Musashi Test Drives the Altima SE-R

While at the dealer I asked the sales rep if I could have a stab at the new Altima SE-R, the latest SE-R rolled out of Nissans performance line.
He smiled and said "I knew you'd ask that".
I have to be honest I hate the Sentra SE-R but I had high hopes for the Altima, afterall its got the VQ35DE motor straight out of a 350Z but detuned to 260 bhp (although the sales rep said it was 275 but nissan's official claim is still 260 at the crank) so he went to fetch one and it was on.

First Impressions:
As he rolled up in the massive Altima the first thing that caught my eye was the rims. Holly shit they where sexy. I know each one of us shares a different taste in rims but the ones on the SE-R are deffinately one of the best show room sets ever, they even say "FORGED" on the lip to let you know they carry a hefty price tag.
The color of our test model is a dark gray with a very metallic look. The front facia is low to the ground and wider then the run of the mill models. the wing on the back is just a lip, very clean and very low profile. and then I saw the price tag.....$30,254.00
That was a huge turn off. How can this car be more than the Z I tested? its a four door sedan. well I hope the ride is worth the cash then.

Interior:
The interior of this car made my mouth drop! the door panels are expensive looking leatherish plastic with suede inserts along the armrest and silver plastic buttons and door tabs. The seats are wide leather on leather stitched while the center council is plated with silver plastic aluminum. at the top you have three guages just like the Z and the shifter is leather stitched as well. The steering wheel is also small and sporty and the guage cluster has a dark luxury car feel to it. On the doors two huge speakers with the "Bose" badge plated on top. The radio is so much more then what the Z offers with a built in 6 cd changer also provided by Bose Audio.
I can see why its 30 grand, this is a luxury sedan interior that really surprises you. Still how well does it ride?

The drive:
I set the car to first and already like the gear feel. Its so tight and short compared to any other sedan Ive ever driven, yes even the sporty ones.
The clutch is very soft and friendly giving me the impression that even my mom could drive it. So where off, Im slowly climbing to 40 then leave it in second and mesh the gas.....its ok but I was expecting more go, more grunt. So I hike it up to 6000rpms (redline is at 6700) and shift it to 3rd. Its going fast but it feels like 250 hp and nothing more, its kinda dissapointing. I mean sure its got power but its a far cry from what i was hoping for. I mean its a VQ35DE....wheres the go go go?
I come to a stop sign and tell the sales rep "mind if I gun it" he looks and smiles. Ok then, I drop the clutch and smoke a little rubber to 3000RPMs and take off, Now that was more like it but the thrill the acceleration is short lived, the car dropps off and settles despite the fact that im hard on the gas, I hit 2nd and tire chirp a bit but it feels like Im towing a boat here, I was expecting to feel a little preasure on my chest...nothing, its a goddam sedan with a 30 thousand price tag that goes like a 20 thousand sedan! Im so sad, I want more juice but thats all the car can give.
0-60 is about 6.1 seconds but im guessing you have to be a hell of a launch god to get it that fast. and the standing 1/4 mile is 14.8 seconds. but it feels like a flat 15.
Its one of those cars that is fast, you know its fast, you time it and its fast....BUT it dosent feel fast!
On the corners it handled like a sedan with an eibach pro kit. Its sporty but its not a sports car! its fine for everyday use, hell if I cornered like that everyday Id get to work smiling everytime but its just not AMAZING! it didnt exceed my expectations as far as handling but it dosent disapoint. Still I wish it had more. Its slow out of the corner and you have to brake hard before the corner and trail braking doesn't work or you end up farming from the understeer! its just a faster sedan, thats all. :disappoin
I can only think of two types of people that would actually pay for this kind of car. People who have owned Nissans and are Nissan enthusiasts and have the dough to blow on such a car or kids with overendulgent mommies and daddies that drop the cash so they can have the newest badge on the street. This car really is for the people who dont know shit about cars. For that kind of money you can get so much more!

Final Verdict:
It was nice of Nissan to build this SE-R. Its good looking and has a phenomenal cabin. Its deffinately the sportier sedan but it wil NEVER be a sports car and for the $29,000.00 to $32,000.00 that you throw away on it you can drive a much meaner car!

Sounds like a fun sedan but like you said you can dow much better for that price. I like the review, keep them comin.

Edit: I think one of the reasons this is priced as it is, is because it's a combo of luxury and performance. Yeah you could get a better performing car for that price but thats about right for that kind of luxury combined with performance.

Good review. That's kind of what you'd expect from a car like that. It'd be a much better buy for $25k, that's for sure.

I remember driving that car.. yes it is sexy in the Inside But you cant find the power in it. I honestly think that is a Highway Crusing car. yes that car may have the 250hp but i saw a Altima SE-R and a Maxima run it stock for Stock, the Maxima Owned. i also saw a vid of Se-R facing off with a Z. after 3rd. the Z had it for lunch
to me the car felt like a car going through Mid life Crisis! its like a Father trying to be Hip and Cool to please his Son

^ what kind of maxima? the new one or one like mine? i've been trying to get a run with an SE-R.

good review, keep in mind that the dealer puts 87 octane in their cars. this thread has a dyno that shows the difference betwwen 89 and 91 octane on a VQ35 maxima. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=505566


it's down like 12 whp.

