1SICKREVIEW-Nissan Altima SE-R "old school American fun"
06-28-08, 08:11 AM
#1
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1SICKREVIEW-Nissan Altima SE-R "old school American fun"
Well a girlfriend of mine was looking at cars on the Nissan lot a few months ago and liked the Altima. She then saw a grey SE-R model and basically fell in love with the looks. She did want black though. Well after seaching, she got a perfect used Altima SE-R in black for 19k. Yesterday, I got to drive the snot outta it as I wanted to test it out. I have driven the previous 2.5 and 3.5 versions before but not the SE-R. I think that is a very good price for this car.
So lets get this review started!!!
I've always joked about the "knock-off GS" styling cues of the Altima but that is also why I think its a good looking vehicle and IMO has aged well. This black SE-R looks quite FANTASTIC IMO. It has SE-R badges of course but the additional styling is tasteful. Black headlights/tails, bigger air dam, good looking dark colored split spoke wheels (with SE-R badging on the calipers) that are 18" in size and forged from my understanding. The exahust tips are bigger and overall, I find this to be a very good looking car.
For the price, I had no probem with the paint or fit and finish. Looked quite "mean" to me.
You open the door and the first thing you feel is nothing, the door is very light and flimsy which is the theme with everything inside. You sit down and the seats are sport seats with more bolstering and pretty comfy. There is a 350Z like stack over the radio controls, pretty cool, you get oil temeprature for instance. There are chrome rings around the dials and I really like what looks like BLACK CHROME around the shifter and the door handles, instead of the usual chrome. That was well thought out to me. We all should know by now the interior was pretty poor in qualities and this is no different BUT for some reason it didn't bug me as much. Understand its cheap all over. There is tons of room up front and in back, this is a big 192 inch long car with a 110 inch wheelbase. Everything was close to the hand. There are red threads/themes inside to remind you this is not a regular Altima and the door panels had a alacantra type cloth which felt nice and soft.
This model was actually an automatic with the seemingly customary sport shift where you can change gears for yourself. Now you might say "me need manual" but the lady explained perfectly why this is the future from Nissans to Ferraris "I wanted a stick but when I saw I could shift for myself without a clutch, I was sold". It shifted pretty well to me, it was not harsh at all and while I much prefer paddle shifters, this is an older car. The auto shifted pretty fast and held the gears.
You start the car and the award winning VQ has a nice grumble. I actually like how it sounded a lot better than the VQ exhaust setup in the G35/FX/350Z which sounds like a Goat getting it in the rear from a drunk Elephant.
It is CLEAR the engine runs this car. I mean it overpowers everything BUT its very smooth and the SE-R only weighs 3300lbs (as much as the tiny 350Z!!) so it pulls with authority. You literally feel like you are on a carriage and there are 260 horses pulling you. As soon as you hit the gas hard, be prepared for tons of torque steer. I mean the car steers itself. The engine just overpowers its FWD bearings and the 225 series tires. You will/can leave smoke for days!!
Oh, the handling isn't much better. Its a big car and even with the SE-R treatment, it drives like an Altima, bigger than it is. I did handle on par with the TL I drove just last week though, which ain't great but considering what it is, that is pretty good. Going in turns, the car just feels big and the wheels are just fighting b/c of the power from the engine.
Which leads me to the suspension, which mixed with a light, seemingly thinly built car, with low profile tires and well you feel every bump in the road. You feel the wind blowing and flies buzzing. I ran over a box of crushed french fries in the road and I could tell how much salt was on the fries. This is a VERY HARSH RIDE, one of the harshest I've been it. Again, what makes it worse is it just jiggles the entire car and you know why the G35 is heavier and the FM platform is far superior. The G35 may ride slightly harsh but it doesn't translate as much in the seat. You got 5mph or 80 mph, it feels rough.
Thing is....the engine is such a gem. I mean it pulls hard and feels like a V-8 in this car. You just have to love it and again, it sounded good. So after driving it some more and getting some straight aways, I started getting a nice grin. In execution, it simply feels like an old school Pontiac or Chevy with a big black and no thought in much anything else. I loved it!! When you take away your expectations that this is not going to be a M5 or built like a Lexus and you realize its a nice option out there.
As I am getting older (lol only 30) and realizing the monkey crap being spewed in so many magazines, I am realizing its not really that one car is just better than the other, just that its better for YOU or ME. It just fits better. I think this allows me to be better balanced and then you can more accurately compare it to other cars.
