Nissan Debuts Altima Hybrid, Company's First

Nissan took the wraps off of its first hybrid today at the Orange County, Calif., Auto Show. The Altima Hybrid features the same four-cylinder engine as the base 2007 Altima, but it’s matched to an electric engine to pump out 198 horsepower. More importantly, the hybrid’s mileage is rated at 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway. That competes directly with the Camry Hybrid at 40/38 mpg city/highway. The projected range with the Altima Hybrid's 20-gallon tank is 700 miles.

Comments

After my experience owning Toyotas, Hondas, Fords, and Nissans I will never again buy another Nissan. My current Maxima is less than four years old (39k), yet I have had to replace all 6 oxygen sensors, struts, two sets of tires (due to the struts going bad), all 4 brake discs, and an alternator. Most other Nissan owners that I have talked too agree that compared to other Jap brands it's clear Nissan cuts many corners on quality. I guess that's to be expected from a car company that's run by a CEO who prides himself on cutting 'waste'.

My 2002 Altima 2.5 S was the most dependable car I've ever owned. It was also one of the most boring. And, it had some design flaws, like a heater that didn't work very well when the car was idling, and the manual door lock buttons (just above the inside door release) would lock if you barely brushed them as you exited the car.

As far as the new Altima Hybrid goes, they need to lose the spoiler, offer some larger wheels, and sell it in all 50 states (Nissan plans to offer it only in the five states that are subject to CARB requirements).

Segfault,
It says they'll begin to be sold in those states at start of production. We assumed it would eventually roll-out nationwide. We're checking with Nissan to confirm that.
And I really like the spoiler.

I disagree with you...that nissans are not dependable....I bought a used 2001 Sentra with 50,000 miles on in 2004 and been driving it for 2 years and now has 75,000 miles on and never had the problem with it.....just doing the normal things that a car needs....oil change....new window wipers...

Nissan has had reliability problems recently that were mainly due to new plants in Tenn. The company went through a very similar fix to the movie Gung-Ho and had a team of Japanese engineers come in and evaluate and fix the problems. Keep an eye on future quality reports to see how much they improve.
In the latest JD Power study the industry average for problems per 100 vehicles was 227. Nissan had 243. So they're still below average but better than:
Porsche
Hyundai
Dodge
Mitsubishi
Jeep
Volvo
Audi
Mini
Isuzu
Saturn
VW
Hummer
Kia
Suzuki
Saab
Land Rover

My experience with Nissan is not too different from Mark's. My 91 Sentra needed serious transmission work after only a few years, and I had some serious brake issues as well. I loved driving the car, it was a lot of fun, but I'm leery of buying another until I'm sure the quality is there.

Every Nissan I've had has been good except for a '96 Quest. Currently have a 2006 Altima 3.5SL which is great so far. If you want to talk about cheapening products - Toyota are a prime example for cheapening their new range and cutting costs everywhere. I had a 2005 Avalon which was very poorly put together and constructed of cheap materials and had transmission and other problems. I got rid of it after a few months. The new Camry doesn't seem much better. IMHO, the best quality Japanese brand is Honda.

1992 nissan stanza sedan. made in japan. car has had many age related problems which amount to over 3000 dol. overtime. it is solidly built car. seats superior to any of new cars i have tried great visibility and road stability. a/c never been touched or alternator or starter. many brake problems. i cannot get used to the new cars seats in any brand and prefer the old style high bonnet which makes for good spatial perception. outside of the many repairs car is silent and no rattles. quality of metal better than these almost all plastic junk the manufacturers are putting out now to get more profits. paint is original and thicker than in contrast with these one hand paint jobs mfrs. are puttingon their cars now.

I have a 2001 altima, from 44k to 100k miles not a single issue.

'93 Nissan pickup, nearly 180,000 miles, V6/AT still runs flawlessly. Just maintenance items like timing belt, thermostat, plugs, etc. Difficult engine to work on, though. Interior materials look a little cheap but have worn well.

I've owned three Nissans and one Honda and will only say that Nissan is no Honda. For quality nothing beats my Honda. Nissan is clearly better than Ford, GM, Chrysler, but it's not any where close to being in the same class as a Honda for long term reliability and durability.

Nissan's quality has slipped in recent years....The Titan truck, Armada, Sentra have all been sub-par....Nissans are levels below Toyota and Honda in the quality game. Nissans don't have the same refinement as Honda and Toyota. Sentra is way below Corolla and Civic in quality. Altima isn't nearly as refinded as Camry and Accord. Tundra is much more reliable than Titan. Nissans rattle, leak, have cheap interiors, bad brakes,etc.....Before buying a Nissan, read Consumer Reports, JD Powers, etc....my most recent experience with Nissan, has been awful....

have owned 97 altima 2.5:had to replace radiator; an 01 altima which was involved in head on crash( my daughter was only person inside and was not hurt): 01 exterra which has had no out of pocket expenses; overall i have liked nissan!

I purchased 2006 Altima and would never buy another Nissan ever. I've had to purchase new tires, have had it realigned several times and there is still problem with steering. Car feels very unsafe to drive and each time I've taken to dealership, they will never admit problem exist. Check out NHTSA website, office of defects investigations. Other consumers say same thing about Nissan.

