So says the Consumer Reports’ ratings of family sedans.
Basic and uplevel models of five family sedans were tested -- the Altima, the Kia Optima, the new Saturn Aura, the Pontiac G6, and the new Chrysler Sebring. There is a virtual tie between the Altima 3.55E and the Honda Accord V6.
Scores were different among among the four cylinder sedans tested, with the Volkswagen Passat 2.0T ranked just ahead of the Altima 2.55.
Both the V6 and four cylinder Optima received “Very Good” overall scores and the upscale Saturn Aura XR and the less expensive Aura XE also received “Very Good” overall scores. The Pontiac G6 and Chrysler Sebring received “Good” overall scores.
Of all the cars tested, Consumer Reports recommends only the Pontiac G6 GT. That's because it does not have reliability data on the Altima, Optima, Aura, and Sebring. So it could not recommend any one of those vehicles.
Our take? We have to admit we were a bit surprise at the Altima's placement. It sounds, though, that Nissan has finally excised its quality issues.
Via Consumer Affairs