While we often hear about the Honda Accord, Mazda 6,, and even Toyota Camry, the Nissan Altima is a serious contender and is no less than any other mid-size sedans in the segment. Being in its sixth generation, which got introduced for the 2019 model year, it is now sharper and feature-packed. It is powered by a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four engine which is mated to a CVT. FWD is standard, although AWD is available as an option. There is a special engine available for the mid-SR trim which is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four but sadly no AWD is offered. As for the changes for 2022, there aren’t many of them, but Nissan adds a new Midnight Edition package for the SR which adds a darker exterior look while the SV Premium package adds heated exterior mirrors and LED turn indicators to the list. No doubt the 2022 Nissan Altima is an impressive budget sedan with a starting price of $24,550, while the competition starts from $25,500. So, will the attractive price tag of the Altima make it a good value, or are there some serious compromises?

Trims and Features

Available in five trim levels: S, SV, SR, SL, and Platinum, the Altima is fully packed with loads of features and even has a lot of standalone features and optional packages. So, technically there are two engine options, one is a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four available with all the trim levels with CVT, and another one is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four available exclusively for the SR trim or rather VC-T SR. Except for the S, every other trim gets AWD as an option while the Platinum gets AWD as standard. However, if you think that you would opt for the turbocharged engine with AWD, Nissan sadly offers FWD with the said engine option. That said, here are the detailed trims and features for your convenience:

S. } }

Price: $24,550.

- Remote engine start.

- 16-inch alloys.

- Keyless entry and ignition.

- Cloth seats.

- 6-speaker audio unit.

- 6-way power-adjustable driver seat.

- 7-inch touchscreen infotainment display.

- Bluetooth streaming.

- 60/40 rear seat split-folding.

- USB port.

Standard safety/driver assistance features available with the base S are:

- Automated emergency braking.

- Lane-departure warning.

- Automatic high-beam headlights.

- Forward collision warning.

- Backup camera.

- Driver attention warning.

- Rear seat warning.

A few Driver Assist package features that might interest you:

- Blindspot monitoring.

- 8-way power-adjustable driver seat.

- Rear parking sensors.

- Rear automatic braking.

SV. } }

Price: $25,550.

- 17-inch alloys.

- Driver Assist package features.

- LED headlights.

- Satellite radio.

- 8-inch touchscreen display.

- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

- Intelligent Trace Control.

- Intelligent Ride Control.

- USB Type-C ports- two at the rear one at the front.

Premium package. } }

- Power sunroof.

- Heated front seats.

- Heated mirrors with turn signal indicators.

- Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift-knob.

- Power-adjustable lumbar support for the driver’s seat.

- ProPilot Assist features- Adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping system.

SR. } }

Price: $26,550.

- Sport suspension. (FWD only)

- 19-inch alloys.

- Paddle-shifters.

- Sportier styling elements on the exterior and interior.

Midnight Edition package. } }

- Dark exterior accents including the blacked-out intake grille.

VC-T SR. } }

Price: $30,900.

- No changes in features except for the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine which is more powerful and comes only with FWD.

SL. } }

Price: $29,990.

- SV Premium package.

- Heated leather steering wheel.

- 4-way power-adjustable front passenger seat.

- Foglights.

- Dual-zone automatic climate control.

- Rear air vents.

- Leather upholstery.

- Traffic sign recognition system.

- 9-speaker Bose premium audio system.

- Navigation system.

- NissanConnect connected services.

Platinum. } }

Price: $34,250.

- Driver seat memory functions.

- 19-inch wheels.

- Universal garage door opener.

- Ambient interior lighting.

- Auto-dimming rearview mirror.

- Surround-view camera system.

Exterior: Looks sportier and definitely holds the new Nissan design dynamics

Not a lot of sedans portray the athleticism they can deliver through the overall looks, and the Altima is one of them. But the Altima looks even better in person than in the photos, especially the front-end which has had massive design changes since the sixth-gen model kicked in. The angular but huge intake grille at the front along with sleeker and meaner headlights might deceive you. Standard S trim doesn’t get the gorgeous LEDs you would like but for those, you will have to opt for the SV trim which is priced about $1,000 more than the base trim. One thing we noticed is that it is the only car in the segment to have a lot of cuts and creases around the exterior which contributes to a more aerodynamic look, and nothing more to be honest. The wheel size ranges from 16 inches to 19-inch ones available with the top-tier trim. However, we recommend that if you are concerned about the outer looks but on a budget then go for the SV trim. The LEDs make the front look fantastic. Let’s head to the rear and you will get to see typical Japanese-styled LED taillights which get sleeker as they get closer to the center. The dual exhaust tailpipes are surrounded by a fake diffuser which we cannot complain about since more expensive German cars have them, in case you are curious.

