2018 Nissan Altima Buying Guide | What you need to know about this midsize sedan

The Altima, Nissan's top-selling sedan, was for years its top-selling vehicle, until the Rogue drove it off its perch amid crossover mania. First introduced in 1992, the midsize sedan slots in-between the larger Maxima and the Sentra in Nissan's car lineup. It's built at Nissan's assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn.

Now at the end of its fifth generation, Nissan offers the 2018 Altima in four trim levels — S, SR, SV and SL — plus various option packages. For 2018, Nissan added safety features like automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning. Standard on all models are a 5-inch color display audio system with rear-view camera monitor, intelligent key access for all four doors, and voice recognition compatibility with Apple's Siri.

Know, too, that Nissan is prepping an all-new, more design-forward version of the Altima for 2019, with orders starting in the summer and the new models arriving in dealerships late in 2018.

With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether or not to buy the 2018 Nissan Altima. We'll touch on safety and reliability ratings, engine specs, horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing, and we'll conclude with a summary of Autoblog's most recent Altima test-drive.

As Nissan’s top-selling sedan, Altima sets a high standard in its class. For the 2018 model year, all Altima models include Nissan’s advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (I-FCW).

Nissan Altima safety ratingsThe 2018 Altima earns an overall five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency's top rating. NHTSA also gives the car five stars for frontal- and side-crash protection, and four of five stars for rollover crash protection.

It earns a "Top Safety Pick" award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which puts vehicles through its own array of crash tests. IIHS gives the 2018 Altima "good" marks in all crashworthiness metrics, but it rates its headlights — one of its newer areas of scrutiny — as merely "acceptable" and its child-seat LATCH anchors' ease of use as "marginal."

Be sure to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching, since ratings may differ for Altimas from other model years.Is the Nissan Altima reliable?J.D. Power most recently evaluated the 2017 Altima, which is largely the same car as the 2018 model. It gave the sedan four of five stars ("better than most") for overall quality, five stars ("among the best") for overall performance and design, and three stars ("about average") for predicted reliability. The Altima won high marks for its powertrain, transmission, and features and accessories but less-than-stellar marks for certain mechanical issues with both the powertrain and the body and interior.

Autoblog, we should note, has raised some concerns with how J.D. Power weighs serious and less-serious reliability issues. You can read about that here.

There have been no recalls of the 2018 Altima reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

As Nissan’s top-selling sedan, Altima sets a high standard in its class. For the 2018 model year, all Altima models include Nissan’s advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (I-FCW).

How much interior and cargo room does the Nissan Altima have?Headroom in the 2018 Altima is 40 inches in the front and 37.1 inches in the backseats, with 45 inches of leg room up front and 36.1 in back. Total cargo volume is 15.4 cubic feet.

Those head- and leg-room numbers are generally right in line with the 2018 Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla, two key competitors in its segment, though the Accord offers more cargo volume at 16.7 cubic feet.Nissan Altima engine specs and horsepowerNissan fits the 2018 Altima with a 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder engine that makes 179 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, down slightly from previous-year models. A more powerful option is the 3.5-liter V6, which makes 270 hp and 251 lb-ft of torque. It's available only on the top-of-the-line SL model. The only transmission choice for either engine is Nissan's Xtronic continuously-variable automatic.

As Nissan’s top-selling sedan, Altima sets a high standard in its class. For the 2018 model year, all Altima models include Nissan’s advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (I-FCW).

How fuel efficient is the 2018 Nissan Altima?The Altima's standard 2.5-liter engine delivers solid fuel economy: 27 miles per gallon in the city, 38 mpg on the highway and a combined 31 mpg. The sporty 2.5 SR is rated slightly differently, at 26 mpg city, 37 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined.

With the 3.5-liter V6, those numbers drop to 22 mpg city, 32 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined.How much does the Nissan Altima cost?The 2018 Nissan Altima 2.5 S starts at $24,145, including the $885 destination charge. Hop up to the 3.5 SL and the price starts at $34,515, including destination.Use Autoblog's Smart Car Buying program powered by TrueCar to search out competitive local pricing and savings on the 2018 Nissan Altima.

As Nissan’s top-selling sedan, Altima sets a high standard in its class. For the 2018 model year, all Altima models include Nissan’s advanced Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Intelligent Forward Collision Warning (I-FCW).

Autoblog Nissan Altima reviewAutoblog last reviewed the 2016 Altima after Nissan had added redesigned the front and rear ends, updated the interior, and re-engineered its suspension, which improved the handling.

Reviewer Brandon Turkus wrote that the Altima illustrates the shift many automakers are making from utilitarian, family-hauler sedans to something a bit more stylized. "The Altima's interior measurements remain identical while its looks are more assertive and its driving character is slightly improved," he writes. "If you're unsure about fully committing to one of those nouveau lifestyle sedans, the fence-straddling 2016 Altima is indeed worth a look."

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