| If you haven't paid attention to the Altima since Bill | | | | headlights. |
| Clinton was president, know it's grown from a | | | | Rather than physically changing gears like a |
| compact economy car into a powerful, | | | | conventional automatic, a CVT uses a belt and pulley |
| confident-handling, midsize, entry-level luxury sedan that | | | | system. It's designed to keep the engine at its |
| maintains Nissan's sporty flavor and, especially for | | | | most-efficient speed for the task required, regardless |
| 2010, offers assertive styling. | | | | of whether that's optimum fuel mileage during highway |
| The four-door Altima Sedan comes as the 2.5 CVT, | | | | cruising or maximum acceleration for merging into |
| 2.5 S and 3.5 SR CVT. Also, under the Altima umbrella | | | | traffic. Few drivers will notice a difference between a |
| is the Altima Coupe and Altima Hybrid sedan. (We'll | | | | CVT and a regular automatic, except for improved |
| leave the coupe and hybrid sedan for future reviews.) | | | | fuel economy and strong acceleration. Gearheads: The |
| Here's how to decode Nissan's model nomenclature. | | | | Altima's CVT also employs a small gearset to |
| The "2.5" indicates the car is fitted with a very strong | | | | increase its effective ratio range. Don't take this too |
| 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter, four-cylinder. The "3.5" means | | | | hard, gearheads, but the CVT does a far better job of |
| it enjoys the awesome 270-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 | | | | maximizing the engine's performance than you could |
| engine. All Altimas are fitted with a "CVT," which | | | | with a manual transmission. |
| stands for "continuously variable transmission." More on | | | | The four-cylinder delivers 23 miles per gallon in the |
| CVTs later. Prices start around $20,000 and go to | | | | government's city driving test and a very impressive |
| almost $30,000 for the gas-engine cars. | | | | 32 mpg on the highway. The V6 is rated at 20 mpg in |
| If you're looking for an affordable, very roomy sedan, | | | | the city and 27 on the highway. Altimas are made in |
| consider the 2.5 CVT. If you're willing to pay a bit more | | | | Tennessee and Mississippi. |
| for Nissan's sporty feel, the 2.5 S CVT is an excellent | | | | The 2010 Altima received "Good" crash safety ratings |
| choice. Those who like to go BMW hunting in the | | | | by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in |
| stoplight Grand Prix or on a curvy back road will be | | | | both front offset and side impact tests. In the |
| very entertained by the 270-horsepower 3.5 SR CVT. | | | | government's crash test studies, the Altima Sedan |
| Changes for 2010 feature a more assertive hood, grille | | | | scored high marks—five stars—in both |
| and front bumper cover. Inside, the Altima received | | | | driver and passenger frontal impacts, as well as side |
| new fabrics. Electronic stability control, which Nissan | | | | driver impacts, and four out of five stars in the rollover |
| calls VDC, now comes on all Altimas, but that's not too | | | | category and side rear passenger impact test. |
| newsy as it will soon be government-required on all | | | | If you're thinking about ditching the SUV for a spacious |
| passenger vehicles. The 3.5 SR CVT (formerly called | | | | and sporty sedan, think about the 2010 Altima. |
| the SE) now comes with high-intensity discharge | | | | |