Altima Coupe Release

[Carlosf22]

Man you're good with Photoshop, can you do an overlay to see how the Dark Slate looks with the hub-caps.Toxik I heard that dealer's will be getting more the 18th, yours will probably be there. Does anyone know when the next shipping dates are?

[mcheddadi]

I made a comparison image:

Azure Blue V.S. Dark Slate

Aren't the hubcaps already there in the picture Carlosf22?

[toxik]

Well I think the new batch just arrived, I noticed all my local dealers got new coupes. Mostly 2.5s too. Before they all had 3.5se only.

[Carlosf22]

I noticed on the NissanUSA inventory site that dealers around me got more, but these were 3.5 SE's. Hopefully they get more 2.5 S's in the first week of July, that way I don't have to wait as much, in the other hand, maybe someone is willing to pay more for the car I wan't and they won't give me the price I'm looking for.

[toxik]

I noticed on the NissanUSA inventory site that dealers around me got more, but these were 3.5 SE's. Hopefully they get more 2.5 S's in the first week of July, that way I don't have to wait as much, in the other hand, maybe someone is willing to pay more for the car I wan't and they won't give me the price I'm looking for.

Hmm that all depends on the dealer. I know my dealer didn't even want to negotiate the full price, he only told me what the monthly payment would be based on what I wanted. I was able to negotiate the payment down a bit to where I was happy with it. I wish I knew someone who worked at a Nissan dealership. I know my parents know someone at a Honda dealership and they always get awesome deals due to that. Sucks I don't like any of the current Honda models.

[altima coupe]

I ordered the coupe in the Black a couple of weeks back. I have been watching to see if anybody in Canada has gotten a Coupe yet. I can't wait any longer but I have been told my car is on the train and should be here in 2 weeks. It has to go throught Toronto 1st.

I ordered the 3.5 SE with CVT. They would not budge from MRSP but they didn't mark it up either. The other colour I considered was blue but in Canada it's Adriatic blue and I didn't know if that blue was different from the Azure blue (USA) that everybody has pictures of, so that made my decision easier.

I was shopping for a 4 door but this coupe is just to beautiful to ignore

[eberger]

I was wondering how much the tinted windows are? I have a silver coupe and I think it looks way better with the tinted windows. Also, I live in Illinois and I know you can have a certain percentage but if you get it too dark its illegal. Can some one send me some info???

[mcheddadi]

here's a new review:http://www6.autonet.ca/Spotlig....htmland here's the french version with a gallery of the car:http://www4.autonet.ca/FR/Neuf....html

[dynot]

I can't wait any longer but I have been told my car is on the train and should be here in 2 weeks. It has to go throught Toronto 1st.

This seems to be the same line all dealers are using. I'm skeptical that it takes 2 weeks to get here from Tennessee. The last dealer I spoke with said they will hit the showrooms in August.

Hope someone in the know can post the truth here about its arrival in Canada. I don't believe anything these dealers say. They seem to all be dishonest and willing to say anythng to lock in a sale.

[Carlosf22]

For the ones in Canada, someone in another board already got it, he said his dealer got 4.

[toxik]

I noticed that the darker colored coupes look more luxury where as the bright blue or red ones look a lot more sporty.

[blueflint]

i managed to test drive a coupe today. i must say, the rear windows are a bit small, i think smaller than a cheaper car i was looking at (tc). that left me surprised.

theres not much trunk room i noticed. aside from these things, im liking the coupe, just dont know if nissan is adding HID and sirius sat radio to them, or if those are only for the sedan at the moment.

[CoupeLover]

i managed to test drive a coupe today. i must say, the rear windows are a bit small, i think smaller than a cheaper car i was looking at (tc). that left me surprised.

theres not much trunk room i noticed. aside from these things, im liking the coupe, just dont know if nissan is adding HID and sirius sat radio to them, or if those are only for the sedan at the moment.

