Just by chance I happened by my dealer this afternoon and they just got a shipment off the truck. I test drove it, showed it to a few friends and bought it. Where I buy my cars (Galesburg Nissan) they just give you the keys and tell you to bring it back in a few hours. It a 3.5 SL with the technology package, Cayenne Red with the Beige leather interior. Initially when I started looking at these I kept going back between the 2.5 and the 3.5 liter engines. After driving them side by side I opted for the 3.5 as I love the paddle shifters and wanted the HID headlamps. Then I was going back anf forth about the tech package and opted for it even though I have a Garmin. When the dealer was going through the setup with me I knew I made the right choice. The navigation system developed by Nissan is very advanced with a lot of cool features, so my Garmin is now a backup. Just the voice activated aspects of the tech package make it worth it. I may have to refer to the owners manual for a few days with this one.
I'll keep everyone posted as the miles pile up, starting at 16.

Today I pared my wifes' and mine phone to the BlueTooth and added the address book. The BlueTooth on the 2013 Altima has had some good upgrades over the one in my 2008 Rogue. Now I have to school myself on the navigation system which is basically easy to use but there are so many options to learn and experiment with it. The 9 speaker Bose stereo is very impressive and sounds wonderful although it only takes 1 cd where my Rogue took 6. I think this is because you have several different sources like a flash drive or your phone to stream music. The XM/Sirius has been really upgraded since the 2008 in the Rogue and as usual they give you 3 months free.
This afternoon I drove the Altima in a driving rain and though I would have preferred Michelins my Altima came with Dunlop SP Sports on 18" wheels. They actually hold the road well even in heavy rain so we'll see how they hold up. So far I'm really happy with this Altima, it's has cutting edge technology with the tech package and a lot of neat options. At first I didn't think I'd like the illumnated stainless steel kickpad with the ground lighting, but at night when you unlock the door it lights up everything around you and I can see the usefullness now. I put 50 miles on it today part city and mostly highway miles and got 29.1 MPG which was better than expected with the 3.5 engine since it's not even close to be broken in. The engine CVT combo is very responsive with a pleasant engine note accompanying it. Like in my Rogue I'll be using Mobil 1 with every oil change. The 6 cyl engine has a great reputation so I'm glad they still offer it as an option. More to come.

Congratulations to your purchase! Glad to hear that you like it. I could imagine how much fun it is with the smooth power of the V6. Mine is only a 2.5 but already feel enough power.

There is a lot to play with the Tech package. It took me a full week to go through and try out all the options.! I agree that the Boss system is very impressive for an OEM equipment. I found that the Boss really excels in forming accurate sound stage image. It is setup for more faithful reproduction of the audio track rather than exagreating bass output like some systems.

CD changer becomes less important these days. People are mostly using USB drives, phones, ipods or even streaming from bluetooth. In the future, we may not even see a CD slot.

Driving at night on dark country roads I really appreciate the HID headlamps, they make a big difference and really light up the road. I got use to HIDs on my Murano and then my Rogue so I'm glad they put them on the 3.5 SL Altima. I just wonder why they aren't offered on the 2.5 version, maybe this is something they'll rectify on the 2014s next fall. The Dunlop tires are much better tires than I was expecting so that was a pleasant surprise, I see a lot of the 2.5s wearing Michelens at the dealers. I just ordered a set of tan Nissan rubber floor mats which will save my carting during the coming winter. And that's it as far as things I need for my new ride. Still learning the all the things the Tech Package will do and Nissan posts some good videos on YouTube detailing different functions. Well done Nissan.

My Altima has the tan interior and though it came with carpeted floor mats I wanted to get something like WeatherTeck rubber mats. Found out yesterday that Nissan sells their own version specifically for the 2013 Altima. Talked to my dealers parts department yesterday and they had them in black, I wanted tan so I ordered a set. This afternoon they arrived and fit like a glove plus they look great. $90 from the dealer and a great option if it snows in your part of the country.

