Used 1996 Nissan Altima

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, Nissan pops new wheelcovers on lower trim levels, puts new upholstery into the GXE, and gives cars with power door locks new lock logic. Four trim levels are available: entry-level XE; midpriced GXE; sporty SE; and luxury-oriented GLE. The GXE is the best seller, and when equipped with air conditioning, cassette stereo, automatic transmission, cruise and anti-lock brakes, stickers for about $20,000.

Guess what. That's loaded Ford Contour SE territory, and is just a couple thou' shy of a similarly equipped Maxima GXE. The Ford performs better than the Altima, has a slightly higher equipment content, and offers a refined V-6 powerplant. Still, Altima lease deals are hard to beat, and it's a good car. The competition is getting better though, even from within Nissan itself.