Used 2022 Nissan Altima

The 2022 Nissan Altima is something of a middling midsize sedan. It has a few strong points, but can’t quite compete with the class leaders in all areas.

There’s a lot that’s agreeable and pleasant. The interior and exterior designs, for example. We can imagine some buyers preferring an Altima over a Honda Accord or Kia K5 because of outward appearances.

Or maybe they have a great relationship with a local Nissan dealer. There’s also the question of cost.

A new Nissan Altima starts out more affordable than an equivalent Accord. But once resale values are factored in, as well as comparing equipment levels, the Accord proves yet again why it’s a top choice. The Altima doesn’t even make Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration available until the next trim up.

This generation of Altima (the sixth) is still relatively fresh, having debuted for the 2019 model year. It’s built in the United States. One particular thing in its favor is that the Altima offers all-wheel drive, which is rare for the class.

Let’s gloss over the front-drive-only S trim, as there’s not much that’s remarkable about 180 horsepower going just to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

For most people, a CVT is just another automatic transmission. For those who like to be a little more involved in their driving, it’s a continual disappointment, slow to respond and with an occasional “rubbery” feel. That said, Nissan has engineered its CVT offerings to be about as good as possible. Which is fortunate, because there’s one in every 2022 Altima.

Things become much more interesting in the SV trim. Same engine and transmission, sure, but this is where Active Ride Control and Intelligent Trace Control come in.

Active Ride Control can make subtle adjustments through braking and power attenuation to optimize ride comfort, and lessen the effect of those washboard road surfaces. Intelligent Trace Control can apply subtle braking to individual wheels to help the car steer around corners. It’s what might be called brake-based torque vectoring in other cars.

Although it’s front-drive only, the biggest attraction under the Altima’s hood is the 2.0-liter VC-T engine offered at the SR level. This turbocharged unit creates 248 horsepower (with premium gas), enough muscle for some serious fun. So we’re glad that Nissan was moved to fit a sport-tuned suspension to this model as well.

The dashboard is pleasant enough, with user-friendly controls and a similarly easy infotainment system. All of the materials are acceptable in quality, with some that are actually quite nice. If this all seems a tad uninspired, well, we’re just reporting what we see.

There’s more enthusiasm for the front seats, though. They’re wonderfully comfortable, well-shaped and supportive — as good as anything in this class.

Rear passenger space is unimpressive: 36.9 inches of headroom and 35.2 inches of legroom. Compare with the Honda Accord, which just about pips the Altima for rear headroom (37.3 inches) but is emphatically victorious with 40.4 inches of legroom in the back. Trunk space of 15.4 cubic feet is also noticeably smaller than the Accord’s.

On the admittedly less-than-crucial subject of interesting-looking midsize sedans, we would argue that the Kia K5 has it all sewn up. But the 2022 Altima makes an effort, especially with the rear pillar treatment giving the impression that the roof is a separate piece.

The SR tries a little harder with its dark chrome V-shaped grille, but really adds some extra interest with the gloss black grille, spoiler, 19-inch wheels, and side mirror housings that all come with the new-for-2022 Midnight Edition package.

ADVANCED DRIVE ASSIST DISPLAY
This is another standard feature coming in at the one-up-from-base SV trim. It’s a digital driver information screen, measuring 7 inches on the diagonal, and taking the place of a conventional instrument cluster.

VC-T ENGINE
The T stands for turbocharged; VC means variable compression. That’s quite a feat of engineering, since most engines have fixed compression. The upshot is that this unit can be as fuel-efficient as possible under light loads, while still packing the ability to deliver thrilling power when the throttle pedal is pushed to the carpet.

The base S trim of the 2022 Altima range is a bit too basic. It comes with 16-inch steel wheels, halogen headlights, manual air conditioning, cloth upholstery, AM/FM radio, one USB-A port, and six speakers.

Looking on the brighter side, it also has forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, automatic high beams, lane-departure warning, keyless entry/ignition, Bluetooth, voice control, and a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen.

For an extra $1,000, we’d prefer to look at the next-up SV trim. The bargain of the range, this version has 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, Active Ride Control, 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, 8-inch touchscreen, USB-C port up front, two rear USB ports (one A, one C), Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, satellite radio, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, rear automatic braking, and rear parking sensors.

SV is also eligible for all-wheel drive. The S is not, but it does offer those extra driver aids, plus 17-inch alloy wheels.

Another major consideration for the SV is a trim-specific Premium package adding features like a single-pane moonroof, heated side mirror with LED turn signals, heated front seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, electronic parking brake with auto-hold, and adaptive cruise control.

SR comes with the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, plus a sport suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels, sport front seats, and paddle shifters. The SR 2.0 VC-T swaps in the more powerful engine, then adds a single-pane moonroof, heated side mirrors with LED turn signals, heated front seats, and active noise cancellation.

A Midnight Edition package for the SR is mostly a lot of exterior elements in black, plus the moonroof and LED fog lights.

SL brings back 17-inch alloy wheels, while dispensing with the sport suspension, sport seats, and paddle shifters. This trim follows more of a luxury formula, installing convenience features like a remote start/intelligent dual-zone climate control function, leather seating surfaces, LED fog lights, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, road sign recognition, navigation, and a 9-speaker Bose audio system. This trim loses the 4-way power-adjustable front passenger seat for 2022 — that’s now part of the Platinum trim’s inventory.

Platinum has all-wheel drive as standard, along with 19-inch alloy wheels, memory settings for the driver’s seat and mirror, interior accent lighting, self-dimming rearview mirror, universal garage door opener, and a 360-degree camera system.

Splash guards and 20-color interior accent lighting are optional across the entire 2022 Altima range. Every trim from the SV and up also qualifies for premium paint and a rear spoiler.

Most variants in the 2022 Altima range have a naturally aspirated (no turbochargers or the like) 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine running on regular gasoline. With front-wheel drive (FWD) in the mix, output is 188 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque. Stir in all-wheel drive (AWD) and those figures dip to 182 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque.

The sportiest Nissan Altima, the SR 2.0 VC-T, does have a turbocharger, which is bolted to a completely different engine. This one is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder unit with variable compression (hence the VC in the name) developing 248 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. That’s on premium gasoline. Fill up this car with regular and the best it can do would be 236 horsepower and 276 lb-ft of torque. Just the front wheels receive drive with this engine.

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is employed with both engines.

These fuel economy estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pertain to 2021, but we don’t anticipate any changes for 2022.

2.5-liter inline-4
188 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
180 lb-ft of torque @ 3,600 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 28/39 mpg (FWD), 27/37 mpg (FWD SR), 26/36 mpg (AWD SV, AWD SL), 25/35 mpg (AWD SR, Platinum)

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (SR 2.0 VC-T)
248 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
273 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 25/34 mpg