2022 Nissan Altima Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Nissan Altima has come a long way since being introduced for the 1993 model year. The original Altima featured rather bland, softly rounded front and rear exterior styling that continued more or less unchanged for the second generation. Things changed drastically with the third-generation model, launched for the 2002 model year. It introduced a much sharper, decidedly sportier look. Nissan has continued to roll with that successful formula through the current, sixth-generation model.

The 2022 Nissan Altima is available in three trim levels in Canada: SE, SR Midnight Edition, and Platinum. Front and centre on every Altima is Nissan's hallmark V-Motion grille, which it shares with all other Nissan sedans and SUVs. The Altima features a low, wide stance, with tall doors, creased body lines, and a sharply sloped "floating" roofline. While we appreciate what Nissan is trying to do with the floating roof, we think it's unnecessary. After all, does anyone actually think the top is a separate piece of sheet metal that somehow isn't attached at the C-pillar? C'mon Nissan, enough with this already.

The SR Midnight Edition, which was our test car, is compelling. It includes a gloss black painted sport grille, LED fog lights, gloss black-painted 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a single panel moonroof, gloss black painted spoiler, Satin black Midnight Edition badge, black painted heated outside mirrors with LED turn signal indicators, heated front seats, and two-way power-lumbar for the driver's seat (the latter three, with the exception of the black mirror caps, being standard in Canada). Combined with the Altima's already sporty looks, the Midnight Edition package took things up a notch. In our opinion, it's one of the better "black-out" packages available today. Our test car was painted in Gun Metallic, a dark gray that blended well with the Midnight Package.

Highlights of the Altima's interior included comfortable Zero Gravity front seats, a well-laid-out instrument panel and centre stack with easy-to-read graphics, and high-quality materials that gave the Altima a premium feel. However, keep in mind that lower trims don't look and feel this nice. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for, so expect nicer material quality, fit, and finish as you move up the trim level ladder. Conversely, expect things to cheapen as you come back down to earth.

In Canada, the 2022 Nissan Altima comes with a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that produces power specs of 188 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. The 2.0-litre variable-compression turbocharged engine (VC-Turbo), unfortunately, is not sold in our market. However, there is a nice consolation prize: all-wheel drive is standard, which is highly unusual for a mainstream mid-size sedan. All 2022 Altimas round out the powertrain with Nissan's Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT). The sporty SR trim includes paddle shifters, but we think they're unnecessary on a mainstream midsize sedan as most people likely ignore them.

Performance was a mixed bag. Even with AWD, acceleration was mediocre, limited by the pedestrian engine. A fair amount of engine noise accompanied the uninspiring acceleration as the CVT struggled to get the car up to speed. Once underway, however, we were impressed with the Altima's road manners. The suspension is excellent, providing a smooth, composed, comfortable ride on any surface, undoubtedly owing to Nissan's Active Ride Control. We were also impressed by the level of quiet in the cabin, as bumps, rattles, and vibrations were entirely muted. Indeed, the Altima is one well-put-together car, offering Infiniti-like levels of refinement, if not strong performance.

As a bread-and-butter midsize sedan that primarily serves as a commuter car or a family hauler, the Nissan Altima competently covers the basics. It provides comfortable seating for four (five for short distances), easy-to-use controls, an accessible back seat, and a decent-sized trunk. Those same qualities make it popular with car rental fleets. Unfortunately, except for its exterior styling, the Altima doesn't really stand out from the crowd in any way.

Compared to its main competition—the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Hyundai Sonata—the Altima's dimensions fall somewhere in the middle. It's neither the longest (Accord) nor the shortest (Camry). It's neither the heaviest (Camry) nor the lightest (Sonata). It doesn't have the most passenger space (Accord) or the least (Camry). It doesn't offer the most (Sonata) or least (Camry) front headroom and legroom. At 437 litres, its trunk is smaller than the Accord or the Sonata but larger than the Camry. However, at just under 61 litres, the Altima has the largest fuel tank among the group, so there's that. Clearly, the Altima occupies a centrist position, not wandering too far left or right of the middle.

As competent as the Altima is, we have a couple of minor complaints. First, the rear shelf (the area behind the rear-seat passengers' heads, beneath the rear window) is very high. It compromises rear visibility, especially when sitting at a stop or moving forward. That makes it tough to keep an eye on what's going on behind you. The Altima's sloping roofline and high trunk combine to make seeing out the back a real challenge. It's less of a concern when backing up, as the rear camera display within the infotainment touchscreen provides a clear view of what's behind.

Also, when stuffing the trunk full of groceries, gear, or luggage, keep in mind that when closing the trunk lid, the metal bar supports will also come down and crush anything in their path. So, if you're planning a road trip with a trunk full of luggage, make sure to close the lid from time to time to make sure there's ample clearance, lest you need to unpack everything and start all over again.

