Altima flaunts new Nissan design language

Approaching the business of a mid-life upgrade with uncommon verve, Nissan has thrown away the old front-end of its mid-size Altima sedan for the 2016 model year and replaced it with an all-new presentation that reflects the latest corporate design language already seen in the likes of the new Murano SUV.

But while the new-look car you see here was revealed in the US, Nissan Australia – which has since December 2013 sourced the Altima from Thailand and bases its V8 Supercar program on the global medium sedan – says it has "no plans at this time" to import the upgraded model.

For the North American market – at least for now -- all of the Altima’s panels from the A-pillar forward are new, including the grille, bumper elements, mudguards, bonnet and lights, all of which have all been refashioned to promote new-generation Nissan themes.

Combined with a less ambitious rear-end design that includes  a new bumper, boot lid and refashioned “boomerang” tail-lights, the new-look Altima – if the photographs are an accurate representation – will enter 2016 with more style and flair, gaining improved aerodynamics as well.

The quoted aerodynamic drag figure drops from an already impressive 0.29 Cd on the current model by 10 per cent to just 0.26 Cd. This is the result of tweaking the shape of not just the front and rear ends, but also the addition of an active grille shutter, new under-body panels and a new windscreen.

New 17-inch and 18-inch machine-finish alloy wheels are part of the look for 2016 too.

Inside, the 2016 US Altima gets a revised instrument  panel with five-inch or seven-inch displays as well as re-shaped front seats, classy new trim materials, a new steering wheel design and more-generous centre console cup-holders.

Nissan Australia's Altima model hierarchy currently includes ST, ST-L, Ti-S variants, but it could eventually include a racier model along the lines of a new SR version that is being introduced in the US to tap into the burgeoning sportified-sedan market.

In the States, the sporty new SR comes with an integrated boot spoiler, LED headlights and a jazzed-up interior with touches of blue finish on the steering wheel, doors and seats, as well as paddle shifters and leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift lever.

Perhaps most importantly, the SR-spec Altima gets upgraded sports suspension with a claimed 12.5 per cent improvement in cornering power due to revisions such as a vastly-stiffer rear stabiliser bar.

Australia's Altima comes with the choice of a 127kW/230Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, or a muscular 183kW/312Nm 3.5-litre V6 – both driving through a CVT transmission.

Like everybody else contesting the mid-size sedan segment – apart from Toyota’s top-selling Camry and the Mazda6 – Nissan doesn’t rely too heavily on the Altima to boost its total sales.

So far this year the model has accounted for 1174 sales (virtually identical to its year-to-date efforts in 2014), which is similar to Hyundai’s i40/Sonata and only a bit better than Honda’s Accord and Holden’s Malibu.

In the US, the fifth-generation Altima last year notched up more than 335,000 sales, making it less popular than the Camry and Accord but out-selling the Ford Fusion/Mondeo.