Faults:

100% reliable and satisfied to date... But to me, a 2007 is still a new car, and shouldn't have issues yet. Even if it was a cheap Korean car, I wouldn't be expecting problems at this time and low mileage.

General Comments:

Bought it in October of 2010 as a lease trade in from the local Nissan dealer. I am most impressed with the quality of the interior panels and dash. Seems very well built and solid, no rattles yet.

The CVT is smooth, and allows for better fuel consumption due to the fact that the torque converter can lock up at almost any speed if you are light footed.

It hasn't burned a drop of oil between oil changes, but also has never missed an oil change since new, according to the service records.

This car replaced my 850 turbo sedan, and we still own a 2002 Volvo XC. In comparison, the Nissan is a bad winter car. Doesn't seem to get the traction I would expect, but I'm thinking it's in part due to the lighter CVT transmission that reduces the weight over the front tires. Once up to speed, it sticks to the road well and is decent. But it's definitely not a GOOD winter car.

The engine is loud when started in sub zero temperatures, but quiets and smooths out once warmed up.

Better handling than I expected.

Faults:

Only problem with the car is the heat shroud. What the heat shroud does is block the muffler's heat from burning the under carriage of the car. The shroud comes loose from the vibration of the engine. It then makes a buzzing noise when accelerating. This is a minor fix, but is VERY irritating when paying 20,000 for a car. (At least in my eyes it is). I know this is a common problem for Nissan 2.5 engines, because my father bought a 2008 ROGUE and the same exact thing happened. I don't know the chances of the same problem happening to both cars, but I'm sure it's a factory fault. I do know that the ROGUE 2.5 and the NISSAN 2.5 are the same motor.

General Comments:

I love my car. I have a 2.5 SL. It's such a reliable car, no worries.

The engine has quite a bit pep for a 4 cylinder with the CVT transmission. It's a little tough to get used to it at first, but I've acclimated quickly. The CVT transmission is different from your normal run of the mill automatic transmission. I'm not the best explainer, so bear with me here. Nor am I an english professor, I'm a welder.

Anyway, the CVT automatic transmission feels like being in first gear from 0-100 mph. Do you know the feeling when you press the gas pedal and the car revs up, then shifts to the next gear, then revs back down once in the next gear? Well, the CVT uses bands in the transmission to shift, so it's much smoother and doesn't give you that shift shock you're used to. Being how the transmission is built, its idea is to give the driver peak horsepower levels, so you have constant pep at all times. BUT, a downside to this is lower mpg. Plan and simple, the higher rpm you're at, the more you're burning. Many people with these types of transmissions say they burn less gas, I think they burn MORE. Might I add this is only when accelerating; if you're traveling at a constant speed, the rpms stay content. They don't rise. My car does 70mph at 2000 rpm which is good.

Anyway, overall I love the car to death, it has a Bose system in it, which is absolutely incredible, the navigation is dead on and is great for the New York/Long Island area. I also have the built in back up camera, which I now swear by, and probably will never buy a car without one. I thought I would never use it, and boy I was wrong.

The sunroof in the car is great; I love to have it down even when it's cold out.

The heated seats are a great feature, especially with the leather seats and cold NY weather.

Buy it used, not new, because you'll pay half the amount, even with 30 to 40k miles on it.