FOr 19k, amazingly you can get a 2002/2003 Q45 or M45, which are built tons better, have higher quality, just as speedy with V-8s. I've driven the Q45 before and I got more GRINS and SATISFACTION from the SE-R than the Q.
Overall, I got out the car and turned back and looked at it a couple more times and I told my girlfriend "you made a great choice" and she raved about how much she liked it.
No I am not drunk.
If I wanted a fun car for under 20k, I would get this before the usual Civic, Scion tC, etc. This just appeals to me much more. And even with all the negatives I would get it before the better built but pedestrian and just got damn ugly Camry/Accord.
Oh, gas MPG (important today clearly) is about 20MPG mixed.
So in a new way to judge cars, I give this thing 4 Goats out of a possible 5 Goats.
So lets get this review started!!!
I've always joked about the "knock-off GS" styling cues of the Altima but that is also why I think its a good looking vehicle and IMO has aged well. This black SE-R looks quite FANTASTIC IMO. It has SE-R badges of course but the additional styling is tasteful. Black headlights/tails, bigger air dam, good looking dark colored split spoke wheels (with SE-R badging on the calipers) that are 18" in size and forged from my understanding. The exahust tips are bigger and overall, I find this to be a very good looking car.
For the price, I had no probem with the paint or fit and finish. Looked quite "mean" to me.You open the door and the first thing you feel is nothing, the door is very light and flimsy which is the theme with everything inside. You sit down and the seats are sport seats with more bolstering and pretty comfy. There is a 350Z like stack over the radio controls, pretty cool, you get oil temeprature for instance. There are chrome rings around the dials and I really like what looks like BLACK CHROME around the shifter and the door handles, instead of the usual chrome. That was well thought out to me. We all should know by now the interior was pretty poor in qualities and this is no different BUT for some reason it didn't bug me as much. Understand its cheap all over. There is tons of room up front and in back, this is a big 192 inch long car with a 110 inch wheelbase. Everything was close to the hand. There are red threads/themes inside to remind you this is not a regular Altima and the door panels had a alacantra type cloth which felt nice and soft.
This model was actually an automatic with the seemingly customary sport shift where you can change gears for yourself. Now you might say "me need manual" but the lady explained perfectly why this is the future from Nissans to Ferraris "I wanted a stick but when I saw I could shift for myself without a clutch, I was sold". It shifted pretty well to me, it was not harsh at all and while I much prefer paddle shifters, this is an older car. The auto shifted pretty fast and held the gears.
You start the car and the award winning VQ has a nice grumble. I actually like how it sounded a lot better than the VQ exhaust setup in the G35/FX/350Z which sounds like a Goat getting it in the rear from a drunk Elephant.
It is CLEAR the engine runs this car. I mean it overpowers everything BUT its very smooth and the SE-R only weighs 3300lbs (as much as the tiny 350Z!!) so it pulls with authority. You literally feel like you are on a carriage and there are 260 horses pulling you. As soon as you hit the gas hard, be prepared for tons of torque steer. I mean the car steers itself. The engine just overpowers its FWD bearings and the 225 series tires. You will/can leave smoke for days!!
Oh, the handling isn't much better. Its a big car and even with the SE-R treatment, it drives like an Altima, bigger than it is. I did handle on par with the TL I drove just last week though, which ain't great but considering what it is, that is pretty good. Going in turns, the car just feels big and the wheels are just fighting b/c of the power from the engine.
Which leads me to the suspension, which mixed with a light, seemingly thinly built car, with low profile tires and well you feel every bump in the road. You feel the wind blowing and flies buzzing. I ran over a box of crushed french fries in the road and I could tell how much salt was on the fries. This is a VERY HARSH RIDE, one of the harshest I've been it. Again, what makes it worse is it just jiggles the entire car and you know why the G35 is heavier and the FM platform is far superior. The G35 may ride slightly harsh but it doesn't translate as much in the seat. You got 5mph or 80 mph, it feels rough.
Thing is....the engine is such a gem. I mean it pulls hard and feels like a V-8 in this car. You just have to love it and again, it sounded good. So after driving it some more and getting some straight aways, I started getting a nice grin. In execution, it simply feels like an old school Pontiac or Chevy with a big black and no thought in much anything else. I loved it!! When you take away your expectations that this is not going to be a M5 or built like a Lexus and you realize its a nice option out there.
