Nissan Altima 3.5SE

           

    

When figuring out which car I was going to pick for today's edition of Sleeper Sedans in the Morning, I nearly went for the Hyundai Sonata--after all, what could be a more startling under-the-radar speedster than a 235-horsepower Hyundai?--but opted instead for the Nissan Altima 3.5SE.

Yes, an Altima. The first-generation Altima was a stylistic and dynamic disaster, a heavier and uglier Sentra, with all of the automotive rightness of a 200,000-mile rental car. The second-generation Altima, however, was a revelation on its debut and more reminiscent of a trimmer Maxima than its Altima predecessor--a stiff chassis, attractive Passat-like styling, spacious interior, and torquey and bulletproof V-6.

It's that V-6 that really makes the Altima. Armed with an updated version of the terrific Nissan V-6, the Altima fired the opening salvo in the family-sedan horsepower wars in the early part

of this decade when it debuted with 240 horsepower--identical to the output of a late 1980s Corvette. the Altima is up to 270 horsepower now and, married to a manual transmission, can drop well into the 5-second range in the 0-60 sprint.

Even better than the numbers is the feel--the Nissan V-6 is a harder-edged performance powerplant, with a meatier torque curve, than the other V-6s in the marketplace can offer.

Despite its world-class pace, the Altima 3.5SE certainly qualifies as a sleeper. Even Altima owners very rarely realize what a stormer they own, blinded by the car's family-sedan space and practicality. Very few Altimas are used anywhere near their potential on the street and are far more likely to be seen on a grocery run than clipping apexes on a mountain road.

The Altima recently underwent a refresh, but I stuck with the photos of the version a couple years old because I think it looks just a touch cleaner. If anybody wants to see the most up-to-date version, you can go right to the source.

--Chris H.