2007 Nissan Altima SE: Excellent Interior Design

Finally! Someone who appreciates simplicity!

Call me crazy (no, don't really), but I liked the 05-06 Altima's dash with the vertical vents. The current dash reminds me of a Grand Am. But hey, the materials quality and the fit and finish are spot on!

Sort of like the round vents myself, go figure. Just goes to show how subjective design is.
 
I think that this is one of the best looking interiors that Nissan has produced in a long while, and they still managed to keep things clean and user friendly while making it all look better.

A FWD mid-size family sedan isn't exactly near the top of my shopping list, and won't be for a long time, but if one was, I would definitely have the Altima as one of my options. That is a very nice interior layout, and since I spend most of my "car time" inside the car, the interior is obviously important. My fiancee and I were driving in her roommate's mid-90s Maxima, and we commented that interiors actually seemed to have gotten worse since then. The controls were simple and the materials were soft. Sure it had problems, but considering how far cars have come in every other way since then, interiors really seem to be lagging behind, so it is noticeable when a nice one like this comes along. Props to Nissan for this one.

@stovt001: I think i'd have to agree with you on the quality of interior, but mainly when it comes to nissan and american interiors. in an attempt to mimic the ever-increasingly tight, quality grain of soft-touch interior plastic like in recent hondas, toyotas, and yes, hyundai/kias, they have chosen to favor hard plastics with tighter grains in lieu of softer, more plain materials. Perhaps it cuts down on cost, I don't know. But regardless, my point is while I agree, I think that european cars and honda/toyota/hyundai/kia's interior materials, overall, have improved, again, with tighter, more attractive graining.

Ive only seen the interior of a base Altima coupe from the window so Im wondering how the materials and fit/finish fair against the high line Accord, Camry, Aura, and Fusion?

4classabconly, that is true to an extent, but the new Camry has been criticized for heavy cost cutting on interior materials, especially on this blog. On the other hand, the domestic manufacturers have made progress on their interiors. They're not class leading yet, but they are moving towards being competitive. I do agree though that the other cars you mentioned do have high quality interiors. However, on older cars you had very simple controls, soft vinyl, comfortable seats. "Good" interiors by today's standards haven't progressed much, or possibly even declined from the "good" interiors of yore.
 
We have cars making 40 miles per gallon, we have cars making 500+ hp, and we have excellent combinations of power and efficiency everywhere in between. Compare that to where we were only a few short years ago. In the same amount time, have interiors advanced nearly as much? I don't think so, but some examples, like this, are encouraging.

Good points; particularly agree in terms of panel gaps on the camry, but i found the material themselves to be quite good (save for things like the steering column plastic or the hard plastic lower portion of my new civic, which scratches quite easily :( ) controls have indeed only declined, seeing a case of form clearly overtaking function, or in some cases, not even : )

I was in my friend's 1997 Ford Taurus the other day and I was surprised to find that nearly every surface (except the hideous black bean shaped radio controls) was soft touch and squishy. However, there were pieces falling apart and the door handles were coming loose. I was still surprised to find more soft-touch surfaces than there are in my very modern Mazda 6.....I know that Mazda isn't known for it's material quality but only half of my dash is squishy, and the rest is hard plastic (well grained, but hard nonetheless). The entire interior of the Taurus (i.e, the entire door panel rather than just the top) is soft-touch. However, build quality in the 6 is top notch, so I guess the difference with interiors nowdays is that build quality is much better than before, even if the materials used are now more plastic and hard-edged.

In my 1970 Cutlass the dash is hard plastic with fake woodgrain trim, the wheel is hard plastic, and the controls are chromed cheap metal, but everything else is covered in soft colored vinyl that is still perfectly intact and vibrant nearly 40 years later. The controls are pretty darn simple too. 4 sliders - one for wipers, one for fan speed, one for temps, one for AC/fan/heater/defroster configuration. One pull knob for the lights, with the dimmer switch on the floor, one pull knob for emergency flashers, a stalk for the turn signal, a column shifter, and a radio with 6 preset buttons, a tuner knob, and a volume knob. That is a good interior. Granted as cars have more features, there need to be more controls. That's one reason I don't want my cars loaded with gadgets, because I don't want a cluttered interior. That is what impresses me about this interior. Even with all its features, including Nav, it is still clean and simple.

I have to say that I have been really impressed with the simple and thoughtful layout of the controls on the Altima. Mine has all the bells and whistles, yet they seem to all be easily operated with a bare minimum of controls. Some competitors with similar features confront the driver with a riot of switches, toggles, knobs, buttons and dials. Nissan got this one right. I find that I pretty much never use the voice commands - it's just not needed.
 
Jaeger

pretty much, the first time i got into my alti, i felt like i was at home. everything felt just right. (i am coming from a 2002 nissan, however). i went into my buddy's 02 altima a little bit later and was amazed on how much better the 07's interior is
 
my friend was also saying how she was in the new accord and how weird it was (too many radio buttons) inside compared to her 2.5SL

KISS baby, KISS.
 
That is why, although I haven't yet sat in one in person, the new Accord's interior is not KISS. Way, way too many buttons to be KISS.
 
The Altima's interior there looks nice. I will grant you Nissan did a great job with the Nav. Well executed.
 
Still and all, I won't be trading the XR in anytime soon, the misses has grown to absolutely love that car. For a woman who never needed extras before, now she won't drive a car without climate control and heated seats. The only time I get to drive it is when it needs gas. Yippee.

what does KISS mean? keep it sleek & simple? keep it super simple?
 
haha, amenities are nice, the butt warmers are a must have when you live in new england

I agree, but in San Diego?
 
Who is going to win, the Patriots or the Colts? The Chargers are slowly starting to look good, great trade for Chambers.
 
Everyone have a great weekend.

KISS = keep it simple, stupid
 
At least that's what I learned it meant growing up.

Go Colts!
 
Given a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest, duh), how would everyone rate the Altima's dash and controls?

8

AuraKR, its funny you said that about the numerous buttons of the Accord w/nav as it has 28. The last gen w/nav had 28 also but the execution of the last gen was a more simple design. 28 is a lot of buttons but at least they are well marked and ledgible unlike some cars.

i'm going to say patriots are going to win. of course i need to go with the hometown team!
 
i would give the alti dash an 8 as well. everything works well, is placed nicely. but it probably isn't the best out there, but it is the best i've used