What is the Altima?
The Nissan Altima is a midsize sedan that has been on sale for nearly three decades. Today's Altima is part of the car's sixth generation and comes with a pair of four-cylinder engine options and optional all-wheel drive, which ends up being the Altima's calling card because the rest of the car is falling behind.
Most competitors in this segment are also offered with hybrid powertrains, but the Altima carries on without electrification. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, but the turbocharged 2.0-liter found in the VC-Turbo trim offers greater performance. AWD is available on most trims alongside the base engine.
Last year's car got a few small updates, with tweaked front-end styling and a new optional 12.3-inch touchscreen that comes with wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity. (Android Auto still requires a cable.) With the recent round of updates, we don't expect much to change for the 2024 model year. The Altima still feels a step behind the rest of the class when it comes to interior refinements, and the screen, though large, has dated graphics and a quirky interface. These offenses aren't catastrophic on their own, but it means the Altima lacks a killer feature that distinguishes it from the competition.
That's why the Altima sits behind the Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Kia K5 in our midsize car rankings. So unless you find that traction from all four wheels is a necessity, it's worth checking out other options.