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It's the CVT's in their newer vehicles. Not to mention what they did to the pathfinder. Its horrendous! I'm currently leasing a 2012 Nissan Rogue SV and cant wait to turn it in. The cvt is horrible. Not all cvt's are bad though. I also drive a 2014 Honda Civic EX equipped with a cvt and its actually quite pleasant to drive.
On cold mornings the nissan sounds like a damn diesel due to the cvt keeping the revs high. It constantly sounds and feels as if its straining especially from a dead stop. On the highway its not too bad. The cvt in the honda is much more refined than that of Nissans.
I miss my 1989 240SX. Underpowered but fun to drive, until a Chevy Suburban hit me head on
Today my first impression when I think Nissan is overpriced. But I have never given the time to see if my impression is accurate or completely baseless. I guess I am lazy. My 2nd impression is CVT, which I have a bias against.
We have a 2001 Maxima that we drive everyday. When we bought it new the V-6 was rated the absolute best V-6 period.
We only have 70k miles on ours but you still can't hear or feel that engine run it is so smooth.
I have no idea why people dismiss Nissan perhaps the other foreign car companies have a better advertizing campaign.
After all it is all about perception.
Opinions of "internet experts" are generally meaningless so I don't pay attention.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deevel79
It's the CVT's in their newer vehicles. Not to mention what they did to the pathfinder. Its horrendous! I'm currently leasing a 2012 Nissan Rogue SV and cant wait to turn it in. The cvt is horrible. Not all cvt's are bad though. I also drive a 2014 Honda Civic EX equipped with a cvt and its actually quite pleasant to drive.
On cold mornings the nissan sounds like a damn diesel due to the cvt keeping the revs high. It constantly sounds and feels as if its straining especially from a dead stop. On the highway its not too bad. The cvt in the honda is much more refined than that of Nissans.
This is why we went with the Escape rather than a Forester or Rogue, the CVT.
I drove to Prescott, AZ, this past spring. I rented a Frontier from Enterprise. It was 4x4, 4-door, and v-6. Nice and comfortable. The trip is about 820 miles of highway and I've done it a lot. Frontier got about 18 mpg. That's about the same as the F-150 Ecoboost. The Silverado's and F-150's w/v-8's got 21 mpg. Plus, the full size trucks were quieter and more comfortable. I have also done the trip with a Titan and got about 17 mpg. I like the size of the Frontier, but mileage was disappointing. I don't think I'd ever consider one.
I drive an '05 Xterra, wife has an '07 Murano. Both have been very good cars, solid with no or minimial repairs. Both have about 150k, with no more than standard routine maintenance. The newer Nissans look (and are) nice. One thing about Nissans you don't see with Toyota or Honda...a little bit of style and class. The Altima is a much nicer looking car than the Camry or Accord, but I can't say what they are like to own or drive.
Back when Nissan was in what I considered their prime (late 80s to mid-late 90s), they were constantly competing in the shadow of Toyota and Honda (also in their prime at the time). I personally owned 3 Sentras and had a stint with my mom's old Altima. My mother also had a 1987 Sentra that retired with 290K on it. I had great experiences with Nissan, but since they partnered wtih Renault there's been a change in their brand philosophy.
They tried to revive the Sentra SE-R but failed. The QR25 engine just wasn't as tuneable as the previous SR20, the car was heavier, and not nearly as tossable. The Maxima slowly transformed through the mid-2000s, from a sports sedan with an optional manual tranny to a bloated competitor of the Avalon. They scrapped manual transmissions from both the Sentra and Altima completely, and the only option is a CVT that's had numerous failures. Nissan's best days are behind them, in terms of reliability and fun. My '93 Sentra had the GA16DE engine and, at idle, was quiet as a sewing machine. Literally one of the quietest idling engines I've ever heard given its size. Very reliable and easy to work on, too.
Do Altimas have the CVT? What year did it become standard in the Altima? What does it look like from the drivers' seat? The same PNRD21 lever, or something different?
Nissans are perfectly acceptable vehicles. The sports cars are good and interesting. But overall Nissan hasn't done anything noteworthy in some time. The Titan is at least five years overdue for an update. The Frontier and Xterra haven't changed in a very long time. They finally updated the Pathfinder - now a CUV.
My problem with Nissan right now is that most of the new ones are all overdone styling wise. Best example is the Juke. The Maxima is too curvy - it is trying too hard to look good. Just like the Infiniti cars now. The Murano is ugh - and possibly no uglier vehicle than the Murano convertible.
The Sentra is outclassed by many. The Versa is just ok. The Rogue is invisible.
Nissan hasn't done anything interesting engine-wise in ages (except the GT-R).
I am another who despises the CVT in the Nissans. Infiniti has only started to use CVT recently, 2013, IIRC. The quality of the materials in the lower-end Nissans also tends to lag behind the competition.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
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