2002 Nissan Altima 3.5 V6

14.7 @ 96

I saw a couple at the Motor Trend International Car Show in Tampa on Sunday, and they look like shit. They're cheap and plastic-y like a Ford. Motor Trend said the handling sucked, with not enough steering feel and too much torque steer. I was interested in one until I saw one in person and read all that stuff.

The new Maxima is supposed to run a 14.5 or so. It has 265HP and looks much better than the Altima. The interior was much better quality. Jamie and i actually liked the Maxima, but I think we'll stick to sports cars and wait for the 2004 RX8 in Spring 2003.

for the 2002 maxima you better take the taillights off a 2000-2001 SE max because its CF look instead of a cheap altezza look-alike.

14.7! That's crazy for a 4 door family car. I was looking at one last night, and I have to say I think it's a really nice car. Quicker then my sled now, allot quicker I have to admit, when I first saw one I was not crazy about it. Then I saw the fully loaded one I looked at last night and I have to say it's a beautiful car. The Maximas are nice too. I will have to look into the both of them some more.

MT is true. the handling is rough all over. the engine is rough.....everything.. I'm with 91vr4n00maxima go for the Max.. nice taillights and headlights... very neat

i like the headlights. i hate the 2002 taillights. the 00-01s for the SE model are nicer IMO

I have had some car dealer in town that has tried to race me on two different occasions in the 2002 Altima. I guess it is faster than most cars on the lot and he thought that he could surprise me in a grocery getter. He did not succeed, in fact he failed miserably

Altimas blow

I used to have a '94 altima, and it was really frustrating. They cut so many corners to try to keep the price down. The cabin was very uncomfortable, and the interior trim was all plastic, wood-look-alike. The car was pretty quick though, not 3/s quick, but not bad. And I did think it looked nice on the outside.

um go take a look at a 2002. first problem is you had a KA24DE motor. about 145-150 horse. the new 1 is 180 for the 2.5 and 240 for the 3.5

I have no doubt that the new one is much improved, and the performance is great, but I also have no doubt that they have cut corners in areas that aren't seen on first glance. This is however an ignorant opinion, I haven't looked at the 2002 at all. My last experience with Nissan was enough to add them to the list of cars that I won't even bother looking at.

i have a 2000 max SE 5 speed and the car is very well put together

I had a 1986 300ZX that went to 243,xxx miles before I murdered it (crashed). It was still running strong. When I am looking for another car, I will definetely be looking Nissan/Infiniti. I think the new Altima is great. It sets the bar in performance for all of the other manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, etc) if the car succeeds. That's a big if, though. I personally would go for the Max over the Altima, because fully loaded in each case, the Max is only $2k more. So, for that little more, you can get a 6-speed (vs 5), an extra 15 hp (The figure is actually quoted at 255hp), more room, and more luxury. But that's just my opinion. If my g/f turns out to be pregnant at the end of any of these months, then I'll most likely be driving around a Max pretty soon after that as my family sedan.

ShawnE94sL said:

14.7! That's crazy for a 4 door family car.

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m5's run 13's .....i know i know" :::straps back on helmet:::

Not the M3's I've raced. I'm 2-0 so far.

max

Maxima's got a lot of power for a family sedan, my mom's can get up and go! Really nice build quality too (2000 GXE), but the auto is a bit bothersome, stock tires...uh uh, and the suspension is soft. The SE's are nice though. I actually bought my 3000GT SL from a Nissan dealer last weekend up in City of Industry (Superior of Puente Hills if you know it......) and they had some of the new Altima's and Maxima's there....I was pretty impressed with the Maxima, the Altima has grown on me recently as well, but the interior of it...I don't know, it could be better. But the thing with the Altima is imagine all the cheap engine mods you can take off the new Z when it comes out, rated around 280 HP I think is the going number, with the same engine block. That's 40 HP right there that I'm sure would be pretty easy to tune up to.

Mazdas talking rotory miata in the very near future or so thats what has been in print.

Drew any pics of the 2004 RX8 in Spring 2003? Id really like to see some shots..call it wishful thinking I suppose.

i thought the new MAX had 255, and i liked the altima SE i thought it handled pretty well for a stock suspension. but then again i have my KYBAGX's on hard all the time and ground control coilovers are a good bit harsher than stock. so everything is smoother. if i wasn't getting a SE or SC frontier in the next month i would get the max but the alt is still pretty nice IMHO. but that all it is, my 2 cents.

Sceptor---go to http://www.mazdausa.com then go to "vehicles", then "future models", and you'll see the RX8 in its final form. We just got a letter from Mazda saying it would be for sale in Spring '03, but they'll start taking orders Dec '02. It's the exact same length, width, and height of the 2nd and 3rd gen RX7's with a similar weight (around 2800lbs), and it has 250HP n/a, versus 255HP twin turbo on a 3rd gen, and 160/205 n/a / single turbo on a 2nd gen. It has a 6 speed to keep the revs up high where they need to be, whereas the 3rd gens had a 5spd and an auto trans.

For modifying the Nissans, you need look no further than Stillen usually. He seems to have a thing for Nissans. At the SEMA show, there was already a new Altima that was done up by Stillen.