I've been lurking on this forum trying to get information about the various Hybrids. I decided on the Altima Hybrid for multiple reasons:

1. Drives like a normal car
2. Mid-sized car - perfect for the family
3. I have always liked the design of the current generation Altima
4. I will soon have a VERY long commute (85 miles one way) and my current car (MB C230 Coupe) needs premium fuel and returns 26-27 miles per gallon with a lot of VERY careful driving at 70 miles per hour.

The dealers around Los Angeles and Orange County are ridiculous. Most don't accept VPP and aren't even willing to negotiate. I had a dealership up in Petaluma that offered below MSRP pricing, but I thought I could do better. Luckily my persistence paid off as I was able to get the exact car I wanted at the price I wanted. (It was about $250 under invoice + tax, license, title.)

Heading home from San Diego to Huntington Beach, I used Cruise Control about 70% of the time and averaged about 67 miles per hour and got 36.2 mpg! Much better than I expected given that the engine was fresh with just 9 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.

One of my fears was that the hybrid wouldn't have very much power on the freeway. I am happy to report that this isn't an issue at all! I had to pass a car and had plenty of power to do it.

I can't wait to get the car past break-in, but given the numbers it's returning now, I can see that I'll be more than happy to drive this car more often and I will not miss the Mercedes C230 that it replaces.

Bob

 

Congratulations and welcome Bob. We are all sort of beta testers here and are happy to share what we know. The NAH seems to be almost entirely sold on word of mouth from owners. 36mpg is great off the lot. When I brought mine home I was thrilled at the 33mpg I got. My current tank (335 miles) is showing 41.3. But my driving is 90% suburban.

After 6 1/2 months and 9600 miles, no real surprises here. The only thing I didn't realize is how the heat can really effect the car. I knew what to expect in the cold, but during the rare heat waves here, the car really protects the battery and may shut down quite a bit of it's capacity. This shows itself more (in my case) after the car was sitting 8 hours in my workplace parking lot. Little things like finding a shady spot can actually increase your mileage.

Your comment about power is right on. One of the hardest things about this car is keeping your foot out of it!

Steve

 

Huntington Beach - I spent two weeks out there a couple of months back for work. On a day off I rented a bike and peddled up to Sunset Beach and on the way back I spied a red Altima with big one foot high letters on the side that read "Altima Hybrid" sitting in a parking lot along the beach. There was someone sitting in it so I couldn't resist stopping to see what the story was with the decal. Turns out the guy works for Nissan so it was a corporate car. I talked with him for a awhile and he mentioned that 2010 was the target date for Nissan to release it's own hybrid system, which I had heard before, but also that there would probably be a Infinity G35 hybrid as well.

 

Thanks everyone! I'm absolutely loving the NAH. I'm sure I've got lots of learning to do with the car. My buddy drove it back last night (had to pick-up the C230 that I left at the dealer) and he loved how it drove and handled.

Lloyd123 - interesting to hear about the Altima Hybrid on the side of the road! I wonder if that was my neighbor. He works for Nissan (Infiniti side). Not sure exactly what he does, but I know he has to drive around to the various dealerships. BTW, lots of biking around here. I actually bought a scooter (80 mpg!) for the intra-city errands. Works great and lots of fun!