My SR Review

[Keyan]

Picked up a 2010 SR at the end of January and took it on it's first real trip over the weekend so I figure it's time for a review.

My previous Altima was an 07 SE sedan, and it was also a good car, even though it had some annoying rattles/squeaks, a tire balance issue, and a constant hissing from the stereo (I think it had to do with the bluetooth module).

At any rate, the SR improves on the 07 in more than just the visual category. For starters, the interior is better, although the changes are fairly minor. The metallic trim has a different pattern to it, looking more like brushed metal, the dials have white rims now instead of amber, and the shifter has a different platform. Overall, the seat leather and feel is improved, the seats aren't as stiff as the old foam and the leather feels more supple. One thing I don't quite understand is why the cruise on/set lights were moved from the LCD display to green indicators in the Tach dial - they are very bright even with the brightness turned down.

This one came with the tech package, which I didn't have on the old one. The backup camera is useful, even in a sedan, mostly for parking lots and trying to avoid a curb or the rogue cart. The nav features are great, with lane guidance and intersection views for major intersections, along with XM Traffic and weather (not sure it's worth $18/month though since you have to tack it on to an audio plan). The iPod integration is awesome, with the root menu having the same options as your iPod, with playlists, artists, albums, etc. It seems to support every current rev of the iPod from the newest touch/nano to older versions as well. The RDS is improved for radio, as it caches the entire text string and displays it as a whole. The blutooth is nice, and it will actually pull the contact name from your phone when there is an incoming call, so you don't just see the number now, you see the name. I haven't played with the voice control much at all yet. The steering controls are nice, with extra features to manage the menus on the system. My only complaint is that since the display is flush with the dash and positioned somewhat low it can pick up glare, especially from the sunroof. It does have a tilt option which an reduce it somewhat, however at the most extreme angles of tilt it juts out from the dash at an odd angle and looks ridiculous, in addition to being unreadable.

On the outside, the new front end looks great in super black. The new rims are OK, although I did like the flared shape of the 07 quite a lot, and still like the thin 5 spokes from the 05-06 the most. The headlight cluster has 3 lights going (and one more if you have the fogs on) per side, which looks pretty cool. The orange accent strips might be better suited with a super white LED though (I'm sure modders will go nuts with them). The HIDs are similar to the old version, although maybe slightly less even (you can see more of the "jeweling" reflection from the lights since they aren't projectors than you could on the 07).

Engine wise, it's still the same 3.5VQ, although it has undergone a re-tune to improve mileage and no longer requires or recommends premium gas. Not sure if there is any benefit now to still putting premium in it or not. Also not sure if there is any performance impact to the retune - it's still rated at 270hp, however some reviews seem to have a slightly lower 0-60 time for the SR vs. the SE, while others have them about the same. (Not sure what Edmunds does, their 0-60 times for the Altima are always low, I'm not sure their driver realizes there is a detent on the accelerator that you have to push though to get to full throttle).

VDC is standard now, and the full size spare is not a requirement, which is actually kind of nice as you get about 1 cu ft back in the trunk and weight savings.

The suspension is much improved over the SE. It is much more refined over bumps and rough pavement, while still having little body roll in curves. The 07 SE was a rough rider, to the point where I felt the car would get unsettled when going over really rough roads at decent speeds, and frankly I don't need that with a kid in the backseat. The steering is more reactive and smooth.

Overall, I am very impressed with the SR. It has the features and performance of a luxury sedan (with the exception of a power passenger seat, darn you product protection and keeping that only for the Max) at about 10k less on the sticker. It's a refinement over the previous models and I'm looking forward to getting out of the break in period so I can start to drive it fully.

[realmac]

Great review!! Thanks for posting it.

[Keyan]

Interesting, I just found out (wow, the manual!) that this version of the Altima also has the Ds (Drive Sport) mode just like the max. Just shift the shifter over to the manual gate but don't move it up or down and it goes to Ds mode.