Altimate Nissan; Looks, power satisfy Altima owners despite cheap details.(2003 Nissan Altima)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)

ON THE SURFACE, NISSAN'S LATEST RUN at the midsized sedan market looks bulletproof. A medley of European styling cues offers a design edge in a class where bland is benchmark.

``I have never had so many people ask me about my car in all my life,'' one owner said.

Underhood, the Altima keeps pace with Camrys, Accords and Passats on its buyers' shopping lists.

``The silky smooth 240-hp V6 has power to spare,'' said one owner. Indeed, an ample dose of low-end torque helped push the 3.5-liter model we tested from 0 to 60 mph in just above 6.3 seconds, one-tenth of a second faster than the Acura CL Type-S. Similarly, the quarter-mile took 14.85 seconds at 95.1 mph, roughly comparable to the Subaru Impreza WRX, which did it in 14.4 seconds at 93.6 mph.

Chassis performance, however, fell short. First off, the heavy though boosted power steering prevented front tire feel from getting to the steering wheel. Through the slalom, the back end felt like it wanted to come around. Its slow steering response made the car feel like it needed two steps to get around each cone-an initial setup after which the steering would catch up and the rest of the car would follow.

On freeways, however, it was nice to find the Altima produced little hop, even on the worst California surfaces. It was here steering performed well, with decent return-to-center and feel. Brakes worked well, too, with no sign of distress-no smell, pulsing or smoke-even after several aggressive runs.

We found the ...