Much has been made of the fact that many Americans now drive some form of light truck. Sales of SUVs, crossovers and pick-ups are closing in on 70 percent of US new vehicle sales. Yes, we have become a nation of truck drivers. But that doesn’t mean that cars no longer matter. They do, accounting for 6 million units a year in sales in the United States, of which one-third are mid-sized cars. (That’s 2 million units a year for the math adverse.)
This is why Nissan redesigned the Altima for 2019 with all-new platform and two new engines with all-wheel drive (AWD) or front-wheel drive. Given that the Subaru Legacy is the only other all-wheel drive mid-sized sedan, Nissan has a huge selling advantage in Northern climes. The $1,350 AWD option is available on all models, which include S, SR, SV, SL and Platinum trims. However, it’s only offered with the base engine, a direct injected 2.5-liter four-cylinder rated at 188 hp. Replacing the previous Altima’s 270-hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine on upper-level SR and Platinum models is the VC-Turbo, the world’s first production variable compression turbocharged engine. The 248-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged engine has been under development for two decades. It’s trick? It continuously raises or lowers the pistons’ reach, changing from 8:1 for high performance to 14:1 for high fuel efficiency. But it’s only offered with front-wheel drive, not all-wheel drive. Both engines mate to a continuously variable automatic transmission.