The difference between this new 2007 Altima and its 2001–2006 forebear is subtle, a mild injection of aggression into an already attractive car. Major change in the Altima wasn’t necessary, as the previous-generation Altima was Nissan’s best-selling car, named North American Car of the Year in 2002, and it rose to fourth best-selling car in the United States.

Dimensionally, the car is only minutely changed, shrinking in length and wheelbase by 2.5 and 0.9 inches respectively. Width grows by 0.3 inch and height remains unchanged. The new Altima only outweighs the previous generation by about 100 pounds.

One of the most obvious visual cues that this is not the previous generation car is Nissan’s new family identifier “T-grille,” which cuts a small section out of the top of the bumper and drops the center of the grille a few inches in the middle. New Buck Rogers–style taillights, a sharper body-side crease, and more aggressive fender flares finish the tweaks to the old look.

The new car is powered by updated versions of the previous car’s motors. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 175 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque, while the optional 3.5-liter V-6 spoils drivers with 270 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. Both engines boast continuously variable valve timing and electronic throttles.

Both are available coupled to either a six-speed manual transmission or a CVT. A traditional automatic transmission is no longer available. Nissan claims the manual has been improved from the past generation, but we found it still a clunky and largely joyless unit, albeit a joyless unit now with shorter throws.

The wholesale move away from the automatic may seem drastic, but Nissan considers itself an industry leader in CVTs, with three in production, and an expectation to sell more than one million CVT-equipped vehicles annually by 2008. The Altima’s CVT is programmed to adapt to three driving styles—economy, normal, and sport—and features over 700 algorithms to determine the best shift pattern based on road conditions and perceived driver intent. At least two of those algorithms work; the CVT holds onto higher revs longer when you’ve been deep in the accelerator or snaking your way around and over curves and hills, and keeps the revs down when puttering along with traffic.

Never big fans of CVTs in general, we preferred to use the manumatic function for peppier driving. It’s a pretty loose manumatic that down- and upshifts when it wants to, but neither of those is necessarily a bad thing. If you pull out to pass and forget to downshift, the CVT is ready to cross your t’s and make sure you complete the pass without tarnishing the chrome bumpers on any oncoming gravel trains. In V-6 models, the CVT includes a Sport mode for better responses as either an automatic or manumatic.

New independent suspension at all four corners makes extensive use of aluminum, with struts up front, a multilink setup in the rear, and stabilizer bars standard at both ends. The 3.5 SE gets a sportier suspension, including unique struts and springs and meatier stabilizer bars. Altimas come with a choice of 16- or 17-inch wheels, with base 2.5-liter models coming standard with 16-inch steelies and wheel covers. ABS is standard on V-6 models, and optional on four-cylinder cars. Owners who opt to save a few nickels and don’t order ABS can rest assured that the Altima comes standard with six airbags.

In any trim level, the Altima is a pleasure to drive. The ride is sporty-firm without being too harsh or uncomfortable for long drives, and there is ample room inside for drivers of all sizes, XXLT included. The speed-sensitive power steering is never too light—as such systems often are—and offers road-feel on par with the best in the class, namely, the Honda Accord. The interior almost looks cheap, but details such as the contours in the dash mat above the three central air vents are just enough to save it. Instead of cheap, it comes across as spartan. The base inline four-cylinder has enough grunt to propel the car respectably, and a V-6 Altima is virtually guaranteed to cause fun.

Both engines ride 30mm lower than they did in the outgoing model, which makes possible equal-angle half-shafts to virtually eliminate torque steer. While a lack of torque also contributes to the absence of torque steer with the four-cylinder, we were pleasantly surprised by the straight-and-narrow nature of the V-6 car as well.

Our biggest complaint about the Altima driving experience is that the pedals are a little too touchy. Dive and squat are not problems with a flaccid suspension, rather, they are due to overly-emotional brake and gas pedals. The slightest poke at either will get passengers’ heads bobbing and the car rocking as though everyone is enjoying the herky-jerk ride, right up until somebody loses their lunch into a map pocket. Combined with a lack of ABS, the grabby brakes can make driving on wet roads pretty dicey. The clutch, too, seems ill-adjusted for all but the daintiest feet, a common Nissan problem. Takeup is awfully abrupt and, combined with the jumpy brakes, makes heel-and-toeing smoothly a practiced effort.

The Lineup
The 2007 Altima will come in six trim levels: 2.5, 2.5S, 2.5S with the SL package, 3.5SE, 3.5SL, and hybrid. The first five go on sale in November of this year, with the hybrid to follow shortly in 2007. Pricing has yet to be announced, but expect a low-20s starting price for the 2.5, with the hybrid checking in around $26,000.

