2025 Nissan Altima: Favorite and Least Favorite Features
The great SUV takeover of the 2020s means that there are only a couple of sedans left standing, and the Nissan Altima is one of them. Despite its established (and unflattering) Big Altima Energy reputation, the sedan is actually more well rounded than that nickname may suggest. I sampled its less internet-meme-worthy but more practical persona: mid-size family sedan.
Related: Big Altima Energy, Winter Edition: How Does the 2024 Nissan Altima AWD Do in Snow?
For 2025, the Altima lost its available variable-compression turbocharged engine and gained a new SV Special Edition Package that bundles exterior and interior styling tweaks with a few tech upgrades. I tested the SR trim with optional all-wheel drive and found that although there’s a lot about the Altima that’s just OK — from its forgettable road manners to its adequate controls — some things rose to the top, and some sank like a brick.
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Least Favorite Feature: The CVT
The Altima’s powertrain has a couple of strikes against it. First, it lost its more fun engine option; the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder is gone for 2025, making the sole engine a lazy, naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Output is at 188 horsepower and 180 pounds-feet of torque in front-drive variants; it drops to 182 hp and 178 pounds-feet with AWD.
On paper, the numbers look weak compared with sedan rivals such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry (the latter of which is now hybrid-only), and it’s confirmed in use, with the continuously variable automatic transmission bearing the blame. The Altima has all the gusto of my 14-year-old on an early Saturday morning; power is slow to spool up, and the feel and sound annoy with rubberband responsiveness and a coarse, complaining groan accompanying every tap of the accelerator pedal. As with other CVTs, it gets the engine to a certain rpm and then just keeps it there; the result is an awkward-feeling and unrefined-sounding trip.
My test SR trim has sporty aspirations, though, with steering-wheel paddle shifters that can mimic the shift feel of a conventional automatic transmission, but it’s not the same.
Favorite Feature: Safety Tech
If you’re drone-deaf and can lower your acceleration bar, you’ll be able to appreciate some things the Altima does well. My favorite feature is more of a combo: A number of safety attributes combine to make the Altima work well as a family car.
First, it’s well equipped. Nissan Safety Shield 360 is standard on all trims and includes forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, reverse automatic braking and automatic high beams. Nissan’s ProPilot Assist, which bundles adaptive cruise control and lane-centering steering, is included on the top SL trim level along with traffic-sign recognition and a 360-degree camera system.
The Altima also performed well in our Car Seat Check thanks to ample legroom and accessible lower anchors. Space-hogging rear-facing car seats were easy to install using the Latch anchors, which are body-color for excellent visibility and sit under a large flap that makes them easy to access. We had plenty of room to install two car seats in the backseat, and our 5-foot 6-inch front passenger’s legroom was not impacted.
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Lastly, families value, well, value. The Altima starts at $28,140 (all prices include destination), which is lower than the base price of the Camry ($29,535) or Accord ($29,390). AWD is available for an additional $1,500 on all but the base Altima S. AWD is also available on the Camry, but not the Accord.
The 2025 Altima might not offer the best of everything, but it’s definitely more of a bargain compared with more popular rivals such as the Accord and Camry. Although it has some attributes that I’d like to forget, it also has some that make it worth another look.
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