grapeguice

I agree with TheDukeZip about the options. Aside from color choices, you choose automatic or manual then navi or non-navi; very smart sales and marketing by Acura/Honda. The Altima has more horses, but it's still not a sweet revving Honda engine that makes you smile every time you find a nice stretch of road to cruise on or take turns. The TSX is a driver's car with the nice gauges, trip computer and great handling and steering response. The car just has more character and the engine sounds great doing its thing. While I'm clearly showing my bias, I'm sure that the Altima has some nice features as well. Once again, the test drive will tell you what you need to know.

S power

I really dont see any fun when hitting the redline in the TSX. To me its the same power band throughout the rev. I cant tell if the I-Vtec is doing its job or not. Theres just no Vtec rush like the prelude, gsr, or the SI. Its just a sedan with mid power band. Alot of times I tried to pass slow vehicle on the highway, revving the crap out of my car just to pass them "slowly". Gosh it was soo embarrasing !

afax226

Got a copy of this months Car and Driver. The Accord SE beat the base 07 Altima.

TheDukeZip

How much dead weight is your your trunk? Unless you have Hondata, when you hit 6K RPMs, you should know it.

rugbybrado

bullsh*t ive said this before and will say it again, in a regualr non "hondata" tsx when you hit vtec there is no real gain in h.p.

TheDukeZip

I'm not going to claim there is a gain in HP but I have never had any 'doubt' that it's not doing anything. I have the AT and it is more noticable in 1st and 2nd. 3rd and 4th are undoubtably less noticable, and honestly, I haven't hit 6000 in 5th yet. In 1st as soon as I hit 6000 the tach 'jumps' to redline at a rate I can only compare to the gas gauge going up after you refill the car. We all have the same car, I'm not trying to say mine is any different, maybe I'm just used to less coming from a Dodge Stratus

realfresh

sorry, but what's the point of some people telling him about the 4 cyl engine when the one he's interested in is the V6?


And if you can swing it...what about the Altima SE-R? I have no clue as to whether there'll be a 07 SE-R though...

BulldogHockey

I'm gonna have to agree. At least in an 06 MT, it's pretty noticeable. Not talking about throwing you back in your seat or anything. The sound changes quite a bit and I definitely feel increased power. Now, if only I had the Hondata and got more revs out before having to shift.

S power

Only a dead weight spare tire in the trunk. Im talking about bone stock. Of course any car can gain hp with additional upgrade.
I know you guys are backing up your cars and I used to own a tsx too. But truthfully the TSX is just a mild power 4 cylinder thats tuned for more power on low-mid power range which was intended for a sedan. And if you think thats fast then your probably comming from a honda civic DX , so I guess its just base on personal experience .

6speedguy03

Honestly I sell Nissan's but I drive an Acura The new altima's are very nice and much improved over the 06's but aside from the power difference i like the TSX alot more. The TSX isn't as big or as powerful but it has a much nicer fit/finish and is classy. The Altima with the V6 6Speed is fun as hell to drive though, has more than enough power to put a smile on your face. Best advice is drive them both and then buy whichever YOU like more, dont think about what people think about the brand of your car. Happy hunting

peter_bigblock

I'm coming from a 550 hp big block Chevy, and I smile every time I drive my TSX. Not to get off topic, sorry.

The Altima is another "family" car that is being pushed up-scale by adding features, content, and horsepower to compete with the Camry, Accord, Mazda6 (and the TSX, IS250), etc. Depending on how you weight brand-name, acceleration, handling, ride, content, looks, stereo, and ease-of-purchase, all of those cars are going to be close for a lot of people -- they're all in the same basic price range. None of them blows the others away per se, it all depends on what you're looking for. For me, there's no way I could spend $26-$27k+ on a Nissan Altima. Looking at the Altima forums, that's what people are paying for a 3.5SE with similar goodies to a TSX.

That said, the Nissan salesman above is right -- drive them and one or the other will most likely be a fairly clear winner, it'll have some factor that ends up in your "can't do without" column that the other car doesn't have. Have fun looking!

L1StarTSX

I agree, my other ride has has over 200HP more and I still smile when I drive my TSX. I smile even more when Im walking out to my car at work and I pass 5 altimas and no other TSXs...it is a much classier look. If you are going for HP in a 4 door, buy a subie or Mitsu...Nissan shouldnt even be in the conversation.

