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By Scott BurgessDetroit Newspapers
April 4, 2009
The more I drove the 2009 Nissan Altima coupe, the more I liked it. So much for first impressions. When I initially walked up to this two door, I thought it was a little plain. The exterior looks a little disproportionate and unbalanced, but still looks fast. It's clearly an Altima, with those big sweeping headlights, sharp lines along its body and open grille. But the long doors and sloping roof to the car's hatch make it look squished. The second-row windows are tiny and the view from the back is next to nothing. The coupe is lower (2.5 inches) and more than 7 inches shorter than the sedan. In other words, it's built for speed. My first impression behind the wheel was staid. The round vents and curvy dash look inexpensive at best and cheap at worst. The silver trim along the center stack and center console add some nice touches but not enough. Overall, I was disappointed with the interior; I just wasn't impressed. The touch points are soft and when I sat in the well-bolstered leather seats, I was ready for more. A few revs of the engine and my feelings started to change. My test vehicle came with the optional 3.5-liter V-6 that pushes 270 horsepower and 258-pound-feet of torque. It will push you back in the seat and hold you there when you blast off. The six-speed manual transmission is silky smooth and clicks through each gear short throw after short throw. Better yet, the Altima coupe feels quick and nimble. The specially tuned suspension provides more performance than the sedan. Nissan uses a multi-link rear suspension that helps keep the car true through hard turns. Helping to make this coupe very stable, even on Detroit highways, are the low engine placement, shocks placed directly over the center of each wheel to help dampening and other design modifications. The design also helps eliminate any pull in one direction during acceleration in this front-wheel drive car. From the driver's seat, the lines of sight feel perfect and you find yourself on the edge of the seat, wanting to push this car a little harder. Every time you do, the Altima coupe responds. The rack-and-pinion steering holds your line through big turns, feels well weighted and has a nice return to center. The engine, with its low-end torque feel, responded best of all, and it always felt like there was enough power to push past another car on the highway. This coupe gives you guts. By about the 50th mile on the 100 mile drive, even the interior felt better than the first glance afforded me. There were lots of features, including Bluetooth connectivity for your cell phone, a nine speaker Bose stereo system, XM Satellite Radio and dual zone temperature controls -- a nice surprise for such a small cabin. With two adults in the front, the cab is very comfortable. Put those same adults in the back and there is bound to be a fight. The space is very limited back there, with headroom lacking because of that sloping roof line. The lesson, of course, is to never ride in the back of the Altima coupe; always take the driver's seat. By the end of the 100-mile trip, the Altima coupe was looking and feeling much better. The orange gauges were easy on the eyes and the HVAC controls were easy to use. The slightly noisy ride was drowned out by the stereo. While the sedan seems to go well with responsible adults who need to lug their family and friends around, the coupe feels like it just has more fun. And when you're driving the Altima coupe, you just smile a little bit more. sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217
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