Nissan Altima 2009 3.5 S

[addikt]

Hi guys,

Do any of you own this car? I'd love to hear what you like or dislike about it. I'm gona test drive altima/camry/mazda 6 this month (all v6 models)... and in terms of best features for the $$ and engine reliability I'm more inclined towards Nissan though ofcourse test drive might change my mind. Let me know what you think :)

[Buggy166]

had driven a 94 altima and then parents upgraded to the 06. i know its not the same "run" but its a really comfy car...and big. Its great if you got people to tag along...good for winter because its fwd...and also it stays on the road on the highways when the wind is blowing unlike others.

bought the 06 over a year and a half ago at around 60k km..no issues with anything..just the usual brake replacemenets,oil changes,etc.

its a decent car...only complaint from me is its size...but i am only 23 yrs old and prefer slightly smaller sedans like the mercedes c class.

[Brandon]

I tested the 4cyl models of the 09 Altima 2.5SL and 09 Mazda GT-I4. I ended up buying the Nissan. As far as the 4cyl models go, the automatic transmissions on both cars are very smooth. The Nissan is a little smoother tho since it's CVT.

I like the exterior of the Altima more than the Mazda 6. One thing I couldn't get over on the Mazda 6 was the zebra-print style trim (for leather models, it's on the centre console between the two seats). I found it to be quite ugly. And I also like the center info displays more on the Altima as well (for the non-navigation models). The regular key (non-push button start) for the Mazda 6 is really ugly compared to the Nissan Intelligent key! I remember the Auto climate control temperature knobs looking cheap on the Mazda 6.

I found the rear seat to be more comfortable in the Altima than the Mazda 6. The rear passengers also get an active centre air vent for the Altima (depending on the trim), but not for the Mazda 6 (IIRC).

The exterior of the Mazda 6 looks nicer to me, especially the rear of the V6 Mazda 6 (the exhausts look nice, even though they're just cosmetic). And the trunk of the Mazda 6 is much bigger, and it uses scissor hinges (hydraulic?) instead of the swing arms of the Altima (which use a lot of the usable space). The Altima only comes with 16" alloys compared to the Mazda 6 GT-I4's 18" alloy rims. I think the 3.5SE Altima has 17" rims, but still smaller than the Mazda 6. IIRC, the Mazda 6 has a small spare tire and the Altima is full size.

The Bose audio system for the Altima doesn't have a true subwoofer. I think the Mazda 6 has a true subwoofer (or maybe it was a woofer)... but probably better than the biggest speakers the Altima has, 6x9's.

I'm not sure about the trim levels you were looking at, but one thing that swayed me to get the Altima was availability. The Mazda 6 trim I wanted wasn't easily available and had to be ordered, whereas the Altima I wanted was available at a local dealer.

Have you looked at the Nissan Maxima? I think it has a huge rebate on it for cash purchase right now. It should be pretty close to the pricing of the Altima 3.5SE.