Shortly after the all-new Altima sedan bowed last year, word came a hybrid model would join the mix. As Nissan puts it, the gas/electric model “offers all the style, convenience, comfort, quality feel and performance technology features and highlights of the best-selling fourth-generation Altima Sedan – while offering the added benefits of improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.” We couldn’t have said it any better. Like all ’08 Altimas, the Hybrid variant is built on Nissan’s ‘D’ platform, which the automaker says is designed to make the sedan one of the best performing front-wheel drivers in the world. Built in Smyrna, Tennessee, the Hybrid uses the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder as the regular Altima, but adds an electric motor/generator, a Nickel Metal Hydride battery and a hybrid management system. The AC motor can deliver 40 hp (assisted power) and 199 lb-ft of torque between zero and 1,500 rpm. Mated to a specific electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission, the Altima Hybrid delivers a miserly city/highway fuel economy rating of 5.6/5.9 litre/100 km (50/48 mpg), though, like many hybrids, the trunk shrinks 85-litres to accommodate the battery. Because the Altima Hybrid can shut its gas engine off at a stop, it’s considered an Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) too.
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September-October
Nissan Altima Hybrid
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