You can get HIDs and a 3 month subscription to Sirius satellite radio with the premium package for the coupe

[Jaeger]

Finally got a good look at the Coupe in person - took them bloody forever to arrive in Canada:



Overall, I REALLY like it. They got the overall dimensions and proportions pretty much spot on. The car really does give a very strong hint of the current G35 coupe - which I think is a positive. Like the sedan, its most flattering aspects are the rear view, rear three-quarters and side profile. Which brings me to...

Things I DIDN'T like:

1) While I understand that coupe and sedan only share a hood in common, Nissan really could / should have done more to differentiate it from the sedan where the front end is concerned. The picture below ilustrates my point (coupe in foreground, sedan in the back - for anyone that couldn't tell ):



The coupe's headlights may be ever so slightly more peeled back, but that's about all you can see without careful study. I spen some time looking at them side-by-side and the similarities impressed far more than the differences. Nissan stopped at "handsome" where with a bit more effort they could easily have had "rakish" and "striking" - terms which certainly apply to the back half of this beast:



2) The seats. I was hopeful of a maybe a swap for my sedan's seats at some point down the road, because while they are supremely comfortable, they do lack in side-bolstering. When I heard that the Coupe would come with more aggressive sport seats, hope blossomed. It was quickly dashed upon looking inside - again, the improvements are marginal at best. Even the current Maxima seats look to have more pronounced torso bolsters than the coupe's.

3) The spindly wheels. They look good by themselves, but on the car, man, do they look small. I simply would NOT have believed that these were 17's if I didn't read the sidewalls.

4) Needs a drop. Again like the sedan, the biggest styling let-down is the pronounced wheel gap. Only on the more overtly sporting coupe it is even less forgivable. No doubt this will eventually be fixable in the aftermaket, but still...

All that nit-pciking notwithstanding I think this is a great-looking vehicle that should sell extremely well.

Jaeger

[hattrix]

jaeger, were you looking at the same car? My girlfriend has the Maxima, I have the 08 coupe. I hate when I drive my GF's because the bolsters are sorely lacking compared to hers. The bolsers on my coupe are one of the things I was supremely pleased with. For the fun if it, occasionally, I will take looping offramps at 50 or 55. I would slide off my seat without the bolsters. Every review I have read have complimented the bolsters. Now, I am not sure if you were looking at the leather seats, which is what I have. The standard seats might be different. Did you sit in them. I don't mean to argue or disagree with you but, I am sorry, the bolsters are outstanding on the coupe. As for your comments about differentiating the coupe from the sedan, the point of having a coupe version of a sedan is to basically have a sportier version of the coupe. They aren't supposed to be different cars. Look at the Accord Coupe, the G6 coupe or the Solara. They all are by far less different and less sporty (well maybe it can be argued the G6 is sportier) than their sedan counterpart. It isn't supposed to be a totally different car. The fact that Nissan changed the chassis was a revolution in coupes. The G6 coupe, Accord coupe and the Solara all share a chassis with their sedan counterpart. Nissan completely changed the coupe FWD coupe industry to the point that Honda is now completely redesigning the Accord Coupe. Honda is known for slow change to a line. The fast change of the coupe can be directly linked to the Altima coupe. I will agree with you that the wheels were unimpressive. They could have done better but it is an easy after market fix. As for the drop, while it may improve appearance, the redesign of the coupe makes a drop unnecessary for handling purposes. The limitations of a FWD coupe come into play long before any heighth issues do. Lowering the car will not improve the handling of this car. Trust me. (see 55 mph looping on-ramps). I am not sure if you just looked at the Altima coupe or actually test rode it. I think some of your dislikes might be alleviated if you do. There is no FWD coupe on the market even close to the Altima right now. If you google 2008 Accord Coupe you will see that Honda is going after the Altima Coupe next year. Personally, I am not a fan of the styling but some will be. I have no clue how the handling will be but I don't think it is possible for it to be better than the Altima. Right now, there isn't a FWD coupe that even compares to the Altima.

