As the saying goes, everything has its price, and that includes the 2018 Nissan Altima. Nissan has trimmed last year?s seven-model Altima lineup to five, ditching the base car as well as, at the other end of the spectrum, the V-6?powered 3.5 SR. The five Altima trim levels that remain haven?t changed much, but automated emergency braking and forward-collision warning have been made standard on all models, while the top-level 3.5 SL gets standard adaptive cruise control and NissanConnect, which includes navigation, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto.
With the base model gone, we expected the prices to rise at least a little for models powered by the 179-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder/continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) combo. The new base model, the 2.5S, starts at $24,025, only $240 more than the outgoing base Altima. At $25,085, the jazzier-looking 2.5 SR is actually priced $270 less than last year’s model and gets smoked headlight and taillight housings, fog lights, a decklid spoiler, a power driver?s seat, manual shifting capability for the CVT, paddle shifters, leather on the steering wheel and the gearshifter, sport-themed trim, a tweaked suspension, and special 18-inch wheels.
Next up, at $26,670, is the more feature-laden 2.5 SV, which includes adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The leather-lined 2.5 SL and 3.5 SL follow and also come standard with a 7.0-inch touchscreen with navig...