2021 Nissan Altima SR VC-Turbo Review — Seeking Extra Raciness

2021 Nissan Altima SR FWD VC-Turbo

2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (236hp @ 5,600 rpm, 267 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm) Constantly-variable transmission, front-wheel drive 25 metropolis / 34 freeway / 29 mixed (EPA Score, MPG) Base Worth: $31,575 US As Examined: $32,905 US Costs embody $925 vacation spot cost in the USA. 2.0 turbo engine not accessible in Canada.

Simply then, they got here in sight of thirty or forty sporty crossovers that rise from that plain. Do you see over yonder, good friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.

Such is the lifetime of the sports-sedan fanatic as of late, tilting on the hulking windmills as we pray for a low, lithe vehicle with dealing with and energy aplenty – matched with an actual trunk. We ask for this stuff from automakers who’ve confirmed that when upon a time, such legendary creatures did certainly exist and did certainly transfer from showroom flooring in considerable numbers.

I’d hoped past hope that the 2021 Nissan Altima SR on these pages might need rekindled the previous four-door sportscar soul deep inside Nissan. See these “SR” letters? They appear awfully near the “SE-R” trim that graced generations of sporty Sentras and even an Altima method again when. “VC-Turbo,” too, hints at efficiency potential. Can this turbocharged sedan meet the more and more quixotic and depressingly small marketplace for three-box motors with verve?

In brief, no. The Altima VC-Turbo shouldn’t be a sports activities sedan. It’s a reputable midpriced household sedan with higher than common energy, however there may be nothing sporty about this car. That’s OK, actually – whereas I desire some all-around efficiency with my sedan, many extra folks shall be completely content material with a contact of additional energy on an otherwise-sedate cruiser. The Altima does the day by day driving factor simply high-quality, with good journey high quality and quiet, calm highway manners.

The engine is the star right here – we’ve talked concerning the variable-compression turbocharged 4, theoretically giving V6 efficiency with four-cylinder economic system. It principally succeeds – for a three-MPG-combined EPA penalty (29 mixed for the VC-Turbo versus 32 mixed for a front-drive 2.5-liter Altima) you get 48 extra horsepower and 87 lb-ft of torque. The torque determine is critical – this positively jumps off the road with gusto. Nissan persists with the CVT, nonetheless, which causes the engine to drone at regularly altering pitch whereas cruising on the interstate. Hopefully, now that the Pathfinder is reverting to a 9-speed computerized, the nice CVT experiment will start to wind down.

Styling is good-looking, however by this level within the product cycle, relatively acquainted. It would neither flip heads nor offend. The interior, equally, is generally bland – brightened a bit by orange stitching on the console, sprint, and steering wheel. The faux-carbon weave trim on locations just like the door panels is a bit garish, I’m afraid – however the seats are magical. Nissan has been placing some critically nice chairs of their mainstream merchandise of late. I’d say this is likely one of the best locations I’ve put my butt in a very long time.

My largest downside with this package deal? As common, it’s the price. $30,700 plus vacation spot charges provides an enormous engine in a midrange package deal – an identical SR trim with the lesser 2.5-liter 4 can be over 4 thousand {dollars} inexpensive. The VC-Turbo engine is barely accessible on this SR trim, with no actual choices to talk of save premium paint, flooring mats, and a spoiler. This premium-priced sedan has mid-level trim – it doesn’t supply Nissan’s wonderful ProPilot Help (adaptive cruise management and steering help), nor does it supply dual-zone local weather management, each of that are standard on the two.5SL at $29,990 plus D&D. Nor can the highly effective engine be fitted to the superb all-wheel-drive Altima – which is why you can’t get this within the AWD-only Canada market.

If we glance past Nissan at different opponents, it’s laborious to miss the 252 horses accessible within the Honda Accord Sport 2.0T. Sadly, the Accord’s handbook is not, however that car stays the real sports activities sedan I fell in love with a few years again. And if it’s energy you need, Toyota nonetheless affords a V6 within the Camry – 301 horses price! Each of the opponents have an actual computerized transmission, relatively than the fun-sapping CVT discovered within the Nissan.

Nissan, it appears, has a protracted custom of letting their engineers pursue new options and bringing them to market. Witness the SuperHICAS four-wheel steering of the Eighties and the CVT craze of the previous decade or so amongst many different flights of fancy best suited to CAD applications relatively than the inflexible Excel screens of the beancounters. The VC-Turbo engine is one other fascinating resolution, however I’m unsure it’s the fitting resolution right here within the Altima. The extra energy is good, however not for what it’s important to give as much as get that energy. The Nissan Altima VC-Turbo actually must be a significantly better sports activities sedan fighter than it’s within the tilt in opposition to the ever-present crossover menace.

[Images: © 2021 Chris Tonn]