Costa Mesa, CA – Welcome back to RC Reviews.  I hope you enjoyed the review of the Nissan 350Z as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.
                This week’s car is another Nissan product, the 2008 Altima Coupe 3.5 SE.  Unfortunately no road trip planned this week.  Only a few hundred miles of running to meetings and the usual errands around town.  Compared to the 350Z, this is a car that you get into versus strapping on.
                The Altima Coupe comes with your choice of a 2.5L inline-4 making 175 HP and 180 lb-ft of torque or the 3.5L V-6 making 270 HP and 258 lb-ft of torque with either a CVT transmission or a 6-speed manual with various trim levels and options.  I could use up this entire column explaining all the available options and how they are packaged but let’s just leave it at this….it can get confusing which is one area I hope Nissan takes a look at and makes it easier for people to package the options they want, versus how Nissan feels they should be packaged and sold because this is a great coupe worthy of your time and money should you be in the market for a sporty coupe.
The interior is a very well done, with quality materials used throughout and ample storage space and cup holders galore.  The front passengers are provided ample support from all angles by the leather covered seats that seem to be infinitely adjustable to any driving or riding position.  Backseat leg and headroom are best utilized in short bursts by adults but should be spacious enough for children.  The dual-zone climate control will keep both passengers happy at all times and seat heaters are offered for those colder climates and those early morning runs to Starbucks.  Other options included on this car were remote keyless entry, walk up to the car, pull the handle, get in and hit the start button and you’re off, a Bose 6-disk, in-dash, 9 speaker stereo system with MP3/WMA CD-ROM playback capability with audio and cruise control functions on the leather wrapped steering wheel, Xenon Headlights with auto on/off, Bluetooth for hands-free cell phone operation, XM Satellite Radio, auto up/down side windows, and airbags to protect you and your passengers from just about any angle and many other nice touches in comfort and safety.  Pretty much a fully optioned car with an out-the-door sticker of $28,970 minus a navigation system.

The six-speed gearbox is a smooth shifter with reverse gear up and to the left, and to get there you pull a little ring on top of the shifter boot up and then slide the gear shift into reverse.  Clutch pick-up is relatively low on the pedal and took a little getting used to but allows for easy gear engagement.  Second gear is the strongest of the six and is the gear that brings out the “sport” in this coupe.  Steering was a bit light on center and turn-in.  Feedback through the tires and the steering wheel is tuned to more boulevard cruiser than a track-day car.
               The exterior styling, compared to the interior, takes a little more getting used to.  The sedan version of this car is a very good looking car, and the only exterior part shared is the hood.  The coupe has some chiseled lines and angles, especially from the rear view, but curvaceous or rounded front-end and very large doors, which seem to be asking for some character lines. The sloping roofline does create a pretty bad blind spot from the driver seat so lane changes can be challenging.  After a couple of days the styling grew on me and you do not see many of these coupes on the road yet so if being the first of your friends to have a new and/or different ride is your thing this just might be the car for you.
               In my case the car felt a little uneasy over rough and grooved pavement.  Not the front-end the back.  Felt as if I had a flat tire but once the pavement got smooth again the feeling went away.  I searched out some rough stuff to make sure I wasn’t crazy and it happened every time.  It may have been this particular car, who knows what it’s been subjected to before it was entrusted to me, or maybe it was a tire issue, I just can’t say but if Nissan firmed up the suspension and the steering just a bit I’m confident it would be a good thing.
               In this day of $3.00 to $4.00 a gallon gasoline, powerful V-6’s are becoming more desirable.  This sporty coupe from Nissan returned 21.4 MPG between a mix of highway and city driving.  It is rated at 19 city and 27 highway with the 3.5L engine and the six-speed manual transmission.  Not bad for a comfortable and fun car to drive with a useable trunk.                  

Column and photos provided by Rich Branch, EVP of Race Central