[mcheddadi]

jaeger, were you looking at the same car? My girlfriend has the Maxima, I have the 08 coupe. I hate when I drive my GF's because the bolsters are sorely lacking compared to hers. The bolsers on my coupe are one of the things I was supremely pleased with. For the fun if it, occasionally, I will take looping offramps at 50 or 55. I would slide off my seat without the bolsters. Every review I have read have complimented the bolsters. Now, I am not sure if you were looking at the leather seats, which is what I have. The standard seats might be different. Did you sit in them. I don't mean to argue or disagree with you but, I am sorry, the bolsters are outstanding on the coupe. As for your comments about differentiating the coupe from the sedan, the point of having a coupe version of a sedan is to basically have a sportier version of the coupe. They aren't supposed to be different cars. Look at the Accord Coupe, the G6 coupe or the Solara. They all are by far less different and less sporty (well maybe it can be argued the G6 is sportier) than their sedan counterpart. It isn't supposed to be a totally different car. The fact that Nissan changed the chassis was a revolution in coupes. The G6 coupe, Accord coupe and the Solara all share a chassis with their sedan counterpart. Nissan completely changed the coupe FWD coupe industry to the point that Honda is now completely redesigning the Accord Coupe. Honda is known for slow change to a line. The fast change of the coupe can be directly linked to the Altima coupe. I will agree with you that the wheels were unimpressive. They could have done better but it is an easy after market fix. As for the drop, while it may improve appearance, the redesign of the coupe makes a drop unnecessary for handling purposes. The limitations of a FWD coupe come into play long before any heighth issues do. Lowering the car will not improve the handling of this car. Trust me. (see 55 mph looping on-ramps). I am not sure if you just looked at the Altima coupe or actually test rode it. I think some of your dislikes might be alleviated if you do. There is no FWD coupe on the market even close to the Altima right now. If you google 2008 Accord Coupe you will see that Honda is going after the Altima Coupe next year. Personally, I am not a fan of the styling but some will be. I have no clue how the handling will be but I don't think it is possible for it to be better than the Altima. Right now, there isn't a FWD coupe that even compares to the Altima.

Amen!

[Jaeger]

jaeger, were you looking at the same car? My girlfriend has the Maxima, I have the 08 coupe. I hate when I drive my GF's because the bolsters are sorely lacking compared to hers. The bolsers on my coupe are one of the things I was supremely pleased with. For the fun if it, occasionally, I will take looping offramps at 50 or 55. I would slide off my seat without the bolsters. Every review I have read have complimented the bolsters. Now, I am not sure if you were looking at the leather seats, which is what I have. The standard seats might be different. Did you sit in them. I don't mean to argue or disagree with you but, I am sorry, the bolsters are outstanding on the coupe. As for your comments about differentiating the coupe from the sedan, the point of having a coupe version of a sedan is to basically have a sportier version of the coupe. They aren't supposed to be different cars. Look at the Accord Coupe, the G6 coupe or the Solara. They all are by far less different and less sporty (well maybe it can be argued the G6 is sportier) than their sedan counterpart. It isn't supposed to be a totally different car. The fact that Nissan changed the chassis was a revolution in coupes. The G6 coupe, Accord coupe and the Solara all share a chassis with their sedan counterpart. Nissan completely changed the coupe FWD coupe industry to the point that Honda is now completely redesigning the Accord Coupe. Honda is known for slow change to a line. The fast change of the coupe can be directly linked to the Altima coupe. I will agree with you that the wheels were unimpressive. They could have done better but it is an easy after market fix. As for the drop, while it may improve appearance, the redesign of the coupe makes a drop unnecessary for handling purposes. The limitations of a FWD coupe come into play long before any heighth issues do. Lowering the car will not improve the handling of this car. Trust me. (see 55 mph looping on-ramps). I am not sure if you just looked at the Altima coupe or actually test rode it. I think some of your dislikes might be alleviated if you do. There is no FWD coupe on the market even close to the Altima right now. If you google 2008 Accord Coupe you will see that Honda is going after the Altima Coupe next year. Personally, I am not a fan of the styling but some will be. I have no clue how the handling will be but I don't think it is possible for it to be better than the Altima. Right now, there isn't a FWD coupe that even compares to the Altima.

