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2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid Road Test

There are certain things I'll never tire of. I'll never tire of vehicles that are

This is the most normal midsize hybrid currently in existence. That's a good thing. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

enjoyable to drive. Cars – and sport utility vehicles – that carve corners, accelerate with authority and cars that bring a smile to your face when you're just driving along. Another and completely unrelated thing I'll never tire of is new, cutting edge technology, like the sensation that you get when cruising along on electric power alone, or having a car's engine stop all by itself when it would otherwise be idling, only to wake up without delay when ready to go. I never thought that these two things would be united as one in a car, but lo and behold it exists in the Nissan Altima Hybrid.

Last summer, we here at the Midwest office were colored a particularly deep shade of impressed when we matched up the Altima Hybrid against the segment's benchmark, the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the budget Saturn Aura Green Line. The Altima stomped all over the Camry in terms of its performance and driving characteristics, and completely blew away the Aura Green Line in fuel economy and driving characteristics too. That said, we felt it necessary to reexamine the victor.

Relatively speaking, if you're out to use your car as a billboard for displaying your virtues to the environment, you may want to look at something other

This kW gauge is one of the few clues to the Altima's electric nature. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

than the Nissan Altima Hybrid. It looks no different than an Altima 2.5 S, wearing the same six-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels, the spoiler from the 2.5 SL, and a couple of easy to miss Hybrid badges, one on each front door and one on the decklid. But this minor message is countered by a pair of chrome-tipped tailpipes, usually a boastful sign to the power that's under the hood. Inside, it's your average, run of the mill Altima 2.5 S with heated cloth seats, a push-button starter, and a nice perforated leather wrapped steering wheel. Your only subtle hints to it being a hybrid are a slightly altered instrument cluster which has a kilowatt gauge for net horsepower in place of a tachometer, and the lack of a manual mode on the gear select lever. It's been replaced by “B” mode, which puts a priority on charging the battery.

I don't think that it's a coincidence that Nissan advertises the Altima Hybrid's performance because it's one of the quickest affordable hybrids around. Sure, the Lexus GS and LS hybrids will dust the Altima to 60, but these are cars that cost more than twice as much and have gasoline engines

Quick? There's no doubt that the Altima can hustle if asked. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

that are much larger in displacement and greater in cylinder count. In general, the standard, non-hybrid Altima 2.5 is a strong performer, and adding the Toyota-sourced hybrid drivetrain only helps to make it quicker and more immediate. Where some competitors like to advertise that their four-cylinder hybrids provide the power of a V6, few actually deliver. The Altima Hybrid, while not as quick as the V6 to 60 mph, will do it in the mid 7 second range.

Best of all is that the Altima Hybrid feels and drives like the regular Altima. The fact that both the Hybrid and the standard Altima wear the same regular Continental ContiPro tires, have CVT gearboxes, and feature oddly calibrated dual-pivot brake pedals means that some of the oddities new hybrid buyers might come across in a Camry or a Civic, aren't an issue with the Altima Hybrid. It also helps that the Altima is one of the best handling midsize sedans on the market, with its ultra-sharp speed sensitive steering and firm spring and damper setup. It corners with little roll, and because it features conventional

Inside, all's normal. Altima Hybrids are well equipped and comfortable. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

tires rather than those of the low-rolling resistance variety, it has more grip too. So, you can drive like an angel and get 35 mpg when you want to, but it's still willing to have some fun when you're in the mood for a bit of spirited driving.

But there's something that we weren't able to account for the last time the Altima Hybrid was in our hands – how it fares in colder climates. The big problem is that batteries don't like the cold. It causes the chemical reaction within the battery pack to slow down and become less efficient in charging and discharging. Battery life decreases more rapidly and the charging from regenerated braking isn't as effective either. And, with hybrids relying on their battery packs to provide the electrical assistance, you're going to be using the gasoline engine more. But this is only a thin slice of a bigger problem.

Hybrid's battery pack loses its strength when the temperature dips below freezing. The effect on performance is big. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

When hybrids first came out (think back to the Insight and first-gen Prius), if it was hot out you wouldn't benefit from the car's start and stop system if you used the air conditioning. While newer hybrids don't have this problem thanks to a separate, battery-driven compressor, they don't have electric heaters. Just like regular cars, they derive the heat that warms your cabin from the engine's warmed up coolant; the hotter you like it, the longer the engine needs to run to get things up to temperature. It also takes more energy to power high-demand electrical items such as the rear defroster and the heated seats, which also quickly flatten the battery and put more of a demand on the gasoline engine. This isn't a problem just with the Altima Hybrid, as all other hybrids are subject to the same drop in performance once the weather turns chilly. Once everything is nice and warm, the Altima's environment saving functionality returns.

During the first ten to fifteen minutes, it's not hard to see that the Altima Hybrid doesn't care much for the cold. The engine shakes and splutters itself to life from the idle stop, which after a while can grow on your nerves.

Trunk space shrinks due to the battery and the seats don't fold. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Another interesting winter-related issue that surfaced was starting on slippery surfaces in EV mode. Due to the torque delivery characteristics of electric motors (100-percent of its 199 lb-ft peak from 0 rpm), the slightest tap on the gas pedal causes the front wheels to spin round and round, until it eventually gains traction. Under these conditions, the Altima Hybrid's fuel economy is really no better than a standard, run of the mill four-cylinder midsize sedan, averaging about 23 mpg. Nevertheless, with almost 400 miles on the clock, my overall weekly average stood at a fairly impressive 30 mpg, not a huge ways off the 35 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway given the climate and temperature. During last year's comparison test, we averaged 35 mpg.

Fuel economy aside, the Altima Hybrid makes a pretty good case for itself in

The Altima delivers a remarkably natural feeling for a hybrid. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

that it isn't just a good hybrid vehicle, it's a good all-round vehicle. There are a couple of things you can do to ease the negative effects of winter on the Altima. If you've got a block heater, hook it up before heading out, or even better, if you've got a garage, park it inside. The cold start-up effects will be dramatically reduced. Also, making use of the heated seats to warm you up will prevent unnecessary load on the engine, and don't forget to turn that defroster off! You'll need to shell out a little more for the Hybrid compared to an equivalently equipped Altima 2.5 S too ($25,070 vs $22,730), and you can't get it with a sunroof, XM, leather or navigation. Plus, you'll need to give up a good chunk of your trunk space and the ability to fold down the rear seats. Other than that, Nissan has a convincing and well-rounded hybrid on its hands.

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