Nissan's new Altima for the 2007 model will wear a pricetag starting at $17,950, the automaker said in a release. The base vehicle comes with a four-cylinder engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. The top 3.5-liter V-6 edition, with a six-speed manual gearbox, starts at $24,000. Nissan will also offer an Altima 2.5S for $19,800; a 2.5S with a continuously variable transmission for $20,300; a 3.5 SE with a CVT, from $24,500; and a 3.5SL with a CVT, from $28,400. A hybrid edition will be available later in the model year. Options will include Sirius or XM satellite radio, leather trim, stability control, and a rear spoiler.

Sometimes it's hard to get the "perfect" spy photo. Take the upcoming Altima Coupe for instance: Amateurs caught the coupe camouflage-free, but the pictures were likely taken with a grainy-image disposable camera, and from a great distance away, leaving a visible silver shape, but lacking details.

Now, we managed to get pretty close - and we were using the finest optics and digital equipment available, but the guys at Nissan covered the new coupe with miles of white tape, and got a bit carried away with a can or two of black spray paint.

But even under all the graffiti, it's pretty obvious that this is the long-awaited Altima Coupe, which is scheduled to arrive at dealerships in the fall of 2007. So use your imagination - these are the best Altima Coupe pictures you'll see until its auto-show debut, possibly inChicago or New York.

Next-Generation Nissan Altima Coupe Brings Style, Emotion and Sophistication to Mid-Size Coupe Market

New Altima Coupe Debuts at Los Angeles Auto Show; Offers Upscale Styling, Sporty Performance, Driver-Oriented Interior and High Quality

The Nissan Altima is a car on the move. With its next generation design for the 2007 model year, Nissan’s best-selling vehicle in the United States is poised for even greater success as it establishes segment leadership in style, design, performance and innovation. The next-generation Altima is also expanding its model offerings with a new Altima Hybrid, set to go on sale in select markets in January 2007, and a dramatically styled new Altima Coupe, which will go on sale as a 2008 model in summer 2007.

The Altima Coupe, which made its debut in the shadows of Hollywood at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show, fills a desire among target customers for a more personal expression of style, individuality and fashionable appearance. The Altima Coupe’s unique exterior design is intended to stand out in a crowd of sedan-based two-door models with magnetic, perfectly proportioned styling with a shorter wheelbase, shorter overall length and lower height than the Altima Sedan.

The smaller size and lighter overall weight also contribute to the Coupe’s sportier driving feel – other desired attributes of the typically younger, more performance-oriented coupe buyers.

“Rather than just eliminating two doors from the Altima Sedan, we gave the Altima Coupe its own style, its own dimensions and its own interpretation of Nissan’s exhilarating driving pleasure,” said Bill Bosley, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division.

Though the new Altima Coupe shares much with the latest edition of the Altima Sedan, which went on sale in early November 2006, the Coupe’s smaller dimensions, driver-oriented cockpit and unique styling give it an extensive amount of separation from the Altima Sedan.

Dimensionally, the Altima Coupe rides on a 105.3-inch wheelbase, a full 4.0 inches shorter than the Sedan. Overall length is 182.5 inches – 7.1 inches less than the Sedan. The Coupe also has a lower profile – at 55.3 inches it is 2.5 inches shorter than the Sedan. In terms of major body panels, the two cars share only a common hood, with all other panels, grille, headlights and rear combination lights unique to the Altima Coupe.

Under the new Altima Coupe’s sophisticated exterior design, this latest addition to the Altima family shares the platform, powertrain and user-friendly features and innovations of the new fourth-generation Altima.

“A strong sedan starting point, such as the new Altima, also gives you a tremendous advantage – if you get the basics right, you can focus your efforts on the unique desires of coupe buyers, including wanting a purely personal space,” said Bosley.

The Altima Coupe, as part of the fourth-generation Altima design, utilizes Nissan’s all-new, highly acclaimed “D” platform with increased body rigidity and a redesigned suspension. This new platform was developed with the objective of making Altima one of the best performing large front-wheel drive vehicles available globally.

New suspension geometry, shock absorbers with rebound springs, engine placement that is lower in the subframe and equal-length half-shafts that have equal angles and are more parallel to the ground all help to virtually eliminate torque steer.

The rear multi-link independent suspension design separates the rear shocks and springs for reduced friction and the shocks are in line with the center of the rear wheels, providing better damping and less harshness. Front and rear stabilizer bars are standard. The Altima suspension has been specially tuned for use with the Altima Coupe.