I'VE HAD MY QUEST SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION IN '93. IT FUCKIN STILL RUNNIN, CAN'T BELIEVE IT. GOT IT WITH A CD/CASSETTE DECK KINDA AWESOME BACK IN THE DAYS NOW UPGRADED TO A CD WITH AUX IN. THE CAR IS AT ITS AGE AS TRANSMISSION IS CREATING WHAT THE CURRENT NISSANS TRY TO AVOID "SHIFT SHOCK". TO THE POINT, EVERY CAR MANUFACTURER HAS QUALITY ISSUES EVEN THE BOSSES OF THE GAME HONDA AND TOYOTA. NISSAN OF TODAY ARE MORE APPARENT BUT LOOK INTO TOYOTA AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT ITS HAVING ITS LIMELIGHT NOW. HONDA ON THE OTHER HAND IS ON TOP WITH QUALITY. IM TIRED OF DEBATING, CHOOSE YOUR CAR WISELY!

At 41/36, it compares closely with Camry at 40/38.

The next thing to watch is the price.
Certainly they cannot price it above Camry since its Toyota's 5th hybrid and also Camry is #1 selling model.

Expect Altima-Hybrid to grab some market share from Accord-Hybrid.

I've owned Datsuns and then Nissans my entire life (except for 2 Ford Taurus which one blew up around 120k) and I have taken them each well past the 230k without any problems. They are a bit cheaper in quality which equals a lot cheaper in price too. I recently owned an 06 Altima 3.5 SE and this was the best all around vehicle I've ever known for the speed, price, luxury, comfort. No honda or toyota can come anywhere close to it. The new Altima is even nicer and faster than this one. Right now I own a Sentra Spec V. Fun, nimble, fast, cheap ;)

We have taken test drives in the last week in a Cambry Hybrid and an Altima Hybrid. We found the Altima to be far superior to the Camry in power, ride and noise. we found good availability of the basic models of both the Camry and the Altima here in San Diego County. However, you have to order one if you want leather seats and an upgraded sound system or navigation. The Altima still gets the full $2350 tax credit while the Camry is pretty is down to its last quarter of phase out at $650. We will be probably be ordering an Altima Hybrid to replace a 99 Acura RL that gets 19 mpg on premium fuel.

We recently purchased the new Altima Hybrid with tech package and leather to replace our 2003 Acura MDX whose transmission decided to blow. All manufacturers have issues including honda. Acura/Honda were completely unresponsive to our problem with the MDX and even though they have known there are issues with the transmission they failed to work with us on replacement wanting to charge us $4200.00. They told me they'd work with me on trading in the vehicle, but didn't think we were important enough to get back to us quickly (2 dealerships). I was out of town when the transmission went out on my husband, but needed to replace the vehicle right away upon returning so I would have a way to get to work. I had been interested in finding a hybrid and was excited when Altima came out with one. While out of town I contacted Nissan, who is taking our trade in (the MDX with failed transmission) and had everything lined up for us, including holding the vehicle we were interested in. The sales rep allowed us to take the vehicle on our own unsupervised to go test it out. I could not get my husband out of the seat all weekend, this car has great power more than i would have ever expected in a hybrid. The tech packages is great. The transmisison and engine run better than our prior MDX, and Lexus prior to that. So far I am extremely happy. I admit there are a few features I will miss from the luxury lines including seat and mirror memory, but I will get used to adjusting them. The back up camera, navi, and blue tooth capability are great. And it helps that I am getting 20plus more miles per gallon.

We have 2 Altimas; a 2003 and 2005. We liked the styling and bought 1 for our son, and then 1 for myself. The 2003 was purchased used with 53,000 miles and the 2005 was new. I was very pleased with the 2005 and put a lot of miles on it until the cooler failed and I had to put in a new transmission at around 62,000 miles last year. We just replaced the transmission on my son's car at about 70,000. I had a Honda that we drove to 110,000+ with nothing but oil, brakes, and tires. Is there anyone else who had transmission troubles with newer Altimas?

I own a '99 Altima that was part of a rental fleet before I purchased it in 2000 with a little over 22k on it. It's now fast approaching 192k and beyond normal maintenance, the only work I've done to it is replace the alternator, AC, and the left front fender and turn signal after a chance encounter with a deer one night. Every make has their problems but I'm sticking with Nissan because I've had nothing but good experience with them for the past 15 years even with my '92 Hardbody which I regretfully gave up at 240k. That truck was bulletproof.

I've had an Altima for a while now its a 2.5, 4 cylinder car. i've had no problems with the car excet for that about 3 months ago I had to take it back to the dealer because the Catalyst converter there was something wrong with it that made my car become all shaky whenever I put it in park or drive while pressing the brake, but other than that I've had a fairly good experience with this car. It's very fuel efficient and well I'm happy with it, although I wouldnt mind owning a 350Z or an Infiniti Q35..... ;)

a car is as good as the maintainer and the driver who cant stay fom the big holes and curbs

my wife was driving our nissan altima which has 31,000 miles on it when the passenger side
front 16 inch alloy rim/wheel exploded what does anybody know about a recall on them because of such defects

My friend had his Nissan Altima replaced an alternator even though he just bought it just several months ago. Hopefully, this new Altima wouldn't have any problems like that.