyota for sure.

The SHIFT_<blank> campaign seems to be pretty successful in hyping the car for it's intended market (aka people looking for a sporty sedan image). So... where's Skoorb?
 
The Altima looks ok (at least the back), and the SE is FAST. I think the SE is only like $1000 or so cheaper than the Maxima SE though. They all (Altima SE, Maxima SE, 350z, G35, I35) use the same 3.5L VQ engine, just tuned differently.
 
Originally posted by: psteng19
Originally posted by: mAdD INDIANIt was a competent car except the KA24DE pretty much sucked... it was too sluggish.
It was also too small to compete with the Camcord's and didn't have a V6 option.
Click to expand...
Too sluggish? The Altima has always been faster to a comparable Accord or Camry in every generation. People need to stop regurgitating what they've seen in car magazines and create their own opinions. I've sat in a 2002 Altima and the interior is not that bad. The Mazda 6 interior is not that much better IMO.
Click to expand...
 
For what you get, the Altima is way over priced... plastic fantastics...


why do people care about the interior? for the price they are charging, it should be nice!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top