Platinum – All about car

2019 Nissan Altima 2.5 Platinum AWDJil McIntosh OVERVIEW A great reason to consider a sedan PROSA great driver, plus AWD on every trim CONSOut-there front end looks vulnerable to dings VALUE FOR MONEYExcellent for all that you get WHAT TO CHANGE?Add an easy-to-find door lock override; they only pop open when the ignition’s turned off HOW TO SPEC IT?The $31,498 SV would do it for me Car sales are down, sport-ute sales are up. That’s the new auto market reality, as Canadians increasingly move out of sedans and into crossovers and SUVs. But the sedan market isn’t dead yet, and several automakers have a recently sent all-new models into it. Nissan’s entry is its all-new 2019 Altima, and what a lifeline it’s thrown into the segment. This is the best sedan, and possibly the best vehicle overall, that I’ve driven in a long time. This sixth-generation version rides on an all-new platform that’s equipped for all-wheel drive. American buyers can buy a front-wheel version, but with AWD so popular up here – one of the reasons why sport-utes and crossovers do so well – all-wheel is standard equipment on every Altima trim level in Canada. Pricing starts at $27,998 for the base S model, with the SV at $31,498 and my tester, the Platinum, topping out at $34,998. For an extra $1,000, you can turn the Platinum into the Edition One, a trim package that adds unique wheels and exterior lighting, rear spoiler, illuminated kick plates, and embroidered floor mats. The engine is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder as before, but it’s new and with a very slight bump in power, making 182 horses and 178 lb.-ft. of torque. American buyers can also select a turbocharged 2.0L that delivers 248 horsepower, but so far, there are no plans for Canadians to see it. It would make for a sportier model, but then again, I think this sedan’s main market is one where fuel economy and comfortable commuting outweigh go-fast – and I’m also a fan of non-turbo engines, especially if you plan to keep your vehicle for a long time, simply because they’re less complicated and have fewer moving parts. The automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) is equally new, and it’s impressive. These can sometimes be noisy and feel rubbery on acceleration, but this one’s a great fit to the engine, and acceleration is quick and smooth. The Altima feels light and nimble, and it’s very pleasant to drive; the steering response is quick, and it takes curves and corners with precision. The all-wheel system sends all of its power to the front wheels under most driving conditions, but diverts 50 per cent to the rear wheels when you’re taking off from a stop, for better acceleration. On curves, a split of 70 per cent to the front and 30 per cent to the rear improves the car’s cornering ability. It’s a little different from the Subaru Legacy, which maintains a 60/40 split, but the Altima racks up slightly better fuel consumption numbers. The Altima’s sharp-crease styling gives it a handsome profile, and the rear is smartly-styled with sleek taillights, and a trunk that has a reasonable lift-over so it’s easy to pack in groceries and cargo. I’m still not stuck on that front end, though. Not only do I like to see a bit of bumper (or at least bumper-like) space under the grille, but beyond that, all that chromed plastic and honeycomb so far in front seems like it would be rather vulnerable in parking lot encounters. I have no complaints about the interior, which is equally sleek and handsome, save for the tablet-style infotainment screen that’s stuck to the dash. That’s common practice these days, and I suppose the benefits outweigh the tacked-on look – your eyes are up toward the road when you’re looking at the screen, and the dash itself can be lower, which improves visibility. I also really like the simplicity of the climate control buttons and dials, and hard buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel. Nissan’s “zero-gravity” seats are the ticket here, and they’re as comfortable and as supportive as they sound. There’s lots of legroom in both the front and rear seats, and while they don’t fold entirely flat, you can drop the rear seatbacks for some extra cargo capacity. All trim levels come with automatic headlamps, emergency front braking, eight-way power driver’s seat, satellite radio, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while the SV and up include blind spot monitoring, LED headlamps, sunroof, dual-zone climate control, auto-dimming mirror, and ProPilot Assist. At the Platinum level, you also get a 360-degree camera, leather upholstery, navigation, and premium audio. ProPilot is the company’s name for a collection of high-tech safety aids, including adaptive cruise control and lane centering, which you can use separately, or hit a button on the steering wheel to activate them together. When you do, they’ll keep a preset distance from the vehicle in front and stay in the lane. It’s not meant for
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Nissan Altima Platinum AWD

