Showing posts with label Nissan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nissan. Show all posts

Nissan Sentra 2013

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The 2013 Nissan Sentra makes its first play for conquest customers with completely revised sheetmetal. And, while the very general proportions have carried over from the sixth to this new seventh-generation Sentra the stubby, wide nose and abbreviated trunk lid are both familiar this new car looks very little like its sharply creased predecessor. If we're blunt, we don't care much for what the designers have done. The rounded, pugnacious front end gives the Sentra added visual height from the front view, while the high beltline and bulging character line do the same for the profile view.
In total, despite the fact that this Sentra is just a little bit lower and longer than the last model, it looks altogether more top-heavy. The new Sentra's ride quality was nearly as impressive as its noise, vibration and harshness tuning, as here again the Nissan made a passable impression of a larger, more expensive vehicle. Suspension compliance over potholes and such was excellent; the Sentra's primary ride was rarely upset by a cracked bit of asphalt or even some washboard-like sections we found on an unpaved back road. 2013 Nissan Sentra Interior.
In fact, whether we were just kicking back on the highway or pushing the car pretty hard on a fun road, the Sentra's suspension kept the wheels firmly planted on the road, with not much kickback in the steering or through the seats. the combination of Nissan's 1.8-liter four-cylinder and its revised continuously variable transmission hugely colors our impressions of the vehicle. The new engine is thoroughly more efficient and has a higher specific output than the old Sentra's 2.0-liter mill, though with just 130 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque it doesn't get the car moving with any sense of urgency. Nissan Sentra 2013 Engine.
Likewise, the CVT has been enhanced with a sub-planetary gear and smaller pulleys, aimed at better low-down response and improved high-speed fuel economy, but without doing much for driving satisfaction. We were able to snag a top-spec Sentra SL for this First Drive report, so we really did get the best that the model has to offer in terms of interior amenities and creature comforts. Adding the Leather (which also adds rear disc brakes, oddly), Premium and Navigation packages ensured that we wouldn't go without two-stage heated front seats, Bose audio, a 5.8-inch infotainment screen with backup camera, that powered sunroof and a few more odds and ends.
Overall the SL felt like a very complete, well-screwed-together cabin with respectable material quality as well as fit and finish (especially considering we had a pre-production model). Some noticeable detractors from the experience were the regrettable wood trim pieces on the center tunnel and the doors, as well as an overly large, thin-rimmed steering wheel that felt as if it were sized for a pickup rather than a compact car. Thankfully, we know that other Sentra trim levels do away with the wood bits the steering wheel is just something we'd have to live with.
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Nissan Altima 2013

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2013 Nissan Altima, introduced at the New York auto show, is being pitched into a mid-size family-sedan market that has never had as many new, competitive models. By the end of 2012, all of the traditional big sellers in the segment (Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, and Ford Fusion) will be either new-for-2013 or freshly launched in the last year or two. And that list doesn’t even include the vehicles that are newly relevant in the market, such as the Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, and Volkswagen Passat. And, for good measure, a new Mazda 6 will be on sale early next year.
Nissan, which is proud to point out that its 2012 Altima outsold everything but the Camry last year, will enter the market with an all-new car that sticks to the basic parameters of its proven formula. The new car rides on the same 109.3-inch wheelbase and grows only about an inch in overall length. It’s 1.3 inches wider than the outgoing car. It rides on a strut front and multilink rear suspension (although Nissan notes that the rear setup has been redesigned to improve handling prowess). Interior of Nissan Altima 2013.
It is powered, as it has been for years, by either a 2.5-liter inline-four or a 3.5-liter V-6, but now will be offered at least at launch only with a CVT automatic. (We had previously believed a manual would be available with either engine; this is looking unlikely for now or the future.) But that 2.5-liter gets a 7-hp bump to an estimated 182, while dropping 11 pounds of mass. A substantially reworked CVT (70 percent of its parts are new for a 40-percent reduction in internal friction) helps deliver an estimated 15-percent improvement in fuel economy when mated to the four-cylinder. Nissan Altima Engine.
It helps improve fuel economy by 10 percent when mated with the carry-over 270-hp V-6. The end result, estimates Nissan, is class-leading fuel efficiency of 27 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. That’s higher than Chevrolet’s light-hybrid Malibu Eco. The V-6 models are estimated to return 22/30 mpg, city/highway. Overall, the Altima sedan has dropped 79 pounds of curb weight, according to the company, which would make it one of the lightest in the class. The car certainly doesn’t look light, though. Its increased width and curvaceous, almost chunky, body makes it appear substantial.
The new look mixes stylistic elements from throughout the Nissan family: a little Infiniti G37 in its surfacing, some Maxima in its headlights and undulating flank, and, from the Ellure concept sedan shown at the 2010 Los Angeles auto show comes a big, chrome-framed grille. The body is stiffer thanks to greater use of high-strength steel, a new front strut-tower brace and additional structural support aft of the passenger cabin.
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