As I am getting older (lol only 30) and realizing the monkey crap being spewed in so many magazines, I am realizing its not really that one car is just better than the other, just that its better for YOU or ME. It just fits better. I think this allows me to be better balanced and then you can more accurately compare it to other cars.
FOr 19k, amazingly you can get a 2002/2003 Q45 or M45, which are built tons better, have higher quality, just as speedy with V-8s. I've driven the Q45 before and I got more GRINS and SATISFACTION from the SE-R than the Q.
Overall, I got out the car and turned back and looked at it a couple more times and I told my girlfriend "you made a great choice" and she raved about how much she liked it.
No I am not drunk.
If I wanted a fun car for under 20k, I would get this before the usual Civic, Scion tC, etc. This just appeals to me much more. And even with all the negatives I would get it before the better built but pedestrian and just got damn ugly Camry/Accord.
Oh, gas MPG (important today clearly)
is about 20MPG mixed. So in a new way to judge cars, I give this thing 4 Goats out of a possible 5 Goats.
06-28-08, 08:35 AM
#2
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yup i always told ppl nissan v6 are torque monsters. japanese muscle. Like you can actually feel the pull. Even my stock 2k auto maxima pulls pretty fkin hard! thanks for the review
06-29-08, 08:36 AM
#4
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Nice (and fun!) review. Maybe I missed it, but what year is the Altima SE-R she bought?
06-29-08, 08:52 AM
#5
"Goat getting it in the rear from a drunk Elephant", and where were you when you came upon this incident? Anyway great review. I was a nissan fine ever since the original 4DSC was coined. Nissan did great with the Altima, but screwed the Maxima. Hopefully the new one with bring back 4DSC.
06-29-08, 08:03 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Thanks for the write-up, Mike. 
I haven't driven the Altima SE-R but have seen it and examined it. Its interior seems to be a step or two above lower-line Altimas, and the Z-type round center-gauges are classy. Yet you still felt it was cheap?
I haven't driven the Altima SE-R but have seen it and examined it. Its interior seems to be a step or two above lower-line Altimas, and the Z-type round center-gauges are classy. Yet you still felt it was cheap?
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06-29-08, 08:04 PM
#8
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06-29-08, 08:25 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Yes, I know it's the last-gen Altima. I could tell by the pictures. But even the last-gen Altima had a better interior than the one before that, which was awful. I remember when that model came out (when the Carlos Ghosn cost-cutting started in earnest). I was so put off by that interior I walked out of the showroom without even driving one.
Why the new 2.5 instead of the 3.5/3.7? I guess people down there, like in may places, are starting to show more of an interest in gas mileage?
06-29-08, 08:37 PM
#11
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Yes, I know it's the last-gen Altima. I could tell by the pictures. But even the last-gen Altima had a better interior than the one before that, which was awful. I remember when that model came out (when the Carlos Ghosn cost-cutting started in earnest). I was so put off by that interior I walked out of the showroom without even driving one.
Why the new 2.5 instead of the 3.5/3.7? I guess people down there, like in may places, are starting to show more of an interest in gas mileage?
Why the new 2.5 instead of the 3.5/3.7? I guess people down there, like in may places, are starting to show more of an interest in gas mileage?
2000 or so model
SE-R interior
06-29-08, 08:47 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
I thought the best Altima interior, to my tastes, was the first-gen model (1993-1998), especially the XLE model with the wood, but I couldn't find an image of it to post. How do you think the interior on your car compared to the '93 (if you remember the '93 interior)?
06-29-08, 09:14 PM
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06-30-08, 01:22 AM
#14
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The last generation Altima SE-R was pretty neat for a FWD sedan. Looks pretty good and had a good punch to it.
As far as the new Altima's, I would take the Accord Coupe over the new Altima Coupe hands down. With the exception of the rear, which is really bland, the Accord Coupe has a striking look. Can't say the same about the Altima Coupe in the looks department: nothing striking about it. Almost looks like a deformed child of 4
.
As far as the new Altima's, I would take the Accord Coupe over the new Altima Coupe hands down. With the exception of the rear, which is really bland, the Accord Coupe has a striking look. Can't say the same about the Altima Coupe in the looks department: nothing striking about it. Almost looks like a deformed child of 4
.
