Altima With Attitude

(page 2 of 2)

The coupe's front strut and rear multilink suspension system is also tuned to feel sportier.

Nissan has done a nice job of reducing torque steer—which occurs when a front-wheel-drive car's steering pulls to one side or the other during acceleration—in the coupe. But the steering still feels heavy and pulls a little off center when you punch the gas. On the other hand, the V6-powered 3.5 SE is quick from a standing stop. I timed it at 6.5 seconds in accelerating from 0 to 60, which is what the company says it will do.

The continuously variable automatic transmission seems odd at first. In automatic mode, the car accelerates in an undifferentiated skein: You can run it out from 30 mph to 130 with no hesitation for the gears to shift.

You can get the semblance of shifting gears by using the six-speed manual mode and doing the shifting yourself. The engine has a sports-car-like whine when you push it hard in manual mode. But as the engine approaches redline, the transmission blips, like an old-fashioned tube TV when you turn it off, then hesitates a tad before shifting into a higher gear. It feels artificial to me.

Fit and finish aren't quite what you'd get in a more expensive coupe, such as from BMW (BMWG) or the Altima's upscale cousin, the Infiniti G37. There was an annoying rattle in the interior of my test car when I took it out on bumpy back roads. But if you go with the premium options package, the interior looks upscale and attractive. The black leather upholstery in my test car was soft and expensive-looking, and none of the inexpensive plastic materials (such as the "metallic look" trim) look cheap.

The downside of the coupe is that its interior space is tighter than in the sedan. I'm only 5 ft. 10 in. tall and I could quite comfortably reach the car's pedals with the driver's seat set back as far as possible. If you're much over 6 ft., legroom may be tight. The lower roofline makes for less headroom, too, and the coupe's rear seats are too cramped for most adults to be comfortable during long rides.

Trunk space is only 7.4 cu. ft., less than half the 15.3 cu. ft. in the sedan. However, the small trunk is offset by the fact that the coupe's rear seats fold down in a 60/40 pattern, turning the trunk and rear seat area into a large hauling space.

Buy It or Bag It?

You probably won't be disappointed if you rush out and buy an Altima Coupe, but I would test-drive the new Honda (HMC) Accord Coupe first. It's selling for about $1,000 more than the Altima's $26,279 average, PIN figures. Alternatives from domestic manufacturers include the Ford (F) Mustang, which sells for an average of $28,658, and General Motors' (GM) Pontiac G6 (BusinessWeek, 8/15/06), which is cheaper ($23,367 on average, according to PIN) but doesn't handle as well as the Altima. (PIN, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP).)

If you're really into performance, keep in mind Nissan is expected to bring out a souped-up SE-R version of the Altima Coupe next year. If you're flush with cash and want a Nissan-built coupe with rear-wheel drive, check out the new Infiniti G37. It promises to be a great-driving car (and is selling for an average of $41,539).

But if you're in the market for a sporty, relatively inexpensive coupe, the new Altima is a good value, and great fun, for the money.

Click here to see more of the 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.