Faults:

This car was recalled 1 week after we bought it for engine oil problems, and possibility of engine fires. The dealer and Nissan North America did not have a recall plan in place for nearly 12 months. Their advice was "keep checking the oil, and put a quart in if it's down". We ended up checking the oil level every gas fill up. Only had to add three quarters over 12 months and 20k miles of driving.

Car refused to start 2 months into owning it, dealer could not figure out why. Did an oil change (and charged $40), started just fine.

Dealer finally got a refurbished engine from Nissan North America and installed it over 2 days into the 12 months old car with a 100k mile warranty.

Or local dealer was not very friendly nor helpful with the ordeal - so we chose to trade it in for a 2008 Volkswagen Passat Wagon.

General Comments:

Good car overall, I'm sure the new 2007 and 2008's have resolved any recall issues. Saddened to hear from out dealer that Nissan will not be offering any more Hybrids.

I don't think we'll be buying a Nissan again. Toyota, Honda, VW or BMW from now on.

Faults:

Original tires will need replacing soon, not too uncommon for sport sedans.

Vents will sometimes not blend air correctly in extreme cold weather (below 10 degrees F). Usually happens on vent/floor mix or defroster/floor mix. Problem is if it has snowed or ice has sat on car for long periods of time, air will not come out on floor unless you switch the blower to 100% floor. Nissan claims that if moisture gets into the fresh air intake, the vents won't always switch properly in cold weather. Nothing they can do about it they claim.

No other major issues.

General Comments:

This car is a pleasure to drive, and whips around corners as good or better than imports priced thousands more.

The engine screams (quietly) and there is more than enough power at any RPM range.

The ride is almost a perfect balance of smoothness and firmness.

On long highway trips, I've gotten over 30 MPG at times.

If I have to use the cruise a lot, it's hard to keep myself from speeding. I don't know the top speed of this car, but I can say for a fact it's well over 130MPH with still more to spare.

I definitely recommend the 5 speed or 6 speed manual if you can find one. Automatics are boring and there are still some of us out there that actually know how to drive.

Driving on slick winter roads can be challenging without traction control. But it has simply made a better driver out of me.

The interior is a bit plain but well laid out. I have the dark charcoal cloth interior with a sunroof. Seating is very comfortable, and plenty of room in the back seat.

I have the Bose stereo with 6 CD changer. Sound is good, but being only three years old it doesn't offer any new technology like an MP3 input. Also the display on the radio is not that bright, and it's hard to read if the sun glares off it.

My only real complaint about this car is a poor turning radius. I own a 1999 GMC Sierra extended cab short box that can turn tighter than this car. It wouldn't have been hard for Nissan to put a little more time into the design.