2021 Nissan Altima Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Nissan has established a strong family identity for its sedans and crossovers, starting with the bold V-Motion grille on the front of each model. The Altima wears a nice example, chrome on some trim levels and dark chrome on others, each tastefully adorned with the Nissan logo at centre.

The Altima’s overall shape and styling are attractive, with a sloping “coupe-like” roofline, rather than a notch-back, giving a sleek, aerodynamic look to its profile. The sheet metal tends more to folds than curves along the body side, which gives the body a taut, trim essence. There’s a lot of Altima hanging out ahead of the front wheels and behind the rear wheels—a mildly ungainly stance—and a short dash-to-axle distance in an age when the style is to push the wheels to the corners of the car. Perhaps this is why the Altima looks a little old-fashioned, though not exceptionally so. Modern features like standard LED lighting and 17-inch to 19-inch alloy wheels help keep the look acceptably contemporary.

On the Altima’s plus side, fit and finish are exceptional, with deep lustrous paint and rich chrome details. Six exterior colours are available for the Altima in Canada: White; Gray; Black; Red; Blue; and Orange. Of course, they’ve got funky names like “Super Black,” “Scarlet Ember Tintcoat,” and “Sunset Drift ChromaFlair,” and most colours are premium and cost an extra $300.

Inside the Altima, the dashboard is uncluttered and intelligently laid out. The standard 8-inch touchscreen display is mounted at the top of the centre stack—right where it should be for safety and convenience. The instrument panel is shrouded by a cowl, a very nice feature that makes it easy to read in sunlight while keeping glare from interfering with the driver’s view at night. The base Altima feels a little stripped-down, but as you move up the trim levels, interior materials improve, adding stitching to the dash and seats and better hand feel all around. It’s a real example of getting what you pay for.

In Canada, the Nissan Altima gets a perfectly respectable naturally aspirated (non-turbo) 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine with direct gasoline injection putting out specs of 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, connected to Nissan’s Xtronic CVT (continuously variable automatic transmission). More importantly, Nissan increases the value for Canadians by making all-wheel drive (AWD) standard equipment while most mainstream mid-size sedans in Canada stick exclusively to front-wheel drive (FWD). The AWD drivetrain is biased toward the front wheels but is capable of sending up to 50% of the torque to the rear wheels when needed. With this engine, fuel consumption ratings are 9.1 litres per 100 kilometres city/6.5 highway/7.9 combined in the base model, with the SR and Platinum grades using slightly more at a rating of 9.3 L/100 km city/6.7 highway/8.1 combined.

Nissan’s impressive VC-Turbo engine with variable compression is not offered in Altima in Canada as it’s packaged exclusively with FWD in the United States.

All Altima examples get four-wheel independent suspension (McPherson struts in front/multi-link rear) with stabilizer bars front and rear. The Altima electric-powered steering setup provides decent feedback and feel.

The Altima comes with Nissan’s much-praised Zero Gravity front seats, which live up to the hype. On a two-hour drive, the seats were kind to our ample posteriors, and they induced little discomfort or fatigue. A cross-country trip in an Altima would not be out of the question. Power adjustment and front seat heating are standard, while position memory and leather appointments are offered on the Platinum grade and a heated steering wheel is included in all but the base model.

The Altima’s front cabin has all of the storage and convenience features you’d expect in a modern family sedan. There’s a big glovebox, a big centre console storage bin beneath the centre armrest, two cupholders in the console, an open cubby at the bottom of the centre stack, and big door pockets. The second row also gets door pockets, and a pair of cupholders in the centre armrest when folded down, along with map pockets in the backs of the front seats.

The rear seats in the Altima are pleasantly roomy with headroom and legroom for two adults, and even three for a short ride—if the three are close friends. The second row folds flat in a 60/40 split to allow trunk access into the front cabin. The trunk on its own can swallow up to 436 litres of junk.

Nissan always does a good job of including basic tech features as standard equipment. Nissan Intelligent Key keyless entry with pushbutton start is standard on all models, along with remote engine start, Bluetooth, cruise control, rear-view camera, Siri Eyes Free, streaming audio/hands-free phone with Bluetooth and more. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.

In Canada, all Altimas get an 8-inch NissanConnect touchscreen infotainment system and a 7-inch advanced Drive-Assist display, two USB ports, two USB-C ports, and an aux input.

SiriusXM satellite radio is standard with a three-month subscription included on all but the base model. A Bose audio system is standard on the Platinum.

Nissan Door to Door Navigation with five-year trial access to Premium Traffic is standard on SR and Platinum. NissanConnect Services are included with a three-year trial to Select and a six-month trial access to Premium and Premium Plus packages on SR and Platinum. This includes services like WiFi hotspot, emergency crash notification, and more.

Safety is such a big concern for everyone that carmakers have branded their solutions to make sure we know what they offer. Nissan’s brand is “Nissan Safety Shield 360,” and it includes a comprehensive suite of active and passive driver-assist and safety features, standard on every Altima. Nissan Safety Shield 360 includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear automatic braking, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot warning, lane-departure warning, and high-beam assist.

ProPilot Assist is a suite of features on the Platinum grade to help out with highway driving. The driver is still required to remain alert while using this system, with both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. When used properly, ProPilot Assist can take a lot of the tension and stress out of highway driving and make your travel safer. It includes intelligent forward collision warning, intelligent lane intervention, traffic sign recognition, intelligent driver alertness, and adaptive cruise control that can keep a set distance from the car in front of you in traffic.

An Intelligent Around View Monitor is also available on Platinum. It’s designed to make parking easier by constructing a virtual composite 360-degree overhead view of your car, and uses sonar to detect objects in your path while parking, and gives you a visual warning before you make contact.

The 2021 Nissan Altima received a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and a Top Safety Pick + rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Pricing for the model year 2021 Nissan Altima starts at an MSRP of $29,498 for the SE grade. Nissan Altima SR models start at $31,998, and Platinum models start at $35,498 before fees and delivery charges and feature 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, around-view monitor, ProPilot Assist, leather seating appointments, and much more. For most drivers, the middle of the lineup SR would be a good choice.

If the Altima existed in a vacuum, it would be easy to recommend it as a great choice for a new vehicle, and its standard AWD in Canada is a definite bonus. But Altima must contend with the 800-lb gorillas of the mid-size sedan class, the Honda Accord (starting at $32,570) and the Toyota Camry (starting at $27,510). The new Kia K5 (starting at $29,595) replaces the Optima this year, and it appears to have the goods, too. And if AWD is a desire, it’s hard to overlook the Subaru Legacy, which starts at $26,795 and comes with standard AWD.

In many respects, all of these vehicles are very closely matched, which makes a definitive recommendation very challenging. For many, it will be a matter of taste and feel – how does the Altima feel when you sit in, when you drive it, and how does it make you feel when you look at it as a potential new car? If the 2021 Nissan Altima floats your boat, you’ll have a very pleasant cruise.