drove an '02 altima 3.5 SE on new years

Man do those things move. Even with my modifications, I could feel that the 3.5 SE had noticeably more low end torque than my 3.0, it was crazy, very quick in a straight line. The handling and steering feel was too vague for my taste though, probably because my car has sport lowering springs and I can feel every bump in the road. But the thing that got me most were those xenon headlights, those are so cool! It was fun thrashing around in the altima for sure though, very cool.

was it a 5 speed? and if you thought that was cool, wait till you drive the 03. those got 5 more hp, and has better grip tires. on motortrend that car with full option, sunroof, leather interior ran a 5.95 0-60 and the 1/4 in 14.4 at 98mph. it was the fastest FWD car they had ever tested. it was crazy.

NIZMO POWER!

alas it was only a 4-speed auto, but so is my '00 maxima, so it was a good heads-up comparison. Rowing the automatic in the altima was a lot easier too, it made it a lot harder to do something stupid like throw it into neutral because of the offset shifting gate. I did get it up to 130 mph before I had to back off, and it was much harder to keep on the road than my maxima at the same speed. Wierd.:confused:

Originally posted by street_racer_00
I did get it up to 130 mph before I had to back off, and it was much harder to keep on the road than my maxima at the same speed. Wierd.:confused:

Maybe b/c the Maxima is more performance oriented and its more $$$:D

that is one weird thing about those two cars. on paper the atlima seems to be the better handler with its multi link rear suspension that is derived from the nissan skyline suspension. and the maxima has a crude solid beam rear axle. yet the maxima has better road feel and handles better. thats weird.