Car Review: 2022 Altima SR Midnight Edition

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At one time, the Altima was Nissan’s best-selling model. That was until it was ousted by the Rogue when the crossover craze started. Heading into 2022, the Altima adds the SR Midnight Edition to the sixth-gen model that was introduced in 2019. The package adds, among other things, a gloss black grille, rear spoiler and door mirrors complete with turn signal repeaters, blacked-out badging, LED fog lights and attractive 19-inch wheels. The touches are subtle, but do serve to give this family sedan some needed curb appeal.

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The cabin is equally well-conceived and comes with the desirable amenities. First, there are the heated front seats and the long-distance comfort that provide — few pews are as cosseting on a boring stretch of highway! Equally appreciated is the heated steering wheel, which is part of the SR package. On a cold day, it gets toasty in a hurry.

Ahead of the driver is a seven-inch instrumentation screen with the eight-inch infotainment sitting to the right. The latter is on the small side by today’s standards, but it’s a snap to connect the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto apps. It also has a decent navigation system, but a barely-passable sound system — the Bose system found in the top-line Platinum is way better!

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The biggest nit is the door lock strategy. In order to get out the car, it has to be switched off, put in park, or manually unlocked. I used the latter because the other two options proved to be just too much hassle, especially when dropping someone off. Why not give the driver the ability to deactivate auto locking?

The rear seat is generous in its accommodations — two six-foot-plus riders will find plenty of head- and legroom in the outboard positions. The middle seat is a bust because the seat base is domed, the backrest is formed by the folding armrest and the central tunnel intrudes into the rider’s foot space. Behind that the trunk measures a useful 437-litres and it has split/folding seat backs. The downside is the car’s support bracing means the pass-through is about half the size of many competitors.

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While the SR Midnight Edition does not get Nissan’s full-zoot ProPilot Assist, it does get what’s needed including forward collision warning with auto braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert with auto braking and lane departure warning with keep assist. The latter is pervasive, so it will be switched off by many (me included) in spite of its benefits.

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Altima is powered by a single engine — a 2.5-litre four-cylinder that makes 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque. It drives all four wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). In this case, the CVT delivers a surprisingly palatable driving experience. Under normal to moderately aggressive acceleration, it runs up through eight “gears” in much the same way as a regular automatic meaning the engine does not scream at the driver to lift. Only under wide-open-throttle acceleration does it begin to drone. All in all, it is one of the better CVT examples.

Hidden on the back of the shifter lever is a small button that activates sport mode. When engaged it stretches the shift points, delivers more engine braking and makes the throttle sharper without being overly aggressive — for the bulk of the test it was engaged because it does good things without any real penalty. Sadly, it has to turned on every time!

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Altima’s Intelligent all-wheel-drive (AWD) system is smart. To conserve fuel, it powers the front wheels whenever possible, however, during cornering or under acceleration it begins to send up to 50 percent of the power rearward. It also helps to control oversteer and understeer. Should oversteer arise it limits the power flowing rearward; when understeer crops up it sends more power rearward to allow the front tires to focus on cornering. The inputs themselves may be small, but on a spirited drive it helps the overall balance and the manner in which the Altima points into a corner.

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The other plus is the all-wheel-drive system extracts very little penalty in terms of fuel economy. Officially, it is rated at 9.1 L/100 km and 6.7 L/100 km — the test yielded an average economy of 7.9 L/100 km.

The AWD system works in conjunction with Intelligent Trace Control, an extension of the stability control system. It looks at steering input and compares it to the vehicle’s path. When the two differ, the system dabs a brake(s) to bring the vehicle back into line. The combination works to give the Altima better than average cornering stability, and mainly because understeer only surfaces when real liberties are taken.

While the suspension is fairly basic in design it walks the right line — it controls body roll while remaining comfortable despite the low-profile P235/40R19 tires. Working in the background is Intelligent Ride Control. This system makes tiny changes to engine output to limit the unwanted pitching motion caused by a series of road ripples.

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From a practical perspective, the “porpoising” evident in many family sedans in not an issue in the Altima. This fore/aft pitching is so named because it resembles a porpoise cresting as it swims. The cause of this unsettling motion is a softer suspension that’s upset when it hits a series of road bumps or undulating pavement. Ironically, this problem has become an unexpected issue with the new breed of Formula One cars — true, it is for very different reasons and it rises to a significantly more serious level, but the pitching motion is disconcerting nonetheless.

The 2022 Nissan Altima SR Midnight Edition has a distinctive style and a pleasing cabin. It also has a solid all-wheel-drive system that puts the available grip to the best use. Altima’s ace, however, is the manner in which it handles. It blends comfort with agility as well, if not better, as anything in the segment.