2008 Nissan Altima Coupe

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating
Comfort: 7.0
Performance: 8.0
Design: 8.0
Overall score: 7.5 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 6 reviews
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Product summary

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: Kevin Massy
• Reviewed on: 09/14/2007

The Altima Coupe is the sportiest-looking model to come out of Nissan's factory since the iconic 350Z. Nissan promises that the two-door version of its midsize sedan will deliver "true performance, true technology, true coupe." The last of these claims is irrefutable: with its raked fastback roofline and flowing shoulders, the Altima Coupe marks a bold styling departure from the staid lines of the sedan. Aesthetes may disagree over the car's bulbous rear-end styling, which, depending on your school of thought, is either a dashing, Infiniti-inspired touch of style or a flabby appendage that looks like an aftermarket body kit.

And Nissan has a case for pushing the performance and technology merits of the Altima Coupe. With a choice between a 2.5-liter in-line four and a 3.5-liter V-6, the coupe is not found wanting for power, and we are inclined to favor the smaller engine choice, which is less likely to overpower the front wheels. On the cabin tech front, the coupe has the same available arsenal of gadgets as that of its sedan sibling, including GPS navigation and Bluetooth hands-free calling, although most of the goodies come as part of pricey options packages.

Test the tech: Tunitas Creek Road
The Altima Coupe may look like a sports car, but we had our doubts about whether the front-wheel drive model would actually perform like one. To settle the matter decisively, we set out toward one of our favorite proving grounds south of San Francisco by the name of Tunitas Creek Road. It is difficult to overemphasize the demands that this forest trail high up in the Portola Valley puts on cars during spirited driving. With its corkscrew corners, blind bends, and hairpin turns, the serpentine Tunitas Creek Road is less of a race track than a rally course--the perfect place to test the mettle of the Altima Coupe.

Our test car was equipped with the baseline 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine mated to the standard six-speed manual transmission for which we were eternally grateful: had our loaner come with the optional $500 continuously variable transmission (CVT), we suspect we could have kissed all hopes of a sporty ride goodbye. To get to our test track, we had to drive Skyline Boulevard, a windy, single-track road, but with wider sweeping turns rather than the chicanery of Tunitas Creek Road.

Driving Skyline at around 50 mph, we had a chance to see how the Altima Coupe responded to cornering at speed and short bursts of acceleration and braking. While were impressed with the ability of the punchy four-cylinder engine to get us up to speed quickly, and by the linear quality of the brakes when approaching a turn, we were underwhelmed with the Altima Coupe's handling ability on corner exits. The Altima demonstrated considerable understeer lunging into corners and requiring us to constantly overextend in steering to push the car through the bends.

Once on the Tunitas Creek Road, we were more impressed with the Altima Coupe's performance. At lower speeds, the car feels much lighter on its feet and steering feels more responsive, with plenty of feedback coming through the wheel. One of the most impressive things we noticed while heel-and-toeing our way down the grueling slalom was the car's solid feel courtesy of its sport-tuned suspension and its rigid chassis, which both stood up well to the road's uneven surface. After 20 minutes of threading our way through the tree-lined course, we emerged from the winding trail with a better impression of the Altima Coupe's performance prowess. This is one car that you can throw about with confidence, providing that you're not traveling too fast.

In the cabin
The interior of the 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe features a clean, sparse design with a neat arrangement of cabin amenities, including an as-standard Intelligent (remote) key with pushbutton start. Our car was optioned up with charcoal leather covering for the seats and door panels, which was offset by some stylish silvery trim for the door handles and storage compartment. On the downside, we were surprised at the lack of fit and finish for the car's spring-loaded center storage console, which when closed left a gaping gap between the plastic cover and the central console.

As part of our test car's heftily priced Premium package, it was optioned up with a number of impressive cabin tech features. For entertainment, we got an upgraded stereo with six-disc in-dash changer capable of handing MP3 discs and input from portable media players via its front-mounted line-in jack. We found the buttons and dials for the head unit to be intuitive and well-laid-out, and we particularly like the generic Display button that enables drivers to cycle through text information on album, artist, and song title names for MP3 discs, and XM station, category, artist, and track information for XM satellite radio.

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User reviews

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 6 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 6 user reviewsSee all 6 user reviews

• 4.5 stars

  5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

  "The 3.5SE is the real sports car"

  by mcheddadi on September 15, 2007

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• 4.5 stars

  1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

  "amazing vehicle"

  by jake k on September 18, 2007

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• 3.5 stars

  2 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  "Good car but!!!!"

  by downsouth821 on September 18, 2007

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• See all 6 user reviews Write review

Where to buy

2008 Nissan Altima Coupe: $20,570.00

store	price	in stock?	rating
Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price From Edmunds.com	$20,570.00	No

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Where to buy 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe

• store price in stock
• Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price From Edmunds.com $20,570.00 See site
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