Well, I'll do my best to respond, but if I miss something it is because I lost it in that solid block of text.

1) The seats. No - I didn't sit in them (dealerships here are closed on Sunday) so that is a fair comment - I won't know how they feel until I do. But it's not like I haven't seen sport seats before - and these do not look very sporty to me. And yes, these were the leather seats in the 3.5.

2) Differences from the sedan - Nissan clearly appreciates the importance of visually distinguishing coupe from sedan - they don't EVER shut up about the fact that they share only one exterior body panel. I GET that it's not supposed to be a "completely different car" but I think on the front end they could and should have done more. Yes, it is commendable that they rendered the coupe on a shortened wheel base - but my comments were related to similarities fo the front end alone. The wheelbase has nothing at all to do with that.

3) This is an impressive product to be sure, but perhaps we can agree that it is at best premature and at worst fanciful exaggeration to declare that "Nissan has completely changed the coupe FWD industry."? How 'bout we see how sales shake out over time first?

4) Lowering. If you read my point here you would see that my complaint about the SUV-like wheel gap (okay, I know it's not THAT bad) was aethetic rather than functional. Huge gaping wheel gaps are UNSIGHLTY in my opinion - particularly on a vehicle with sporting intentions. It sure wouldn't handle any worse with a mild drop and quality coil over. Nissan should have done this themselves. Some may actually like the gap - you never know - but I have never heard of anyone RAISING their sport coupes or sport sedans, which would seem to suggest that my preference for less rather than more wheel gap is not an unusual one.

5) Since none of my dislikes were at all related to the driving dynamics of the vehicle, I doubt that a test drive would make me feel differently about any of them. But I am looking forward to test driving the car - the sedan handles very well and I would hope and expect that the coupe is quite a bit better yet.

6) Disagreeing with me is perfectly okay and nothing anyone need apologize for - I don't believe I have all the answers or even know all the questions and I don't require that people see thing my way.

7) I agree that the Altima Coupe is the best FWD coupe on the market right now, but it will be interesting to see how it fares against the '08 Accord - likely to be its most meaningful competitor. I am not willing to predict that it will be decidedly superior to the Honda - my crystal ball is notoriously unreliable - but I will wait and see. I am not at all sure where your source of information is regarding Honda "is now completely redesigning the Accord Coupe" in response to the Altima. The Accord Coupe has been in the works for some time and is to be released as an '08 (much like the Alti). That sure doesn't leave a lot of time for a "complete redesign". But you may have and inside line to Honda's production planners. I sure don't.

8) Just curious - did you miss the part where I said I REALLY LIKED the car? No car is perfect - even a car I like well enough to buy will have things about it I think could stand improvement (as is the case with my '07 sedan). Exuberant fanboyism isn't hard to find on car discussion forums, but you won't find it from me.

Jaeger

[dynot]

Finally got a good look at the Coupe in person - took them bloody forever to arrive in Canada:

Can you give some more info on its arrival:

1-Where did you see these - Oakville, Toronto?2-How many did the dealer have?3-Are they selling above MSRP?

Thanks

[prlwhitecoupe]

Hey man i got some news for you. I'm actually the dude who posted about the 4 coupes that arrived at my dealership in Brampton. They came in on Friday. I had originally ordered a black 2.5 without premium, but apparently it was gonna take longer. However, my sales guy called me as soon as he got their first shipment. They got a Niagara Grey (which I test drove), a Silver, Matador RED (BEAUTIFUL!) and a Satin White (Pearl $285). I have posted the pics on photobucket for the other forum, here is the link:http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u168/khairajai/

I will be picking my baby up in a few days. I got the pearl white by the way, 2.5 fully loaded. And no the dealer did not do a markup, it was sold at MSRP. I financed for 72 months at 6% (current prime rate). Anymore questions let me know man.