All new Altimas sold in Canada in 2022 have a 7-inch advanced drive-assist display and an 8-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity (the latter with Google capability), Siri Eyes Free, hands-free text messaging assistant, SiriusXM satellite radio with a three-month trial subscription, and two USB ports. Navigation and connected services come in starting at SR along with remote engine start with intelligent climate control, and on the Platinum trim, the Altima comes with a nine-speaker Bose premium audio system.

The advanced drive-assist display offers a convenient way to handle text messages, stream audio via Bluetooth, view music information, monitor fuel economy, help with navigation, and more, all without having to remove your hands from the steering wheel.

Other available technologies include traffic sign recognition and an Around View Monitor, which employs four small cameras mounted on the front, sides, and rear of the car to provide a 360-degree bird's-eye-view of the Altima's surroundings.

Another available technology on the 2022 Altima is Nissan's ProPilot Assist system. ProPilot Assist can assist drivers with acceleration, steering, and braking tasks under certain driving conditions. The system uses a combination of cameras, radar, sensors, and an electronic control module to assist the driver in keeping their vehicle centred in its lane while maintaining a set speed or maintaining a certain distance behind the vehicle in front. ProPilot Assist can even bring the Altima to a complete stop, taking adaptive cruise control to the next level.

All of the car's tech worked flawlessly during our week of testing, accurately handling voice commands, playing nice with Apple CarPlay, and delivering quality, if not concert-level, sound through the audio system's six speakers.

Like most of its other car, truck, and SUV models, Nissan equips most versions of the 2022 Altima with a surprising level of standard safety features and technology. In particular, driver-assist tech. Indeed, standard driver aids on the 2022 Altima include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear automatic braking, and forward-collision warning. Every 2022 Altima also has automatic high-beam headlights, driver-attention warning, rear door alert, and hill-start assist.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the FWD version of the 2022 Nissan Altima that’s sold in the U.S. gets five stars (out of a possible five) for overall crash protection, as well as in each of the individual rating categories, including front crash protection, side crash protection, and rollover resistance. The NHTSA does not list separate results for the AWD version of the Altima, but if the scores for the FWD version are any indication, the Altima is one safe midsize sedan.

Likewise, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the 2022 Altima highly for crashworthiness, giving the car its coveted "Top Safety Pick+" designation. The Institute gave the Altima its highest-possible "Good" ratings in all six crash tests, including driver and front-passenger small overlap, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints and seats.

Concerning crash avoidance and mitigation, the IIHS gave the 2022 Altima an "Acceptable" rating for its headlights, a highest-possible "Superior" rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and an "Acceptable" rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention. Additionally, the Altima's child-seat anchors received the highest "Good+" rating.

The 2022 Nissan Altima ranges in price from $30,598 (not including the $1,830 destination fee) for the base SE trim to $36,498 for the top-of-the-line Platinum. Apart from extra-cost paint colours and accessories, pricing for this as a new vehicle is all-in with no packages available.

Pricing for the Altima is higher than its main competitors, including the Toyota Camry ($27,750), Honda Accord ($33,760), and Hyundai Sonata ($27,549), but only the Camry offers AWD at all and none offer it as standard. Other midsize car models worthy of consideration include the Kia K5 ($29,595) and the Subaru Legacy ($26,795), the latter of which does have standard AWD and undercuts the Altima on price.

Of course, there are other things to consider, such as fuel economy, quality, safety, reliability, and resale values. The Accord and the Camry have a clear advantage over the Altima in the latter category. One can chalk part of that up to the fact that Nissan sells a lot of Altimas to rental car fleets, which dilutes values as those cars tend to have high mileage and people tend to drive them like, well, rental cars. Also, consider that the Sonata ranked highest in its segment in the most recent J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study.

Our test car, a 2022 Altima SR Midnight Edition, has an MSRP of $33,198 (Canadian, estimated). Add on the optional SR floor mats, trunk mat, hideaway net, and dual trunk hooks, as well as interior accent lighting, and the total price comes to $34,055 before fees.

According to Natural Resources Canada, combined city/highway fuel consumption for the 2022 Altima is 9.1 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 6.5 on the highway, and 7.9 combined (add 0.2 L/100 km to each slot for the SR and Platinum trims). These numbers are right in line with the non-hybrid versions of the Altima's main competitors. However, the Accord, Camry, and Sonata are all available in hybrid form, returning anywhere from 4.9 to 5.5 L/100 km combined. If fuel efficiency is a primary purchase consideration, the Altima simply can't compete.

During our test of the Altima, we averaged 7.1 L/100 km in primarily four- and two-lane highway driving. Based on the Altima's nearly 61-litre fuel tank, this equates to a range of just over 850 kilometres on a single tank of gas.

Note: Images show a US model.