On a side note, I like the class of cars the TSX attracts in our parking lot, all the Altimas are parked together...not sure if they think its cute or not, but I park next to a z06, my friend parks his CTS next to me and there are always a few 5 series Beemers and my other friends TL. I should take a picture sometime, its kinda funny how they are all by themselves in this huge parking lot with no other cars around. (sorry that got a bit off topic, but we were talking about that today)

gr8fulted

I just finished 6 months of shopping and picked up an 06 TSX NBP 6M. Save yourself 6 months of shopping and take your $$$ straight to the Acura dealer. You will be glad you did!

grapeguice

I really dont see any fun when hitting the redline in the TSX. To me its the same power band throughout the rev. I cant tell if the I-Vtec is doing its job or not. Theres just no Vtec rush like the prelude, gsr, or the SI. Its just a sedan with mid power band. Alot of times I tried to pass slow vehicle on the highway, revving the crap out of my car just to pass them "slowly". Gosh it was soo embarrasing !
_____

I know the TSX isn't the fastest car out there, but the fun for me isn't going to redline all the time although that can be satisfying at times. The car is a well-rounded package that does almost everything you need it to when you need it plus there's the fuel economy when you're in a cruising mood. By the way, I've always felt that passing at freeway speeds is the strong suit of the TSX engine since the first day I got the car. With my automatic, dropping from fifth to fourth gets me where I need to be pretty quickly.

tsx_houston

I just went out to the Nissan website. Good exterior styling and better horsepower than TSX. Interior looks cold and mechanical which is a huge deal-breaker for me. Also, it's not clear if the navi has the integration with the radio and a/c. Not to mention your giving up Honda-level service which I think is terrific. The whole you can get Sirius or XM thing is not going to make a difference in a couple years when Sirius buys out XM, just watch. Stick with the TSX, you won't go wrong. Yes, the MSRP is priced about $1,500 higher, but you can get either car for under your 30K. A car is generally a tough decision. Good luck and report back to us on your test drives and ultimate purchase.

Ciao

Roffles

I've got the urge to test drive one. But looking at the photo galleries, it doesn't have any flavor. I wouldn't trade the Altima's interior for my TSX's with a gun to my head. Plus the exterior styling is still very "cookie-cutter economy car" looking in appearance. Rarely do the thoughts, "I feel like driving really fast, wasting gas, and pissing off everyone around me" go though my head. So a larger engine with an excess of power won't win me over...not when our 205hp engine is plenty enough for daily driving.

Ellas9

Someone earilier wrote that the economy of the 3.5L Altima is good......your kidding right? Buy a V6 Accord - its a better motor than the 3.5L Nissan...better yet, keep the TSX - its the model of the precision!

Tumby

Although the look of it is funky.... but the handling of Renault is great. I have driven a 4 door one in Paris and the handling is amazing... much better than a stock CIVC!! It is also very stable when traveling at highway speed.... unlike typical japanese small size sedan like floating on the road. The Renault grips the road well!!

swp

[QUOTE=L1StarTSX]I smile even more when Im walking out to my car at work and I pass 5 altimas and no other TSXs..[QUOTE]

where do you live? Here in orlando when I park at school I'll see 10 tsx's.

Granted there is usually 35 Altimas to those 10 tsx's x;

psteng19

Based on what?
The experts at Ward's definitely don't seem to think so.

Ellas9

...the experts! The same one's who say the 3.0L Nissan engine was a top 10 and the same ones who liked the Neon when it came out! Please...the Neon needs no explaining and the 3.0L has so many emission control problems (I know because I worked in the repair business). Besides, the Nissan 3.5L is very inefficient - Nissan should look at BMW, Toyota and Honda to learn to balance power with efficiency. The best engines balance both power and efficiency.

stevezilla

i agree 100% -- the interior is where i spend all my time, and Nissan's clunky ham-fisted design was a deal-breaker for me. The TSX just felt natural and intuitive... everything on the dash is right where you'd expect it to be. I never got that feel from a Nissan.

jehcooper

Drove the altima...

I went straight to the Acura dealer afterwards and ordered my TSX 6Spd. there really was no competition. It was just so smooth.

I cannot wait - 2 days until delivery!

calgary2800

I rented the 07 Maxima which has that CVT auto tranny. Boring is what I call it, stomp the pedal and it just holds the revs high, no up and down of the tach. The car still goes like stink but loses a lot of the fun factor.

MDBernie

You read that right. I keep seeing this new, dark blue '07 ALTIMA in a local strip mall pkg lot, but the badge says M-A-T-I-L-A. Same letters. Wrong order. Whassup w/ that?

honda_inspire99

TSX is overated.... 6 speed Altima > 6 speed TSX

waTSX