redtomatoman Posted June 26, 2016 Report Share Posted June 26, 2016 Have a 2016 Nissan Altima rental this week. Not nearly as nice to drive as my 2011 DJ. Likes: Engine has plenty of power, transmission shifts super smooth, base comes with backup cam,great fuel efficiency. Dislikes: Steering wheel is too small, interior controls are wonky, seats are a strange material, no lumbar adjustment, backup cam screen is small. Overall the Altima is not as fun to drive as my DJ. Lots of interior noise and twitchy steering. Small steering wheel makes that worse. Engine and transmission seem good but I'm afraid to use all of the power. Maybe that would get better with time. I miss the cargo space of my DJ this week. Anyway, good car, but I prefer my 5 year old DJ overall. Peace. Journey_SeXT, dhh3, rolly and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey_SeXT Posted June 26, 2016 Report Share Posted June 26, 2016 Have a 2016 Nissan Altima rental this week. Not nearly as nice to drive as my 2011 DJ. Likes: Engine has plenty of power, transmission shifts super smooth, base comes with backup cam,great fuel efficiency. Dislikes: Steering wheel is too small, interior controls are wonky, seats are a strange material, no lumbar adjustment, backup cam screen is small. Overall the Altima is not as fun to drive as my DJ. Lots of interior noise and twitchy steering. Small steering wheel makes that worse. Engine and transmission seem good but I'm afraid to use all of the power. Maybe that would get better with time. I miss the cargo space of my DJ this week. Anyway, good car, but I prefer my 5 year old DJ overall. Peace. I had an Altima 2 years ago and and a Camry last year as my Florida rentals and I wasn't impressed with either but did like the Altima over the Camry....this year I'm driving my DJ down to Florida so I expect it to be an enjoyable drive. dhh3, priell3, BlindSquirrel and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted June 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 Just a few more things. The Altima has no ground clearance at all. It is a car, but it doesn't handle uneven dirt roads well at all. My wife feels it is very noisy inside when driving on the highway compared to my DJ. Gotta give it the nod on mpg though. . . 36 mpg overall so far. 95% highway. Peace. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 Most of the Nissans use a continuously variable transmission with two huge rubber bands instead of gears. I would never own a vehicle with one of theses. I often considered the Pathfinder because it was a truck, but no more. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) dhh3, on 28 Jun 2016 - 07:41 AM, said:dhh3, on 28 Jun 2016 - 07:41 AM, said:Most of the Nissans use a continuously variable transmission with two huge rubber bands instead of gears. I would never own a vehicle with one of theses. I often considered the Pathfinder because it was a truck, but no more. I had a Dodge Caliber rental once with the CVT. All the time I drove it I kept thinking the transmission was slipping. I don't think I could ever get used to that.... Edited June 28, 2016 by jkeaton dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) Same here, with a rental Caliber! CVT. NOT! Even Subaru is using them now. Edited June 28, 2016 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 Drove for 5 yrs , cvt is a learning experience. I missed it when I bought the DJ and it never gave me a moments regret or problem , I could burn rubber with it. jkeaton and dhh3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 My son had a 2007 Jeep Compass with the CVT and never had a problem. I drove it quite a bit and it was "different" but overall, not a big deal. He just traded it in on a new Journey and I'm sure he'll notice the difference. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlindSquirrel Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 CVT is ok. It allows for much better fuel mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 CVT is ok. It allows for much better fuel mileage. I think that it depends on how you drive. FCA dumped the CVT in the Compass and Patriot. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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