The Altima weighs about 3,207 pounds and it is lighter than the Toyota Camry and the Mazda 6 which weighs above 3,300 pounds. The other dimensions are pretty identical with minor differences. The Altima is 192.9 inches long, 72.9 inches wide, 56.7 inches tall, and has a ground clearance of 5.1 inches. The Mazda 6 has a class-leading ground clearance of 6.5 inches. The wheelbase is set to a rather compact 111.2 inches and that is the staple for the segment.

2022 Nissan Altima Exterior Dimensions

Interior: A minimalist’s favorite

That you would expect from a budget mid-size sedan but Altima is not bad either. The cabin looks rather modern than the majority of the competition. I mean, yes, there are heavy blocks of plastics but there are soft touches too. In fact, with the right trim, you can get faux-leather dash-top and door trims for added convenience. The dashboard is pretty simple with no cluttered center console and the fair use of buttons has made the lower part look less distracting. The SV has a flat-bottomed steering wheel, although the leather-wrapping can only be equipped with the SV Premium package. However, the flat-bottomed steering wheel is much of an overkill for the class, especially when there are no selectable driving modes and the absence of paddle-shifters (except for the SR trim).

The instrument console is pretty much what you can expect from the segment and that includes two big analog meters with a small driver information display at the center. The seats are what Nissan calls Zero Gravity seats which basically means that the seating position has been tweaked for better ergonomics and that it increases blood flow and reduces fatigue. We couldn’t monitor the blood flow but what we experienced was how comfortable the seats were even when we were stuck in heavy traffic. The standard cloth seats do the job but will wear and tear easily. The optional leather upholstery is much more comfortable with the multi-level heating, the Altima could be your next car for doing long distances in comfort.

While the seating comfort was important for you, the seating area and capacity are good too. The rear will not get too busy with three people seated together. So you are looking at the 39.2-inch front and 36.9-inch rear headroom along with the 43.8-inch front and 35.2-inch rear legroom. The Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord, and the Nissan Altima offer good front-row headroom with the Altima providing best-in-class front legroom. We cannot say the same thing with the rear row. While the competition is offering more balanced front and rear row dimensions, the Altima chooses to be the opposite. Results? Less legroom at the rear row and in fact is the lowest in the segment while joining hands with the Sonata. What about the cargo capacity? Well, the Altima sits in between being good and the worst. So it is 15.4 cubic feet if you are curious, and that will make fit your desired luggage for the weekend trips. The Accord and Sonata are leading the competition by packing a cubic foot more than the Altima but the Mazda 6 and Toyota Camry stay at the bottom. Here are some of the interior standout features which come with the 2022 Altima:

- Dual-zone automatic climate control.

- Leather-wrapped steering wheel with a flat bottom.

- Heated steering wheel.

- Power-adjustable driver and passenger with power lumbar support.

- Heated front seats.

- Leather trim on the shifter.

- Leatherette trim on the dashboard top.

- Analog-digital instrument console.

2022 Nissan Altima Interior Dimensions

Excluding the base trim, every other Altima sports a big eight-inch touchscreen display while the base trim has a rather small five-inch touchscreen display. According to the variant we got to test, the screen was not the best when it comes to touch sensitivity. There were a lot of jitters in the UI but the overall experience was not bad at all. The layout is pretty clean and easily manageable with the support of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Some of the key infotainment features which are available for the 2022 Nissan Altima are as follows:

- Bluetooth phone and audio streaming.

- USB-C ports.

- NissanConnect connected services.

- 9-speaker Bose premium audio unit.

- Satellite radio.

- Navigation system.