^ what kind of maxima? the new one or one like mine? i've been trying to get a run with an SE-R.

good review, keep in mind that the dealer puts 87 octane in their cars. this thread has a dyno that shows the difference betwwen 89 and 91 octane on a VQ35 maxima. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=505566


it's down like 12 whp.

We actually run on 93 octane here and thats what the new car dealers use as well, here anyways

thats odd cause i saw a video of a automatic 5 speed altima SE-R keeping up with a 6 speed 350Z from a roll, also the 100mph trap speed suggest that it would keep up also.

either way i love that car, its looks very good, and i might consider taking that over a G35 sedan. but definitly over a maxima. also 14.8 is kinda slow for a SE-R, i would expect a the 05 3.5 SE's to run that with a great driver.

good review, keep in mind that the dealer puts 87 octane in their cars.

Uh, no they dont! someone mentioned that to me when I wrote the review of the Redline and I asked around to see if it was true.
I have friends who work at car dealerships. If the dealer puts the wrong octane in the car they are liable if the car has problems down the road. The fuel guage says "premium only" for a reason. If you add 87 or 89 to a 91-93 oct. system your gonna get a c.e.l. most of the time so no, the dealer's techs are not dumb enough to do that.

yeah in my 1989 Nissan Maxima i had kept up pretty decently with a Altima 3.5 SE (i kno i kno not the SE-R, but still a 3.5)...they can always be tuned tho ;)

Uh, no they dont! someone mentioned that to me when I wrote the review of the Redline and I asked around to see if it was true.
I have friends who work at car dealerships. If the dealer puts the wrong octane in the car they are liable if the car has problems down the road. The fuel guage says "premium only" for a reason. If you add 87 or 89 to a 91-93 oct. system your gonna get a c.e.l. most of the time so no, the dealer's techs are not dumb enough to do that.
wierd, when i got my car the dealer had a tech wash the car and give it a last minute once over before i took it home and he went to the gas station across the street to fill up and i watched as the guy filled it up with a 1/2 tank of sunoco 87. i bought mine from a used Nissan lot though, so maybe that's why. you won't get an SES(service engine soon) Light in these car's with 87 octane, your knock sensor just retards timing, my car has been accidentally filled with 87 before (other than at the dealership) and i never got an SES light because of it.

Musashi nice review. I have never been much impressed with altima's, so it's never a car I've paid much attention to, but it was interesting to get your thoughts on it.

Also as far as the gas. I worked at a dealership too, and I've honestly watched salesmen fill up premium cars with 87. Me and my buddy even argued with one, when he told us that they were all the same. I have a modded vr4, my buddy has a modded ws6, 5 240s, and a couple older muscle cars, the salesman owns a jeep liberty. Obviously, he knew what he was talking about :disappoin I told him if he wanted to bet 12k, I'd be happy to shoot a rod through my block to prove him otherwise :biggrin:

Uh, no they dont! someone mentioned that to me when I wrote the review of the Redline and I asked around to see if it was true.
I have friends who work at car dealerships. If the dealer puts the wrong octane in the car they are liable if the car has problems down the road. The fuel guage says "premium only" for a reason. If you add 87 or 89 to a 91-93 oct. system your gonna get a c.e.l. most of the time so no, the dealer's techs are not dumb enough to do that.

I mentioned that to you because that's what the GM dealerships use in the Cobalts, in Az anyway. The reason they can do this is because 91 is the "recommended gas for the LSJ, but it's not a "must". Doing so just causes the computer to pull timing and change a few things around to run the lower grade fuel safely, ultimately killing power.

^^ True, if the ECU can adjust the timing for a lower grade fuel then it would be OK it would just lose some power. No harm done to the engine though. However if it didn't then I'd have to agree with Igovert.

^^ True, if the ECU can adjust the timing for a lower grade fuel then it would be OK it would just lose some power. No harm done to the engine though. However if it didn't then I'd have to agree with Igovert.


If the manual and the dash on the Nissan he drove state that it must have 91 octane than I'm fairly positive that the dealerships will use no lower than 91 in them. As far as the LSJ goes though, the word is that almost all the dealerships have been using 87 for them just to save a couple bucks.

^it's not a must, it says it's recommended, at least it does in my car which is the same motor.

^ what kind of maxima? the new one or one like mine? i've been trying to get a run with an SE-R.

good review, keep in mind that the dealer puts 87 octane in their cars. this thread has a dyno that shows the difference betwwen 89 and 91 octane on a VQ35 maxima. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=505566


it's down like 12 whp.

BP it was the newer 04 05 Maxis and actually it depends the dealership cuz when i bought my srt those fucks at the dealer i bought from gave me a ticket for 1/2 a tank of 87 i paid a full tank of 93 out of my pocket and i told the manager the next day and they paid me the full tank i put and refunded me for the ticket i was given for the 87

Over $29,000 is getting a bit too close to the G35, which has 40 more ponies, RWD, and a better interior. You could also just about get a BMW 325i or a Lexus IS250