Thanks for the tip on the floor liner. $90 is a great price for the floor liner. My Weathertech on the Rogue is twice as expensive. Since I only leased my Altima for 4 years this time, I just use the free all weather mats the dealer gave me.

Congrats...I wonder how the tech package would have responded today, driving Sandy rain and the rear camera was completely covered in rain drops, couldn't see a thing. Hopefully it can detect that and doesn't tell you someone is in both blind spots all the time

My area of the country is going nuts with major road changes, the GPS would be out of date off the truck, and paying Nissan $200 or more for the maps is just ridiculous when phones with turn by turn update for free. I hope they fix their pricing model for the 2013s, but they know they have you if you want to update the maps.

I love the car so far, how much are you babying it during the break in? I am just a month in and still under 600 miles, it is driving me nuts how long it is taking.

The tires are VASTLY superior to the horrible Turanza's they had on the 3.5s before, those tires were complete garbage in any kind of wet conditions, so far these seem to have better wet traction.

First off I hope you came through Sandy unscathed and our prayers are with those who have been impacted by this massive storm. This is one of those times when I feel lucky to live in the middle of the country. My breaking in on my Altima took a bad turn when while in a grocery store for 15 minutes someone hit my car causing damage to the real bumper cover and one of my tailights with damage totalling $1250. No note or anything so I surmise the hit was done by some bustout without insurance. Fortunately I have a great body shop and when I picked up the Altima this afternoon it looks like the hit never occurred. My Altima was baptized.
I have just under 500 miles on it and have been varying my speeds constantly while doing the break in. The in town mileage has averaged around 27/28 and on the highway around 32/33. After I hit 1000 miles I'll be changing the oil putting in Mobil 1.
I don't really woorry about mileage until several thousand miles or on the 3.5 engine, but so far I was pleasantly surprised by this kind of MPG. Every so often on the highway I'll step on it and the power of the 3.5 V6 is impressive making it feel like a sports sedan. The navigation system has been great as has been the lane departure warning along with the blind spot warning. Getting signed up for Google POI settings was a chore. I called Nissan after I couldn't register on Nissans website, they said this system was developed for the Altima and I'd have to followup at the dealers. I went to my dealer after picking it up from the body shop and luckily they were up to speed. My sales guy sat me down in his office and we got into Nissans owners site and got signed in and registered easily. We then went to the car to complete the registration and now I'm all set.
This system allows me to look up a location on Google maps on my home computer and send it to the car among other interesting features. You sign in and just pull it up and it turns out to be very easy, I just had to get registered. This Nav system is much more sophisticated than my Garman and the more I learn how to use it, the more I like it. I feel the tech package is well worth the money and we'll see it on more models like the new Pathfinder and others.
I have Dunlop tires and so far they have been much better than expected in heavy rain and seem like excellent tires. So far I'm extremely happy with this car and think that Nissan has hit a home run. It feels more like an Infiniti than a Nissan with it's luxurious interior. The Bose sound system is fantastic even with music streamed from my Iphone. Next week I plan on putting a couple hundred highway miles on it and we'll see how it goes.

Oh yeah I am fine, it was just windy and rainy here in the Midwest.

Wow that is no fun that someone hit you. Around here it would just be some clueless soccer mom in her huge SUV on her phone, and she would just keep going. Insurance or not. People are just so rude about that kind of stuff.

I keep parking mine next to my boss's Max, and it totally holds up right next to it. At first glance I think people are thinking it is a newer Max. I agree with you on the Infiniti comparison, other than Nissan's very annoying habit of never offering a power passenger seat on the Altima because they are trying to protect the Max and leave a few features for it to have. The cabin is soooooo quiet, and the gauge clusters need to be seen, pictures don't do it justice.

Just do your local dealer's techs a favor. If you plan to have any accessories installed choose them all at once. All the lighting ones tie in together and it's best to do it at once. I had to install remote start, fog lamps, security lighting "underbody LEDs", interior accent lights "under dash LEDs", Light up kick panels, and the rear bumper protector... Today... On a base model 2.5 S... Pretty sure they could have optioned a car with those for less cost. Labor alone was over a grand.