Btw I had preordered my car in April.....im so anxious now i cant even wait 2 more days!!! lol....neways the dealer was nice he let me take the niagara grey for a test drive. And the red one was ordered the general manager as a road car...i was lucky that i actually had a choice of silver, grey, white, red and ofcourse the black was coming in anyways!

PS - Jaegar, come down to b-town n goto Brampton Nissan. its over at Bovaird and HWY 10. Speak to Paul. U could take the grey one for a test drive, if its still there so go soon!

Modified by prlwhitecoupe at 11:14 PM 6/17/2007
Modified by prlwhitecoupe at 11:15 PM 6/17/2007

[08Coupe]

Finally got a good look at the Coupe in person - took them bloody forever to arrive in Canada:



Overall, I REALLY like it. They got the overall dimensions and proportions pretty much spot on. The car really does give a very strong hint of the current G35 coupe - which I think is a positive. Like the sedan, its most flattering aspects are the rear view, rear three-quarters and side profile. Which brings me to...

Things I DIDN'T like:

1) While I understand that coupe and sedan only share a hood in common, Nissan really could / should have done more to differentiate it from the sedan where the front end is concerned. The picture below ilustrates my point (coupe in foreground, sedan in the back - for anyone that couldn't tell ):



The coupe's headlights may be ever so slightly more peeled back, but that's about all you can see without careful study. I spen some time looking at them side-by-side and the similarities impressed far more than the differences. Nissan stopped at "handsome" where with a bit more effort they could easily have had "rakish" and "striking" - terms which certainly apply to the back half of this beast:



2) The seats. I was hopeful of a maybe a swap for my sedan's seats at some point down the road, because while they are supremely comfortable, they do lack in side-bolstering. When I heard that the Coupe would come with more aggressive sport seats, hope blossomed. It was quickly dashed upon looking inside - again, the improvements are marginal at best. Even the current Maxima seats look to have more pronounced torso bolsters than the coupe's.

3) The spindly wheels. They look good by themselves, but on the car, man, do they look small. I simply would NOT have believed that these were 17's if I didn't read the sidewalls.

4) Needs a drop. Again like the sedan, the biggest styling let-down is the pronounced wheel gap. Only on the more overtly sporting coupe it is even less forgivable. No doubt this will eventually be fixable in the aftermaket, but still...

All that nit-pciking notwithstanding I think this is a great-looking vehicle that should sell extremely well.

Jaeger

Good review, I agree the front needs something (maby a billet grill). The 17's do fill the fenders well in the coupe IMO, I wouldn't want it any lower. The seats I think are pretty good but could use more side bolsters. My last car was a 2004 GTO and those seats were incredable....

Over all a very fair review, but I think you need to take a v6 coupe for a test drive....

[Jaeger]

Can you give some more info on its arrival:

1-Where did you see these - Oakville, Toronto?2-How many did the dealer have?3-Are they selling above MSRP?

Thanks

I went to both Oakville Nissan and Woodchester Nissan on a very idle Sudnay morning. There were a bunch of guys there at both locations, all looking at the coupe - which bodes well for Nissan (considering the dealership was closed).

Oakville had 4 that I could see - 2 4cyl. - black and red, and 2 3.5s - black and silver. One of the guys there said the silver car was his, being delivered this week.

Woodchester had only 2 that I could see - a black 3.5 and a silver 4-banger.

There may be more at either location - I can't say for sure one way or the other. Guys who have bought in Canada have reported paying list and not a dime less, but no markup. YMMV.

Jaeger

PS - prlwhitecoupe - congrats on your new ride and enjoy!

[dynot]

Thanks Jaeger. As far as I can tell this is the first confirmed sighting of these cars on sale in Canada. I've heard about arrival dates on both sides of the spectrum: here this week to "won't be here till August". Good to know the truth finally. Now I just gotta go out & get one.

