Just curious as to why others got the Nissan Altima Hybrid over other options, both hybrid and traditional.

My personal reasons were that i wanted to support the direction of alternative fuel vehicles but yet realised I would not truly enjoy a car unless i actually also liked driving it. After living in China for a half dozen years, my awareness of how bad pollution is and can be, as well as how it affects people around the world forced me to review my own lifesyle and try to simplify it in a reasonable manner. Its all about moderation so reducing my own carbon foot print, pushing to support alt fuel cars, and reducing gasoline consumption all matched my conscience but i needed a car tat was also fun to drive. Add to that returning to the US without a job into a nasty recessionary job market so... the car was going to be a used one (so someone else can have absorbed the brunt of the depreciation)

I wanted Civic Hybrid mileage and drive-ability mixed with the niceness of an Acura TSX. My former cars were an Acura TL and an S2000 (simultaneously) so I knew i would be compromising no matter how I selected. but practicality would win out as i didn't need a car seat back then.

Despite it not being a Honda, my attention was drawn to it over 3 months of ar research and I realised the Altima Hybrid was the closest thing to what i would want to drive for the next 5 years that i could get. I list some of my other options below with pros and cons:

Honda Civic Hybrid: Pros- great mileage, Good looks and design, Honda reliability. Cons: Not sized quiet like a family car, no power, not too good on hills, Used cost still 16-18k

Honda Civic EX: Pros- more power, great design, Honda reliability, available manual, decent mileage Cons- Not Hybrid, Not sized quiet like a family car

Honda Accord Hybrid 05/06: : Pros- great car overall with plenty of power; Cons- plain looking, not so hot mileage, slightly older than i wanted so less selection of lower miles used cars, pricing still high.

Acura TSX: Pros- great car with enough power and luxury items and Acura service. Cons- late models still in the 18-20k range, mileage not so hot, end of body style life, not hybrid

Mazda 3 Sport touring HB: Pros- Great little car! Decent power with 2.4L on a small car, available manual trans, great storage space decent pricing for a 2 year old model avail for less than 15k ; Cons- not a family car, not a hybrid, ok miles.

(added) The Ford Fusion Hybrid was not quite out yet when i started looking and by the time i pulled the trigger, it was but it was way out of my price-range.

Ultimately I got the Altima despite it being a Nissan who had a bad streak in the early 2000's, but the reliability went up by 2007; the 07-09 models were essentially the same; it used the Toyota Synergy Drive but mated with a more powerful engine; it is built with Nissan's "driver performance "philisophy as opposed to Toyota's "isolate the driver" philosophy (thus why the Camry and Prius were NOT considered). Overall a great looking and driving car with Hybrid, decent mileage and enough power and handling to make driving fun.

While i am still babying the drive to see my mileage improvements, once i start driving more, i will still want to power thru certain situations and I already find the NAH to be more than enough for that and still get better mileage than had i gotten a standard EX Honda.

Bought an extended warranty to alley my own issues about getting a Nissan instead of another Honda, especially a first year model one with a hybrid pwer plant no less.

Would love to hear how others ended up with this amazing car.

 

Reason for getting the 2009 NAH: I was in the market for a hybrid for the past 3 yrs. Finally pulled the trigger because my older 1998 Altima (with over 180K miles) could no longer bear the wear and tear on its body. Engine was still good! And I drive over 75 miles a day to work!

I've narrowed my research on 3 hybrids:

1. TCA:

Pros: Great car for the family! Very smooth! decend handling, pretty good power. good mileage. quiet cabine. I was very close to getting this.

Cons: I was not a fan of the styling. It drove like a car not much performance for my preferrence.

2. Prius:

Pros: Great mileage! Excellent interior! Pretty smooth engine.
Cons: Lacks power, not much space for a family.

3. NAH:

Pros: Great styling (sporty!), handling, great '09 dealer/nissan incentives (got it fully loaded for 27K), good mileage, fastest hybrid out there :-) great space for family. Good compromise b/ween a hybrid/sports car/family car. This car has alot of power, when u floor it, it goes like a sports car!

Cons: Engine not as smooth as Toyota's, but smooth enough for me.

Regards,
Prime

 

Purchased 07 NAH in May 07 for the following reasons:
1. Gas was starting up and our Acura RL was getting 19 mpg on Premium.
2. Wanted something closer to RL in size and comfort
3. Evaluated TCH and NAH.
4. Chose NAH for styling, power and leather interior.

We are closing in on 40K miles and we are now getting 34-35 computed mpg per tank after changing driving speed from +5-10 mph over limit to 0 mph over the limit.

Only complaint is the bluetooth voice quality with Treo phones. We do miss the ride, the automatic seat/mirror memory (I'm 6'2" and my wife is 5'2") and the more comfortable seats of the Acura. But we are very happy with the car and the fuel bills.

 

I needed a fuel efficient car that would run on regular gas, but still provide "entertainment value." I like a car to perform, not roll-over on a soft chassis. In all - a tall order. The Nissan Altima, IMO, was the only choice.

I drove the other hybrids and they're fine vehicles, but focused on maximum fuel efficiency and/or comfort. The Altima handles well right out of the showroom floor, and the acceleration is brisk for a hybrid. Most of my colleagues think it's a V6 under hood instead of a 4 cylinder.

Don't let the low-ish MPG in my signature fool you. I love my NAH and given that I drive 86 miles on-way to work at over 85 mph most of the way, that's astounding fuel mileage. (Everyone flies on the stretch of I-5 between South Orange County and North San Diego county.) I've put almost 49K miles on my NAH since I bought 1 year and 2 months ago, and it's been solid, reliable and aside from oil, oil filter and tire rotations every 5000 miles, has required nothing!

 

I got mine in June when one of the rebate programs was going on, there was also a sale, and the Federal Tax Credit applied as well. I was wanting a hybrid, and with the all the sale discounts, rebates, and credits it was at least $5000 less than any other hybrid I found, and $7-10K less than any comprably equipped hybrid that I could find in stock. It was even less than the 8 year old VW Jetta I traded in for it was when it was new.

 

My reasons are similar to everyone else's I guess.

I looked at the 2010 Prius and the Camry Hybrid. Both were sluggish in comparison and while competent did not handle anywhere near as nicely as the NAH. Basically slow and mushy versus strong and sporty.

I prefer the styling of the NAH, although the 2010 Prius is quite good looking. The only real downsides to the NAH (for me) are a lower resale % than the Toyotas and the slight roughness to the gas engine compared to the Toyotas. A small price to pay for far superior driving pleasure.

Of course the Prius gets better gas mileage, but the way I had to drive the Prius to have any fun, (power mode, deep on the throttle) the difference was not so great in the city, moreso on the highway.

End of the day, I love the NAH and do not regret purchasing it for a second.

 

Hi all,

I just bought my 2009 Altima on Dec 20th. A Xmas present to myself. The reason I bought the car was because originally I was looking at the 2010 2.5 SL Altima, but the dealer showed me 3 NAH's he had been left with. The cars were fully loaded with Navigation and were available in Black, White or Gray Slate. The pricing for the 2010 SL Altime and 2009 NAH were comparable but the features are what sold me. Besides that, I was also eligible for all the tax breaks I would receive by purchasing a Hybrid. I ended up choosing it in Gray Slate and am in heaven since then. The car drives awesome and has power when I need to push it. I have almost 2k miles and am pushing about 33.6 MPG. Not as much as you guys but I guess I need to get used to the car and also it has been a very wintery cold season here in LI. Overall I love it!