Faults:

Front bumper plastic comes uncoupled on driver's side.

General Comments:

I love this car! I was considering other 4 cylinder automatics, like the Accord, but the Altima Coupe sold me with lots of options. I got the 4 cylinder for fuel economy, and it totally delivers. The Accord was pricier, and did not have the styling of this Coupe. Getting one optioned out like this Altima would have been 50% more than I paid. Not worth it, considering the problems Honda has had with reliability recently.

The only complaint I have about the car is the front driver's side bumper plastic has popped out of the clips, and I had to fix it. Small potatoes, considering the rest of the package. Build quality and materials are otherwise great.

Anyone who says the CVT transmission is not a reason to get this car obviously hasn't driven one. I love the trans, and enjoy the smooth glide up to speed. Nissan offers owners a 120,000 mile replacement on the trans, if you ever have problems.

Faults:

Front brakes needed replacing immediately after purchasing the vehicle (around 28,000 miles).

Shocks and struts will need to be replaced soon (48,000 miles).

The suspension in general isn't very good.

Interior does not hold up well, and many of the cabin parts rattle as if poorly assembled.

General Comments:

It's a good looking car.

However, the cost of ownership is high and the vehicle will not stand the test of time.

Faults:

Nothing, as this was a vacation rental.

General Comments:

We rented this car over a vacation. I usually just request the cheapest, smallest, whatever car on these trips, and the car this time was a Nissan Altima Coupe.

The car looks pretty nice. It's a far cry from the original Altima, which was definitely a typical econo car. The Altima we rented looked, felt, and drove more like a sports car. The acceleration and torque was impressive. I felt that the controls were easy to use and read. The fit and finish was good for the car's class. Additionally, I'm not sure what the actual MPG was, but I'm guessing it must have been pushing 40+ MPG, because we only filled it up once during the whole trip.

If I had anything bad to say about it, it was that the seats, for me at least, were not comfortable. I'm a sort of small guy, and the seats made my back ache after a few hours.

Otherwise, I felt this was a surprisingly competent, fun to drive, and economical car.

Faults:

Nothing whatsoever.

General Comments:

I absolutely love this car. It has been an amazing ride since the day I test drove it.

I originally wanted the 3.5, but after playing with the 4 cylinder, I found myself appreciating it more.

I average about 28 MPG with mixed driving, consisting of approximately 40% highway and 60% city, and I don't treat it gently.

I have been using Mobil 1 synthetic oil on it, after using Castrol Edge for a little while, but Mobil 1 actually improved my fuel economy.

I switched out the stock stereo for an aftermarket Pioneer unit, and did some other little modifications myself, but I find that I love this car every time I climb into it to drive.

One nice thing worth noting is the fact that, at least in my model year, despite the fact that my car did not come with fog lights, the wires are already run to the bumper, you just need to purchase the fog lights and a switch. This is certainly a welcome situation.