My Altima break in period is well underway at 950 miles on the odometer. Yesterday I took a 250 mile drive and I'm happy to report that with the cruise control set at 70 mph I averaged 31.6 mpg. Later this month I'll be doing my 1'st oil change putting in Mobil 1 oil and filter. As I said previously I don't worry about mileage until several thousand miles, but I was impressed with such good mileage so early on. This is slightly better than I got with my 2008 Rogue and it's 2.5 litre engine. What I really like with the 3.5 engine is it's smoothness and reserve power that really is impressive when you need passing power at highway speeds. When I bought this car I wanted something that was fun to drive and got at least as good mileage as my Rogue, the new Altima does just that.

I did my first oil change with Mobil 1 and have just over 2000 miles on the odometer. Around town driving I'm averaging 27 mpg and on the highway I'm happy to report averaging 35 mpg. If I'm getting this kind of mileage with the 3.5 V6 I can only imagine what 2.5 owners must be getting. I expect my mileage to get even better as the engine gets really broken in. I have to say I really love the V6, it's is very smooth and has a lot of reserve power when needed. Whatever engine you choose you should get great mileage with the new CVT.

I personally hate the Rear View camera on my 2013 3.5 SL. Is yours blurry aswell?

My rear view camera isn't blurry but it isn't high definition either. I find it to be perfectly adequate and up to it's intended task. One tip though, after I wash the car I always wipe the rear view camera lense with a soft cloth in case there is any soap residue on it.
Just brought my Altima in for my 2'nd oil change at 7000 miles. The dealer informed me about a recall campaign having to do with reprogramming the ECM, which they did. A week later I received the official notification from Nissan concerning the recall.

The Nissan Altima is a nice car....especially if you get the 3.5 variant that's fully loaded. The CVT is a treat as well once you get accustomed to how it works. The CVT's power delivery is very smooth and doesn't "struggle" to find the correct gear like traditional transmissions, particularly when you're driving in bumper to bumper traffic.

The mileage of my 3.5 SL Altima just keeps getting better and better. On the highway at 70 mph I average 37 MPG. One day I dropped my speed down to 65 mph and I actually broke 40 mpg. I don't know if it's the new CVT or using Mobil1 oil or a combination of both, but this Altima gets fantastic mileage with the V6.

The increased MPG is most likely due to the 2nd generation CVT that was produced for the '13+ vehicles.

This has been a particularly snowy winter thus far and I have to say when it comes to driving in snow I miss my Rogue. This was my first car after 3 SUVs and I forgot how bad they were in snow. Other than that it's been a great car and I now have 19,000 miles on it. If I get the right deal though I'm going to flip the Altima for a 2014 Rogue AWD SL. I drove the new Rogue and was really impressed with it. The interior borrowed a lot from the 2013 Altima.

mag318 wrote:This has been a particularly snowy winter thus far and I have to say when it comes to driving in snow I miss my Rogue. This was my first car after 3 SUVs and I forgot how bad they were in snow. Other than that it's been a great car and I now have 19,000 miles on it. If I get the right deal though I'm going to flip the Altima for a 2014 Rogue AWD SL. I drove the new Rogue and was really impressed with it. The interior borrowed a lot from the 2013 Altima.

It can be difficult to leave the surefooted drive-ability of an AWD vehicle when you've grown accustomed to it. Particularly if you live in a region that gets snow. However, the Altima with good quality All-Season or better yet Snow-Tires provide solid driving characteristics in the snow.

This afternoon my dealer got in a 2014 Rogue SL AWD in the color I liked Graphite Blue so I took the plunge. As awful as this winter has been at least now I know I'll make it out of my driveway. The Rogue interior looks a lot like my Altima as most of the controls and the IP are nearly identical. My dealer made me a great deal selling me the Rogue at invoice so all is good now. I have to admit though except for the handling in snow the Altima especially with the 3.5 engine is a great car that I wouldn't hesitate recommending to anyone who lives in a warmer less snowy climate.