First Drive Review
The difference between this new 2007 Altima and its 2001-2006 forebear is subtle, a mild injection of aggression into an already attractive car. Major change in the Altima wasn't necessary, as the previous-generation Altima was Nissan's best-selling car, named North American Car of the Year in 2002, and it rose to fourth best-selling car in the United States.
Dimensionally, the car is only minutely changed, shrinking in length and wheelbase by 2.5 and 0.9 inches respectively. Width grows by 0.3 inch and height remains unchanged. The new Altima only outweighs the previous generation by about 100 pounds.
One of the most obvious visual cues that this is not the previous generation car is Nissan's new family identifier "T-grille," which cuts a small section out of the top of the bumper and drops the center of the grille a few inches in the middle. New Buck Rogers-style taillights, a sharper body-side crease, and more aggressive fender flares finish the tweaks to the old look.
