2019 Altima Platinum is a giant leap for Nissan's midsize sedan

[MUSIC] I've always thought of the Nissan Altima as an also ran. Like, nobody wants a Nissan Altima, you just kind of end up in one. Maybe you get a good deal or something like that. But as the sedan space shrinks and Nissan's competition distills down to the best in the biz, it's had to step its game up significantly, and step it up, it has. [INAUDIBLE] and go with me in this 2019 Nissan Ultima Edition 1 and I'll show you why I think it's a giant leap for Nissan kind. Let's hit the road. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] All right, let's now bury the lead here. The most interesting part of this new generation Nissan Altima lives in the engine bay. And that's where you'll find Nissan's two-liter VC turbo engine. Now, VC stands for variable compression. And that means this engine has a trick crankshaft and piston arms that allow it to vary its compression ratio. All the way from a very high compression, lean burning 14 to 1 ratio to more free flowing but high boost 8 to 1. And that means, this thing can go from being very efficient to being the very powerful in the blink of an eye. Now at the power end of that, you're looking at 248 horsepower, and 280 pound feet of torque. Which is about 60 more horsepower, and about 100 pound feet more than the base 2.5 liter engine. By the way, that 2.5 liter can now be had with all wheel drive, for the first time ever in the Altima. But, you can't get the all wheel drive system with the VC-Turbo, and that's a little disappointing But I'm not gonna complain too much about that now. At the other end with efficiency, you're looking at an EPA estimated at 29 miles per gallon combined for the 2019 Ultima. And everything around 27 and that's very believable number, that's only about three off from the base model. And much better than what the competition doing with their turbo charge or V6 engines. So we're looking really good there. [MUSIC] Now, the only transmission that you can get with the VZ Turbo is, Nissan's continuously variable Transmission. Now, before you scuff, [INAUDIBLE] signed as a really good job with programming their CVTs and this is no exception. It does a really good job of syncing up with a continuously variable engine. And they both seem to always be working together well. And when you're cruising it's very quiet and very smooth. But when you step on it, they both come alive at the same time and you get this sort of power that is very satisfying. Particularly off the line. Or where you're cruising around town. Now I wouldn't wanna take this engine on a track because when you really start to flog it the CVT does sort of get left behind. It starts doing this thing that a lot of CVTs do where it starts faking gear ratios, and things kind of fall apart. But in most situations I'm really liking What's happening here. Now, mated to that engine is a suspension setup that's also been approved for this generation, particularly at the rear end. The result is that this is a much better handling car. It goes around corners goes a lot better. The steering, though still really. Light and overboosted give you really good response in turning no. Overall is not as engaging as say a Mazda6 or a Honda Accord, but if you are looking for something a little bit more relaxed than those vehicles I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to you. Now the car around that performance is much improved it looks a whole lot better. Managing to sort of balance the approachable Altima look from before with some aggressive angles and that sharp deep V grill from the Nissan Maxima. It's a really sharp and modern-looking car that manages to not look as anonymous as some of the other things in this class. And those good looks continue into the cabin where we've got some really nice details, including this really nice looking fake wood. Now, that's not an oxymoron, good looking fake wood. It doesn't try to pretend like it's actually wood. Instead, it just looks really nice, and along with this sort of metal trim underneath it and the multi-tiered dashboard gives the whole thing Thing just a really clean modern look I like that. Another cool detail in the cabin are Nissan's zero gravity seats now I'll admit I don't actually know how they work or what makes them zero gravity but they're very well bolstered while still being comfortable for very long rides. Now in the center of the dashboard is Nissan's NissanConnect. Entertainment system. We've talked about this in a separate video, but the short story is that it's a really good system, but not perfect. Though the things that annoy me about it are very easy to get around with just a few tips. You want to check out the second video for more information on that. And finally, this is an Edition One Altima. What does that mean? Well, it's a limited edition They're only gonna be 36 hundred made. That builds on the platinum trim level with a couple of extra features. Most obviously, those 19 inch gray wheels. But what you can't see is the Addition One concierge service that lets you do things like get live help when getting tickets to the theater or setting up travel arrangements. It's something that I don't think a whole lot of Altima buyers are going to be doing. But if you get the Addition One. Three years of that service are built in. Now, when we're talking about technology, Nissan's ProPILOT Assist System is standard on the Platinum trim. So if you're interested in safety technology, you're gonna wanna look at those upper tiers. Now basically what ProPILOT Assist does is it takes all of Nissan's driver aid, Features. Everything from a very advanced lane-keeping steering-assist system, to adaptive cruise control that works in stop-and-go traffic, and features pedestrian detection. And it puts all that on one button. So you can tap one button to arm the system, and then set your speed, and it's all set and ready to go. Now, I've been joking about how nobody Really wants to drive an Ultima, but the fact is that Nissan sold over 250,000 of these things in 2017 alone. So they're already working with a pretty good formula, and with this 2019 model, they've managed to improve everything from the performance to the technology and the dashboard and in the safety systems, as well as the look and feel of this car. And I think that they've got a very strong competitor on their hands. Now of course the only thing you have to consider is price. The 2019 Nissan Altima starts at around $25,000 for the Base S model with the 2.5 liter and front wheel drive. All wheel drive will cost you extra. However this Edition 1 with the VC-Turbo and all the bells and whistles tops out the line at around $36,000. Still not bad considering all that you're getting. However, if like me, you're never going to use the concierge service you can save about $1000 by going with just a regular platinum model and you'll still have a handsome, very competitive midsize sedan that you might actually want to drive.