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What Edmunds Says
Pros
Luxurious, sporty, and well-constructed, the Nissan Altima is the perfect car for those who want an Infiniti, but are stuck with a Nissan budget.
Cons
It will never happen, but we would still like to see a V-6 engine offered in the Altima.
Available Altima Sedan Models
Use the Edmunds Pricing System to help you get the best deal:
View photosXE
- 2.4L 4-cyl. engine
- Manual transmission
- Up to 21 cty/28 hwy mpg
- Traction Control
XE (1997.5)
- 2.4L 4-cyl. engine
- Manual transmission
- Up to 21 cty/28 hwy mpg
GXE (1997.5)
- 2.4L 4-cyl. engine
- Manual transmission
- Up to 21 cty/28 hwy mpg
SE (1997.5)
- 2.4L 4-cyl. engine
- Manual transmission
- Up to 21 cty/28 hwy mpg
GLE (1997.5)
- 2.4L 4-cyl. engine
- Automatic transmission
- Up to 18 cty/26 hwy mpg
What's New for 1997
The 1997 models are virtually identical to 1996 models, except for the addition of new emissions equipment.
Review
Talk about a runaway success. The Altima is quite a popular car, with hundreds of thousands of the jelly-bean-shaped sedans sold since its 1993 introduction. Its predecessor, the Nissan Stanza, was a practically invisible car to consumers, and we can't help but wonder whether the name change or Nissan's expensive advertising campaign touting the Altima as an affordable luxury car dictated the tides of change.
What we do know is that the Altima has the right mix of good looks, sedan capability, spunky personality and affordable price that Honda and Toyota used to make the Accord and Camry best-sellers. The Altima is a fun car, and plays the roles of pedestrian family hauler and pseudo-sport sedan with equal aplomb. Heavily subsidized national lease deals on the GXE trim level haven't hurt sales either, and virtually guarantee an excellent used Altima market in the near future.
This year, the Altima is a carryover; the only change being to the emissions equipment.
If you shop smart, the Nissan GXE is a great buy. It can be outfitted with all sorts of goodies and remain well under $20,000. Watch out for the SE and GLE, though, the price of those cars has been rising, and is getting uncomfortably close to Nissan Maxima territory.
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Edmunds Customer Stories: Laura's Kia Soul
Laura's old car was costing her a small fortune every month for gas and repairs. She didn't even want to drive her kids to the park any more. But buying a new Kia Soul changed all that.
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