Hi everyone,

My wife and I are planning to buy a new car likely in Jan 2008, and the NAH is top of our list now. I had a few questions for those that have experience with the car:

Several reviews have expressed displeasure at the "shudder" that happens when the ICE starts. How noticable is this? Bad enough to be felt when driving highway speeds, or just when you pull from a stop?

The 2008s have just been stocked at SoCal dealerships (we haven't test-driven one yet). Does anyone know of any significant changes to the 2008 model?

This is largely an "I love this car" forum, but what complaints (other than MPG) do people have with the car? I have read much of this forum already, but would like to know if anything else comes to mind. GripperDon seems to have the most critical view but still likes the car, any comments?

Thanks for everyone's time!

 

The 'rumble' is not too noticeable when starting off if you give a moderate press on the accelerator so that the ICE starts right away. If you start off with a lighter press on the accelerator so that you are in EV mode - then there is a slight rumble when the the ICE does start. Sort of like the sound of the main engine on a ship starting up several decks below. I don't mind it as it makes you more aware of what mode you are in. I don't think passengers are aware of this and it is more noticeable to the driver.

There is also occasionally a slight 'lurch' that feels something like a torque converter locking up. However since there is no torque converter, I believe it likely comes from the PSD (Power Split Device) - possibly when some major event such as the MG1 rotor changing direction occurs.

My biggest frustration (see posting on 'Remote Start' of 30 Sep 2007) is that I can't get a remote starter for it and there is precious little information available about remote starts for hybrids. One unit (XK07 from 'www.bypaskit.com') states that it is for the 2007 Altima with push button start however it makes no mention of whther it is suitable for the hybrid model. Also when I compared their (bypasskit.com) XK07 wiring diagram for the BCM (Body Control Module) bypass module hookup, I see differences between their wiring diagram and that in the 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid Service Manuals. In the area where I live, (Ottawa Ontario) I don't believe anyone else has done a remote start installation on a NAH and I am very leary of being the first.

Bottom line though, I love the car and highly recommend it.

 

My wife and I have enjoyed our NAH since we picked ours up at the end of March.

Pros: In my opinion this is the best looking of the standard hybrid cars. It has more passenger room and horsepower then the Prius or Honda Civic hybrids and a little more horsepower then the Camry, enough to make it seem a more responsive car. In my opinion it is more comfortable then any hybrid car except the Lexus. Even the "base" model comes with traction control, stability control, Anti-lock breaks, dual climate control, push button start, and extra air bags for a price less then the Camry and much less then the discontinued Accord. The Tech. package has cool features like a rear-parking camera and a fantastic computer with many extra features. It has a very high fun factor.

So-So's: Although some have cracked 40 MPG, this is not typical without hyper techniques. The car doesn't really "break in" until after the first oil change (3500+ miles). It losses MPG if the temperature is over 97 or under 40 degrees. All hybrids do not function normally until they warm up, which can take 5 to 10 minutes. This means you need to average 20 minute trips or more to get the best fuel mileage. Regular gas is fine, but you want a very high quality brand like Shell to get the best MPG. If you keep all these things in mind you can get 37 to 38 MPG. If you can do few or none of them you will get in the lower 32'sh and if you do normal driving you should get 34-35 MPG. Some think this is great for a mid-sized car others get disappointed. Realistically, if you can get over 35 MPG, you are doing well.

The Bad: Certain cell phones can electronically erase the key fobs in the 07 models. This is being fixed now. Some folks have been having problems with the warning beeps not happening or not loud enough when you open the door with the engine on. Since the car doesn't make any noise when stopped and has no key, it is possible to walk away with the car still on if you are not careful. The trunk is very small and has no pass-through.

 

The 'shudder' that some reviews mention is most obvious at low speeds, and you would never feel it at highway speeds (because the ICE is never OFF at highway speeds). At speeds between 15 and 40mph, the transition is smooth enough that you might not notice. I did not notice any difference between the Altima and Camry hybrids in this respect, when I was shopping this summer.

The thing that I had to get used to was the variability in the throttle response (i.e. how "heavy" or "light" the accelerator felt), depending on how much the electric motor was boosting the ICE. Not in a bad way, just not what I'm used to (having driven manual transmissions my whole life).

But do test drive it for yourself. There's no substitute for first-hand experience.

 

The "shudder" is no more noticeable than a traditional transmission shifting gears.

 

I agree, I find 'shift shock' in a conventional automatic transmission far more annoying than any of the quirks in the Altima (or Camry) hybrids.

 

In answer to one of the other original questions, I don't think the 2008 model is significantly different in terms of price or equipment.

 

Pros: Lots. Being a big guy, this was definitely a relief to have a large cabin space, much better than the Civic and Prius. The look and feel are great too. I didn't really get any options, but the basics are more than enough.

Cons: I have intermittent problems with the regenerative braking/EV start-up. There are random trips in which the regen braking is not very effective, and times when the EV does not "kick-in" at speeds between 30-40 mph (even when AC/radio/headlights are off). I don't know if there's actually a problem with the computer or not...and I'm not sure how much the techs at dealers outside of the "exclusive 8 states" will understand the hybrid system. Other than this random thing, there are no other cons for me.

I typically trade in my cars every 2 years, or so, and this has been by-far the best purchase I've ever made and plan on keeping this one for quite a while. I only have good things to say about it. As for the "lurching" issue - I don't think it's that bad. When you first drive it, buy it, it is a weird sensation, but after driving it a couple thousand miles, it's just a normal thing on the car - and it's more of a signal to me what mode I'm in.

 

We never noticed the "shudder" till we read about it hear on the forums. Then, once we knew it was there we were able to notice it. It's not something you will notice unless you look for it.

Pros... we love the look and feel of the car. It drives wonderfully and it looks better than the other hybrids.

My husband is 6'4"... for him this is the best sized hybrid. I love the Prius... but he felt he was squuezed into a sarbine can when he tried to drive it. When I get my car... I may get the Prius... but for him he feels much better with the size of the Altima hybrid.

Cons... it seems to be less forgiving on MPG than some of the other cars. Gripper had his MPG destroyed by the heat in Arizona... and when we got a heat wave here our MPG dropped to 30 overnight. I don't know how other hybrids are on this issue. On driving style... we can hit 35-36 mpg when we aren't being to aware of our driving style... and this suits us personally... but it is FAR below the 42 mpg advertised. Maybe the biggest downside for some is the small trunk. I almost said "No way" when I saw the tiny trunk... but oddly in the six months or so we've had the car I haven't had a time yet where the small trunk space actually forced us to use the SUV instead of the hybrid... BUT I haven't had to drive a big group with a lot of suitcases to the airport either. Another con is that you have to use the most expensive gas if you want best MPG. I don't know what the typical difference is between Tier 1 and cheap gas in your state... but here I've seen it sometimes range 20 and 30 cents a gallon. that is a lot.

 

To be fair, almost all cars get lower mileage than the old EPA figures (that 42MPG figure Marianne mentioned). The newer EPA estimate (34MPG combined) is actually a bit on the low side, judging from the small sample of drivers represented here.

Your actual driving style, and commuter pattern, has a big effect on the mileage.