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.

1997 Highlights

The 1997 models are virtually identical to 1996 models, except for the addition of new emissions equipment.

Top consumer reviews

Read what other owners think about the 1997 Nissan Altima.

60 reviews

Decent car with maintenance issues

nncincinnati, 9/7/2007

The Altima was very reliable early on, but as it aged, needed many more costly repairs and fixes. At ten years and less than 100,000, it has cost $600-1500 per year for the last five years to keep it running (not including tires!). My mechanic says there a few fundamental design flaws that show as this car ages that are costly (because they are labor intensive) to fix.

Very Satisfied owner

Very satisfied owner, 4/2/2010

I purchased my Nissan Altima 97 with little over 8000 miles. It currently has 286,437 miles on it. The car has treated me very well even though I didn't take care care of it. It still runs just as good as it did when I bought it. i haven't had to do very much work on it thus far. Just minor repairs and regular tune ups. I have driven it literally all over the country due to being in the

Great Buy

PeekoSanchez, 11/28/2008

I bought my Altima used at 37,000 miles in 2001 and it's still going strong at 130,000, though it's needed some major repair. I've had to replace the alternator (at 75k), one CV axle and the other will need replacement soon, the switch for the power windows and locks, and the clutch a year ago. Those are the only $200 plus repairs done in 7 years though, which is a bargain compared to

Reliable & Fun But Unsafe!

webter, 6/20/2013

The integrity of the motor and many of the other parts are top notch. If you are looking for a base vehicle to fix to street race, this would be a great one. With that said, I was in an accident with this vehicle. The car was totaled and I had a head injury, which has left me with some brain damage. There isn't ABS on this vehicle and the air bag didn't deploy. There were fairly new

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Features & Specs

MPG

21 city / 28 hwy

Seats 0

5-speed manual

Gas

150 hp @ 5600 rpm

MPG

21 city / 28 hwy

Seats 0

5-speed manual

Gas

150 hp @ 5600 rpm

MPG

18 city / 26 hwy

Seats 0

4-speed automatic

Gas

150 hp @ 5600 rpm

MPG

21 city / 28 hwy

Seats 0

5-speed manual

Gas

150 hp @ 5600 rpm

See all Used 1997 Nissan Altima features & specs

Safety

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
OverallNot Rated
Driver4 / 5
Passenger4 / 5
Side Crash Rating
OverallNot Rated
Side Barrier Rating
OverallNot Rated
DriverNot Rated
PassengerNot Rated
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front SeatNot Rated
Back SeatNot Rated
Rollover
RolloverNot Rated
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of RolloverNot Rated

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Side Impact Test
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Not Tested
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Not Tested
IIHS Small Overlap Front Test
Not Tested
Moderate Overlap Front Test
0

More about the 1997 Nissan Altima

Used 1997 Nissan Altima Overview

The Used 1997 Nissan Altima is offered in the following submodels: . Available styles include XE 4dr Sedan, GXE 4dr Sedan (1997.5), GLE 4dr Sedan (1997.5), GXE 4dr Sedan, XE 4dr Sedan (1997.5), SE 4dr Sedan (1997.5), GLE 4dr Sedan, and SE 4dr Sedan.

What's a good price on a Used 1997 Nissan Altima?

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Which used 1997 Nissan Altimas are available in my area?

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Used 1997 Nissan Altima

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