By Roger Witherspoon
May 8, 2010
The weak winter sunlight glistened off of the jagged, two-foot-high mounds of ice
which 50 mile per hour gusts of wind had polished to high, slippery, sheen. The Altima
Hybrid was left on the lawn overnight, leaving the street clear for the city’s snow plows –
which had dutifully piled a street-full ice in front of the house.
I pushed the ignition button and the dashboard lit up. You never have to worry
about an engine struggling to ignite in freezing temperatures because the battery pack
running the hybrid is always ready. Just turn it on, look at the lights, listen to the silence,
and go.
In this case, the seats were very cold, so I turned on the heater, pushed the button
to warm the seats, and left the car. The electronic key remained in my pocket, and by
touching the button on the door latch, the car was locked. Ten minutes later, I returned to
a warm car, shifted the silent machine into drive, and let the front wheel drive Altima roll
forward over the ice mounds, into the street, and took off for a trip through icy New
England.
At times during the jagged journey, not all wheels were touching the same
ground, with one side of the car on pavement and the other set of wheels on ice. But the
condition of the terrain is never a problem in an Altima – hybrid or gas powered – since
there is a dedicated computer system which runs its traction and stability control network.
Sensors in the wheels and axels report the turning rate of each wheel in microsecond
increments, and the computer selectively applies brakes or power to individual wheels to
keep the car travelling smoothly. It is a system which lets the car do the hard work, while
the driver relaxes and enjoys the beauty of a fresh winter snow day through the hills and
dales along the Hudson River Valley.
With the Altima, Nissan has long had a standout among mid sized sedans. The
regular Altima, a four-door, mid sized family sedan, has a 270-horsepower V-6 engine
which is both powerful and reliable enough to run all day long with the best of the sport
sedans. It comes with an automatic transmission, but for sport fans, there is an electronic
manual mode which is instantly responsive.
The Altima is a car built for all sizes. The tilt and telescoping steering wheel and
the power adjustable seats means any driver between five feet and seven feet tall will fit
easily in the padded, leather command chair. There is enough leg and head room in the
back seat for three average adults or a pair of NBA forwards. In addition, the rear seats
fold down to enlarge a trunk which is already big enough for a couple of Tony Soprano’s
enemies.
In terms of design, the interior is comfortable, though not outstanding, but it does
feature a host of amenities. There is an easy to use Bluetooth communications system,
and the entertainment center features AM/FM and XM satellite radio, as well as a six disc
CD and MP3 player. And whether you are crooning to country music or bouncing to
R&B the sounds emanate from nine Bose speakers which can easily lull you to sleep or
deafen you, depending on your musical pleasure. There is also a navigation system which
includes XM’s satellite traffic control service which can spot highway bottlenecks and
steer you around them.
The enjoyment one gets from an Altima Hybrid, on the other hand, depends on
the choices one is willing to pay for. There is a premium for the melded gasoline and
battery motor system which comes to about $4,500. Toyota promotes its hybrids as
engine enhancement systems so motorists expect to pay more. Nissan takes the more
common approach among auto makers by trying to keep the price down by offering less.
In this case, the fully loaded regular Altima cost about $32,000, while the tested Altima
Hybrid was just a bit more than $30,000. But the differences are not minor.
Under the hood, the Hybrid has a small, 2.5-liter, four cylinder engine providing
just 158 horsepower – which is relatively puny for a family sedan. The electric motor
provides only about 40 horsepower, but pushes 199 pound feet of torque directly to the
drive wheels. As a result, there is a noticeable boost in power as you accelerate and have
the benefit of both power plants.
But unlike the Toyota hybrid line, Nissan’s is a partial hybrid which is not
designed to drive the car by itself. You can start the car with the electric motor, but after
about five miles per hour the gasoline engine takes over. Saving come from a system
which shuts off the gasoline engine whenever you stop – as you do in city rush hour
traffic – or when you take your foot off the accelerator. As a result, there is no wasted
gasoline when the car is idling or coasting.
In practice, that means the Hybrid has an EPA rating of 35 miles per gallon in city
driving, and the standard Altima gets just 19 miles per gallon. EPA ratings are inflated,
but the 16 mile per gallon difference is what you pay $4,500 for. According to the EPA,
the average motorist drives 15,000 miles per year. At that rate, the owner of a regular
Altima would pay for 789 gallons of gasoline annually, while the hybrid city dweller
would buy 428 gallons. That is an annual savings of 361 gallons – or about a gallon per
day. At $3 per gallon, the hybrid system would theoretically save the owner about $1,000
annually – which means it would take nearly five years before the hybrid premium was
paid for and the hybrid system began saving the owner any money.
To cut down on the impact of the cost of the hybrid system, the test car had the
smaller engine and lacked amenities such as the satellite based navigation system. In
addition, there was a loss of trunk space and the rear seats did not fold down because that
area was reserved for the hybrid’s battery pack.
In either case, whether you are riding sedately through the snow, or racing in
triple digits across the western plains, the Altima provides a comfortable way to travel.
2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid
MSRP: $30,205
EPA Mileage: 35 MPG City 33 MPG Highway
Performance/ Safety:
2.5-Liter aluminum 4-cylinder engine producing 158 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of
torque; front wheel drive; permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, producing 40
horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque; sealed nickel metal hydride, 244-volt battery;
automatic, continuously variable transmission; vented front disc brakes; sold disc rear
brakes; antilock braking system; independent front and rear suspension; vehicle dynamic
control; traction control system; power rack & pinion steering; 16-inch aluminum alloy
wheels; halogen headlights; driver & front passenger side impact air bags; roof mounted
curtain side impact air bags.
Interior/ Comfort:
AM/FM XM satellite radio; 6-disc in-dash CD and MP3 player; Bose sound system w. 9
speakers; Bluetooth cell phone connection; leather wrapped tilt & telescope steering
wheel with fingertip audio controls; remote key with push button ignition; driver & front
passenger power adjustable and heated seats.
2008 Nissan Altima
MSRP: $32,615
EPA Mileage: 19 MPG City 26 MPG Highway
Performance/ Safety:
3.5-Liter aluminum V-6 engine producing 270 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque;
front wheel drive; continuously variable transmission; vented disc front brakes; solid disc
rear brakes; antilock braking system independent front and rear suspension; vehicle
dynamic control; traction control system; power rack & pinion steering; Xenon high
intensity headlights and fog lights; driver & front passenger side impact air bags; roof
mounted curtain side impact air bags; 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels.
Interior/ Comfort:
AM/FM XM satellite radio; 6-disc in-dash CD and MP3 player; Bose sound system w. 9
speakers; Bluetooth cell phone connection; power sunroof; navigation system with XM
satellite traffic control; backup camera; power adjusted driver seats w/ lumbar support;
leather seats and leather wrapped, tilt & telescoping steering wheel w/ fingertip audio
controls; heated front seats; fold-flat rear seats w/ 60/40 split.