2005 Nissan Altima Review and Specs

Summary

What Edmunds.com says

Once a frumpy wallflower, the Altima is now a midsize sedan to be desired, especially when equipped with the 250-horsepower V6.

Pros

Sports car power in a midsize sedan body, excellent handling, roomy and comfortable interior, high level of features, distinctive styling.

Cons

Considerable road noise, overboosted steering, no stability control, ABS still an extra-cost option.

What's New for 2005

All Altimas receives exterior styling enhancements, including new smoked headlamps and taillights, new wheel designs and a restyled front fascia and grille, along with a much needed interior redesign. The 3.5-liter V6 gets five more horsepower and three more lb-ft of torque, for a total of 250 and 249, respectively, and is now available with a five-speed automatic transmission. A new performance-oriented SE-R model joins the lineup along with a leather-lined 3.5 SL model. A newly optional DVD-based navigation system and two new exterior colors round out the changes.

Consumer Ratings & Reviews

Will Never Leave Nissan

Written by: fpento on 05/23/2009

Detailed Ratings

Overall Rating


Performance:	10	Fun-to-Drive:	10	Build Quality:	9
Comfort:	9	Interior Design:	8	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	8	Exterior Design:	9

Vehicle

2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 5M)

Review

After many hours of reviews, I decided to purchase the 3.5 Altima. With the added HP and the spacious room ... baby on the way ... I couldn't go wrong. The car's a bullet! Gotta love that award winning V6. Almost a year into ownership and nothing has gone wrong. When it's time to replace this, there will have to be something special out there for me to get something different that an Altima!

Favorite Features

Wonderful engine, lots of room

Suggested Improvements

Hard to see radio in daylight, garage door opener won't record my door opener, navigation maybe?

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ALTIMA 05

Written by: sas on 05/19/2009


Performance:	9	Fun-to-Drive:	8	Build Quality:	9
Comfort:	8	Interior Design:	8	Reliability:	9
Fuel Economy:	6	Exterior Design:	10

2005 Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 5M)

I bought my altima 05 2.5S brand new. Love the look of the car. Very sporty looking. Performance was great until I had approx 34k on the car. Radiator went. Dealership made me pay for radiatior which was over $800K and I had bumper to bumper on car plus extended warranty. Ended up getting my money back when I went to Nissan Headquarters. Changed dealerships for servicing. Check engine light came on at 104K and was told it was the catalyc converter which cost me over $900 to fix it. Needless to say I drove it until I had 145K and traded it in for a 2009 Mitsubishi Galant. Engine too noisy. Overall not a bad car with improvements. Wanted to try something different.

I like the styling of the car and the road handling especially when u turn corners. Excellent Horsepower.

Fix noisy engine, side view mirrors should fold in. Should have Bose radio in all Nissans. Should give a better warranty.

4 years and still happy

Written by: Satified Owner on 05/17/2009


Performance:	8	Fun-to-Drive:	9	Build Quality:	9
Comfort:	9	Interior Design:	9	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	8	Exterior Design:	9

I bought my 3.5 SE new in 2005. I only have 28000 miles but I have had very few problems. The car has only been in the shop for routine maintenance. However, in march of 2009 I had to replace my battery. I have heard of others with this problem. Overall I am happy. The 3.5 engine has a lot of power. This is fun at stop lights and has gotten me out of a few jams on the freeway. The complaints about the road noise (esp in the back), turning radius, and cheap interior are valid. They are not prohibitive however. I live in DC now so the turning radius is more pronounced. I have taking this car on 400 mile trips (I can get 33 mpg on the highway) and have been completely satisfied.

No doubt the engine performance. Also, the radio controls on the steering wheel. Heat and AC are very powerful in hot and cold climates.

Turning radius needs to be addressed. I read about this problem before I bought my car and dismissed it. 99% of the time you will not care but in tight parking lots it is a pain and making a U-turn can be dangerous.

50k I still like it.

Written by: MMT on 05/06/2009


Performance:	9	Fun-to-Drive:	9	Build Quality:	8
Comfort:	9	Interior Design:	7	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	8	Exterior Design:	9

Bought the car new. It had a strange squeak in front end, dealership eventually found and fixed it. I have had absolutely no mechanical issues w/ the car. I love the power of the 2.5L for the size of the car. I love that it has a big-car-feel when driving but has some economy aspects such as gas mileage. The ride is a little mushy w/ 4 adults, good w/ 2. Interior plastic could be of better quality but, for my experience w/ this car, the engine, size, comfort, fuel economy and price make it more affordable than the accord (which I test drove and found it rode as stiff and bumpy and my sportbike; gut jarring). I am going to sell it because its just that time, but I will miss it very much

Size, engine power (sometimes I just want to floor it and fly down the freeway), sound system, ride, looks, gas mileage.

Better quality plastics, wider opening from trunk through folded-down back seats.

Good Car!!

Written by: M.J. on 04/29/2009


Performance:	7	Fun-to-Drive:	8	Build Quality:	9
Comfort:	8	Interior Design:	7	Reliability:	9
Fuel Economy:	7	Exterior Design:	7

2005 Nissan Altima 2.5 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 5M)

I have the 2.5 SL. I bought it brand new with 4 miles on it. I get about 24.5 mpg in the city. It has a good size trunk and lots of leg room in the back seat. Knock on wood, I have had no problems with this car. I have about 65,000 miles on it. I just had my third set of tires put on. For a four banger engine it is pretty peppy. Leather interior has held up great!!

Fold down rear seats. Large trunk. Lots of rear legroom. Good gas mileage.

2005 Nissan Altima Consumer Ratings & Reviews