The new Altima Coupe is offered with a choice of two engines and two transmissions. The 3.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V6 is the “next generation” version of the 12-time Ward’s “10 Best Engines” award-winning VQ-series V6. For use in the Altima Coupe, it is rated at 270 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and offers strong acceleration and refined sound quality. The V6 features reduced friction, improved cylinder head cooling and new twin knock sensors.

Also available with the new Altima Coupe is a 2.5-liter DOHC 16-valve QR25 inline 4-cylinder, producing 175 horsepower (170 hp CAL) and 180 lb-ft of torque (175 lb-ft CAL). This engine has been refined from the previous version, with a larger, equal-length intake manifold, increased compression ratio and reduced friction characteristics. It features a silent chain drive and a balancer system (with balancer changed to a center-mounted location for better NVH) that effectively negates vibrations without taking up much space – combining ideal packaging and smoothness.

Both engines feature continuously variable valve timing, modular engine design, microfinished crank journals and cam lobes, molybdenum coated lightweight pistons and electronically controlled throttles.

Both the 3.5-liter V6 and 2.5-liter 4-cylinder models are available with Nissan’s advanced Xtronic CVT™ (Continuously Variable Transmission) or 6-speed manual transmissions.

The V6 CVT features a “Sport” mode controller with a high-speed central processing unit and Adaptive Shift Controller with adaptive logic for faster shifting in both normal and manual modes. The adaptive logic feature delivers the best shift pattern based on the driving environment and driver’s perceived intentions.

“The driving performance of the Altima Coupe is biased toward sporty feel, especially when equipped with our award-winning V6,” said Bosley. “Handling is also a strong point of the new Coupe, as is the responsiveness feeling provided by the Xtronic CVT transmission.”

Also contributing to the Altima Coupe’s sporty performance feel are a standard twin-orifice vehicle-speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering system and 4-wheel disc brakes with standard 4-wheel, 4-channel, 4-sensor Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD).

Altima Coupe models with the 4-cylinder engine are equipped with 16-inch wheels and tires, while V6-equipped Altima Coupes come with unique-design 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and 215/55R17 tires.

The Altima Coupe’s performance feeling is also enhanced by a driver-centered interior. Though sharing much of the design and features with the new Altima Sedan, the Coupe includes unique sport-style front seats with more side support, in-board release lever and front kangaroo pouches. All Altima Coupes also utilize a parking brake hand lever (versus foot release for Altima Sedans with CVT). The Coupe also includes a 60/40 split and flat fold-down rear seat.

Like the Altima Sedan, the Altima Coupe’s instrument panel features a Fine Vision gauge display for enhanced readability and the L-shaped flow of the instrument panel to the center console adds to the driver-oriented cockpit feel.

The center console includes a double front cup holder, among the many convenient cup and bottle areas and storage compartments.

The list of impressive passenger amenities includes standard Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition and available Bose®-developed audio system with nine speakers, Bluetooth® Hands-Free Phone System, satellite radio and dual-zone automatic temperature control.

The new Altima Coupe also comes equipped with a number of standard safety features, including Zone Body construction with front and rear crumple zones and Advanced Air Bag System (AABS), which includes dual-stage front supplemental air bags. Also standard are front seat side-impact supplemental air bags for chest protection and roof-mounted curtain side-impact air bags for front and rear outboard occupant head protection.

Other standard equipment includes front seat Active Head Restraints, the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) child seat anchors and tether system and Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS).

The 2008 Altima Coupe will be available in four well-equipped models: 2.5 S 6MT, 2.5 S CVT, 3.5 SE 6MT, 3.5 SE CVT.

Available technology features include a RearView Monitor, which utilizes a small camera to help show the view behind the vehicle when in reverse gear, and Nissan Navigation System with a 6.5-inch color monitor.

“Along with the Altima Coupe’s extensive list of available features and amenities, it offers one more thing to discerning coupe buyers – the reassurance of Nissan durability, quality and reliability,” said Bosley.

The new Altima Coupe will be assembled at the Nissan North America Manufacturing Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee plants.

Altima Coupe becomes the seventh Nissan Altima model, joining the 2.5, 2.5 S, 2.5 S with SL Package, 3.5 SE, 3.5 SL and Altima Hybrid (Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

“The Altima name and outstanding reputation adds great credibility to the new Altima Coupe – and the Coupe makes the Altima brand stronger by appealing to a new segment of buyers,” said Bosley. “And like the Altima Sedan, the new Coupe will be a tremendous value when it goes on sale next summer. If you’re looking for style, performance and affordability, the new Altima Coupe delivers.”