Performance and Handling: What you would expect from a budget sedan

Nissan has made a weird choice of engine and drivetrain options for the Altima. So there are two engine options (technically one) with the Altima: a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four engine that puts 188 horsepower and 180 pound-feet while the other 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four puts out 248 horsepower and 273 pound-feet, but there’s a catch. The latter engine is available only for the SR trim while the top-tier Platinum gets the standard one. Both the engines are mated to a continuously variable transmission which, in our frank opinion, is nothing special but helps with fuel economy. The base engine drives the front wheels but AWD is available as an option. Sadly, the more powerful 2.0-liter engine gets no AWD even as an option. The 2.5-liter engine, being a naturally aspirated one, struggles in lower revs and that is common with every lower-powered engine. The Car And Driver tested the AWD-equipped Altima and recorded a 7.4-second 0-60 timings and a standing quarter-mile timing of 15.8 seconds. The Altima, with the base engine, tops out at 119 miles per hour. The 2.0-liter engine equipped SR trim is estimated to clock 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds. If you want to know how the Altima performs against the leading competition, the 0-60 timings are pretty similar to the Sonata and Accord while the Accord is 0.1 seconds faster in the quarter-mile run. The Camry, on the other hand, is the slowest in the bunch.

While the competition is more leaned towards sporty handling characteristics, especially the Mazda 6, Nissan kind of places itself in the sweet spot between comfort and dynamic. In short, the Altima drives like it should with a lot of comforts on offer and handles pretty well when you want to take a quick corner in speed. However, the AWD will help with quicker accelerations and the lower-speed jitters would be less too. In our short time testing the Altima, we felt that the CVT does not behave weirdly and holds the revs whenever necessary. The standard sport suspension fitted to the SR trim will cut the extra comfort but will not make the ride uncomfortable. By the way, it does not come fitted to the optional AWD variant. The driving modes available with the higher trims will hardly make any difference apart from the CVT reacting to the throttle inputs.

2022 Nissan Altima Performance Stats

Fuel Economy

The Altima is one of the few mid-size sedans in the segment to not have a hybrid powerplant as an option or by default but the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated engine is not falling apart though. You will get to see about 28 miles per gallon in the city, a pretty good 39 miles per gallon on the highways, and a combined rating of 32 miles per gallon. Although the numbers are with the standard drive type. If you are curious, the AWD variants cut about 2-3 horsepower and torque figures and get rated to 26/36/30 by the EPA. The SR with the VC-T engine gets 25/34/29 for city/highway/combined which is not bad either considering the power gain. Now, Nissan has packed a generously big 16.2-gallon gas tank which will probably be able to deliver about 630 miles on the highways, with the base engine. You can take the Altima for long drives without pulling over frequently near a gas station.

2022 Nissan Altima Fuel Economy

How safe is the 2022 Nissan Altima?

Both the NHTSA and IIHS have reviewed the Altima and guess what? A full 5-star rating and the “Top Safety Pick+” are the results. The results are not shockingly good, as many among the segment leaders have been rated well too. Every Altima trim has forward collision mitigation, driver attention warning, lane-departure warning, rear seat warning, and automated emergency braking, while the SV adds the additional blindspot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and automated high beams. The list of standard driver assistance features is huge. However, if you want to have it all set up, we recommend you the Driver Assist package which unlocks features like:

- Rear parking sensors.

- Rear automatic braking.

- Blindspot monitoring.

Should you consider the 2022 Nissan Altima over the competition?

Well, the Altima has been a mixed bag of both goods and weird but not bad. The positives are of course its attractive looks, decent power delivery but impressive fuel economy, spacious cabin with a lot of front legroom, and more than adequate standard driver assistance features. But the lack of AWD with the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and limiting it to a mid-trim isn’t the wisest of decisions. So for the asking price, we would like to stick to what we have said in the beginning, it is a good car for the amateurs. However, if you want a little bit of future-proofing and an overall better experience, the Hyundai Sonata or the Honda Accord are the ones to choose from.

How much is the 2022 Nissan Altima priced?

How reliable is the Nissan Altima?

What engine option should I go for with the Altima?

Does the Altima have a V-6 engine as an option?

FAQ

Q: How much is the 2022 Nissan Altima priced?

Nissan has announced the detailed pricing for the 2022 Altima recently and the base S starts from $24,550 and will go up to $34,250 with the Platinum AWD.

Q: How reliable is the Nissan Altima?

You are looking at a car with a J.D. Power rating of 85/100 in the quality and reliability section. Yes! The Altima is reliable.

Q: What engine option should I go for with the Altima?

The 2.5-liter engine is the one to go for with AWD. That will help you at gaining better traction and will reduce the laziness of a naturally aspirated engine. Also, do not forget how fuel-efficient the motor is.

Q: Does the Altima have a V-6 engine as an option?

No. Sadly, there is no V-6 engine available but there is a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with enough grunt on offer and will be fuel-efficient than its V-6 counterparts.