If I had my pick I would choose that black one. Could you go down & put a deposit on it for me till I get there!

I know now I'm pushing it but do you remember if that black one has the navigation package?

Thanks for your review. Although I agree the wheels suck I can live with everything else.

[ACoupe]

I ordered a fully loaded 3.5SE (Nav, etc.) in Niagara Grey. I've since purchased a G35 Coupe, so there may be an owner-less Coupe on it's way to the Oakville dealership end of June-beginning of July!Just wanted to give a heads-up.Congrats on all the new purchases guys, the car is definitely sweet!!!

[Jaeger]

Sorry dynot - don't recall whether any of the three black cars had nav.

I have to say I REALLY like the look of this car in black - sedan and coupe. Just wish I had the time to fuss about keeping a black car clean like I used to. The silver is less dramatic, but it looks pretty clean even when it's not.

Jaeger

[prlwhitecoupe]

yah its a pain in the *** to keep the black clean. Another reason i took the white...which is a lil less work, but its pearl

Any idea about what percentage tint would look good on a white? As dark as legally possible (35% i think) or less?

[Carlosf22]

Now I'm really undecided after seeing Jaeger's images: Black or Dark Slate?

[ACoupe]

Dark slate gives the luxury look, but is a tad easier to keep clean than the black

[Jaeger]

I agree with that - the dark slate gives it a bit more of a luxurious look, with the black maybe a bit more sporty. Straight up, black is my favorite, and if I had the time to spend keeping it looking as good as it should, it would be my choice.

Colour choice will be tough - like the sedan, there isn't really any colour that doesn't suit the car. Nice problem to have, though.

Jaeger

[Carlosf22]

I'm alright with the two, any would be good, so it would depend which color they have when I go, but if I order I'll probably go for Dark Slate as a first option for the cleaning problems.

[hattrix]

Actually, test driving would help change your opinion on the seats which was my main point. However, I did misunderstand you on the point about the wheel gap. I thought you wanted the car lowered for handling purposes, not for visual appeal. I do not see the visual appeal as that bad but to each his own.

As for the changing FWD coupes, I do not agree that it is premature of fanciful to say they changed it. Up until now, all FWD coupes based on a sedan used the same chasis as its sedan big brother. The Altima does not. This is a HUGE change in the coupe world. The new design for the Accord coupe came out after rumors and spy shots for the Altima came out. That is why production is a year behind the Accord. It will be an '08 but released in '08 rather than in '07 like the coupe. Additionally, if you have followed Honda, you would know that Honda is painstakingly slow about changing designs. They make slow changes over a period of many years. If you look at the Accords now, they are fairly close to the Accord of 4 years ago. However, if you look at the Accord Coupe of '07 and '08, they are so dramatically different as to be almost unrecognizable as the same car. I think it is safe to say that the Altima Coupe had some if not major influence on that. If you read many articles, Nissan expects the coupe to be 10% of sales of the Altima. The industry expects it to be closer to 15%. High sales have never been the goal. Creating a buzz in the coupe world has been. Nissan has achieved this goal and in so doing, has changed the FWD coupe world.

I don't mean to argue. I just think that your review had overly high expectations for what the Altima is. Based on your review, you would be better off getting a G35, or a 300Z. A family style FWD coupe doesn't seem to fit your personal taste. However, my rebuttal was directed at the actual FWD coupe consumer who is not looking for a sports car but a sporty family coupe that has some pizzaz to it. This car fits that.

My references to the Accord coupe are admittedly based on rumor and conjecture. However, they seem pretty reliable. Based on these rumors and conjectures, the Accord will be a sportier and more popular coupe than its predecessors. I am not sure that it will have the handling and the power that the Altima coupe has. I know it won't have a CVT to match the Altima. I personally think the new Accord coupe is ugly. It appears to be a wanna be Mustang. But like with your review that is just one man's opinion.

I am willing to agree to disagree and carry this no further. The readers get both sides of the discussion and can make a decision for themselves which is the way it really should be, don't you think?