OVERVIEW Fashionable alternative to the typical mid-sized family crossover PROSWell contented, comfortable, stylish CONSLimited towing capability, smallish cargo area, limited rear-view visibility VALUE FOR MONEYGood WHAT TO CHANGE?An optional engine choice would be nice HOW TO SPEC IT?Murano SL AWD ($42,948) The mid-sized crossover/SUV segment is full of well-known nameplates: Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, Dodge Durango, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, to name a few. In all 15 or so models all fight for market share, and this field has grown in the past 12 months with additions such as the Volkswagen Atlas, Honda Passport, Subaru Ascent and Chevrolet Blazer (old name, new SUV). Oh, and let’s not forget the brand-new Hyundai/Kia twins as well — the Palisade and Telluride, respectively. Some of the aforementioned have three rows of seats; some have two. These are the workhorses of the entire SUV segment — the family vehicles, the haulers. They usually aren’t sexy; they’re not (with some exception) overpowered or overpriced. They just are. Which doesn’t mean they can’t be good looking or well equipped or, depending on your definition, borderline luxurious. As an example I offer Nissan’s Murano, specifically the topline Platinum edition being tested. The name has been familiar to Canadians since 2002; the third-generation model has been around since 2015, with the 2019 version receiving a mild exterior refresh — more pronounced V-motion’ grille, redesigned LED headlights and taillights, new LED fog lights, new wheel designs — and some interior enhancements. Personally, I’ve always liked the looks of the Murano, Nissan’s designers going the extra mile to make it distinctive and less boxy. OK, Gen 3 is a bit thick around the middle in profile, but it has a bold character line that ties it in with the flagship Maxima sedan. The downside to fashion over function is a big rear pillar that creates a significant blind spot. The mitigating factor is the Platinum’s standard Around View Monitor, which provides a virtual 360-degree scene of the crossover in bird’s-eye view through video processed by four cameras that display the composite footage on the screen. The powertrain for North American Muranos is the same as it’s been for the past 17 years, at least from a displacement perspective: a 3.5-litre V6 that puts out a solid but not class-leading 260 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. It’s mated to a continuously variable transmission that Nissan calls Xtronic. Except for the addition of a hybrid version in 2016 that lasted a single model year, Nissan has not offered any other engine/transmission combo since Day One. And as long as you’re just hauling people and maybe a small U-Haul trailer — the crossover’s maximum towing capability is a pitiful 1,500 pounds — acceleration is good enough, about eight seconds to reach 100 kilometres an hour. The other thing is that, while more manufacturers turn to turbocharged four-cylinders to power their rigs (Santa Fe, Edge, Mazda CX-9, Subaru Ascent, etc.), there is something to be said about the easy flow of power from a naturally aspirated six-cylinder. Though not particularly heavy, at least for a mid-sized crossover, the 1,836-kilogram Murano is a bit sluggish in the curves, particularly the steering, which is wooden moving off centre. The ride is comfortable, though, courtesy of the four-wheel independent suspension. The Murano is available in four trim levels — S, SV, SL and Platinum — the last with a long menu of features designed to keep you comfy, entertained and safe for just $45,998, a reasonable price considering. Does this make the Murano Platinum a competitor to one of the known luxury models — Lexus RX, for instance, or Nissan’s own upscale Infiniti QX50? Well, owners of those vehicles would likely say “definitely not.” Those contemplating a step up from the usual might counter with a “not so fast.” One of the 2019 Platinum model’s enhancements is new premium semi-aniline leather-appointed seats with diamond-quilted inserts and contrasting micro-piping trim for the seats, door armrests and centre console. The seats look terrific and are very comfortable. Another upgrade is the Platinum’s dark wood-tone trim finish — other versions get different finishes — that doesn’t really complement the tester’s black cabin. In addition, all 2019 Muranos come with Nissan’s rear door alert and intelligent driver alertness safety features, the latter “learning” each individual driver’s steering patterns and helping alert him/her when drowsy driving is detected. Actually, as a family vehicle, especially one operating in a congested city setting, the Murano is almost ridiculously equipped with safety, security and driver assistance technologies. Most fall under the banner of Safety Shield 360, a suite of advanced technologies that includes intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot warning, rear
Origin: SUV Review: 2019 Nissan Murano Platinum AWD