Me, a girl, an old man and a Nissan Altima

"So what do you think of this car?" asked an elderly man. The sudden question startled me a little for I have just pulled into a parking lot idling the my latest tester to jot down some notes.
"I like the curves, isn't it good looking?" remarked a young female voice nearby. Well I wouldn't think my set of flabs curvy but if you say oh you meant the car.

The elderly man, whom I can only presume is the father unless he is related to Mr. Heffner was accompanied by a young woman walked towards me excitedly. "This must be the new Nissan. We followed you a few blocks back." said the man.

Mmmkay

Introduced for model year 2008 by Nissan, the Altima Coupe will complement the ever popular sedan version. In terms of body panels, the Coupe only shares the hood with its 4-door counterpart. Nissan shortened (~101mm) and lowered the Coupe body to create an athletic stance. The front-end design is unmistakably Nissan down to its vertically stacked headlights and honeycomb grille. I was expecting a more energetic face being a 2-door sports coupe. However from the A-pillar back, the car takes on a swooping arch ending with a shortened rear deck hinting traces from the G35 coupe. And of course as with the current cropped of cars these days, even the base Altima Coupe sports the requisite dual side-exhaust tucked neatly under the black rear diffuser. Apart from the puny 16″ alloy wheels that seemed lost in the large wheel wells, I do find the Altima Coupe's overall design pleasing.
"The interior isn't bad either!" exclaimed the daughter who is now peering through my passenger side window.

The Altima coupe's interior is lifted straight from the new generation Altima sedan sibling. Gone is the chunky plastic gauge pod. Instead the replacement is a set of electroluminescent speedometer and tachometer that glows red. Even under the bright noonday glare, it was easy to read the vital stats of this new Altima. Most notably is the I-key that will see most of its life in one's pocket or a purse. One no longer needs to insert the key onto the steering column but rather press the White Start button to initiate engine startup. Very vroom-vroom indeed.
Nissan interior designers should be given a pat on the back for being able to deliver quality feel without stretching the budget too much. Soft-padded plastics are strategically located throughout the car's interior. Together with sprinkling of polished chrome bits, the Altima Coupe projects a higher than expected classy perception. One touch window down for the passenger side is standard even with the base model. Nissan replaced the previous bulky plastic-clad steering wheel with yet another plastic-clad item, only this time the design seemed more at home in an arcade than on a car. Why can't they install simple three-spoke wheels like every other Japanese car companies? The base audio system was standard fare as expected. An optional 9-speaker Bose system is available as an option. My 2.5S Altima comes equipped with power-adjustable cloth seats. No Lumbar support though. You would have to opt for the SL package for that. But that will entail exchanging the grippy cloth for slippery leather. As a coupe, the rear fold-down seats though commendably large will likely see very little people-carrying duty.

Being the gentleman I offered the excited female to plop herself into the Altima's cockpit. Gripping the steering wheel the daughter declared proudly, "I want lots of horsepower. How powerful is this one?"
I had to burst her bubble as my tester was a 2.5L inline-4 version. Fortunately the silky VQ35 6-cylinder is available that starts at about $31,398. The base 175hp Altima Coupe will not win any traffic light grand prix. However it does an admirable job shuttling around the city. My tester is also equipped with the Xtronic CVT transmission that Nissan is very proud of. This system cleverly determines the optimal power delivery by correlating the driver's input against a databank of up to 700 shift-logic preset scenarios. Nissan is very proud of their CVT technology and expects to sell 1 Million of these CVT-equipped models. Nissan tuned the CVT for increased mileage but at the expense of accelerative fun. It just didn't feel that 175 horses are hidden in the engine bay. Gunning the go-pedal resulted in increased engine noise as the 2.5L struggles to gain momentum. There are 6 pre-programmed ratios in manumatic mode. However it doesn't hold the gear to redline before shifting to the next gear. Bummer The manual 6-speed would be my hearty recommendation.
Heading into my usual test loop that consists of a combination of straights and twisting blacktop, the Altima Coupe felt composed and quiet. It is most happy cruising at a leisure speed. Road noise is minimal. The taller sidewalled 16" all-season tires provided a comfortable ride. With a big coupe, one would have to plan the entry into a curve carefully as too much speed will cause the car to push wide. Credit to its 60:40 front biased weight distribution. Lifting-off the throttle readjusts the Altima's nose back to the tarmac instead of heading towards the grassy fields. The size of this Altima is felt during fast corner exits where you can feel the body lean. To me the 2.5S model is not really suitable for this type of driving. The stiffer sprung 3.5SE should do a better job.
"So you are an auto-journalist? Do you recommend this car?" remarked the skeptical dad.
"How does it compare to the Pontiac G6 or the Mitsubishi Eclipse? Does it come as a convertible?" the daughter asked expectantly.
In addition to the cars mentioned, there are two other popular mid-size FWD coupes – Honda Accord and Toyota Camry Solara. In my opinion, now that Nissan has improved on the interior bits, this Altima coupe can go toe-to-toe with its immediate competition. It is a handsome car that echoes design cues from the Infiniti G35 coupe. However being a front-wheel drive format, the handling will not be as thrilling as the 350Z or inspiring as the G35. This may be a moot point considering the thousands of dollars saved even with the top trimmed 270hp 3.5SE model. As for the convertible version Nissan is playing coy on that one.

Alwin is a BC-based freelance auto writer for the Asian Inside Views. He can be reached at alwinlai@gmail.com