It’s now three years since the L33 Nissan Altima, better known to us as the Nissan Teana, has been on sale in the United States, so in comes the facelift for the 2016 model year. Nissan’s stalwart D-segment sedan gets a heavily-revised look, an upgraded interior and several measures to improve refinement and handling; whether these will translate to the Teana or remain US-specific remains to be seen.
Outside, the Altima trades the old fluid, organic styling for a much harder-edged look inspired by the new Maxima. At the front, the previous hourglass-shaped “kamishimo” grille has been replaced by an imposing new V-Motion item, flanked by revised boomerang-shaped headlights – LED units with daytime running lights are available as an option.
To fit the new mask, the bonnet and front fenders have also been reshaped, with the former getting deeper definition across the top surface. The bumper is also new, with V-shaped lines flowing into the centre air intake, mirroring the large new grille. The selection of wheels has also increased with new machine-finished 17- and 18-inch alloys.
More big changes in store for the rear – the broader tail lights now cut into the bootlid, emphasising the width of the car, while the bumper gets a more aggressive look with a black diffuser-like insert. Together with the new active grille shutter, underfloor aero cover additions and revised windscreen, the redesign cuts the drag coefficient figure from 0.29 Cd to 0.26 Cd.
Step inside and you’ll find a new retrimmed centre console and transmission tunnel, although the switchgear itself appears to have been mostly carried over. The fabulous Zero Gravity front seats – which we also get in our Teana, and provide impressive support, even over long distances – remains standard on all models.
Engines and transmissions have been carried over unchanged from the outgoing model. In the US, the range starts with the familiar QR25DE 2.5 litre naturally-aspirated petrol four-pot delivering 182 hp and 244 Nm (ours makes a bit less, at 171 hp and 234 Nm).
Nissan quotes fuel consumption of 8.7 litres per 100 km in the city and 6.0 litres per 100 km on the highway – the latter is a 0.2 litre per 100 km improvement from before, thanks to the 10% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, a higher compression ratio (from 10.0:1 to 10.3:1), reduced internal engine friction and an optimised oil pump. Combined, 2.5 litre models achieve 7.6 litres per 100 km.
A step above that is the venerable VQ35DE 3.5 litre V6 that develops 270 hp and 340 Nm. Fuel consumption is rated at 10.7 litres per 100 km in the city, 7.4 litres per 100 km on the highway and 9.0 litres per 100 km combined. Whichever engine you choose, it’ll be mated to an Xtronic CVT, now with third-generation D-step Shift logic for a more responsive acceleration feel.
Under the new skin, there’s a revised structure that’s lighter than before, and makes increased use of high-strength steel, particularly around the A- and B-pillars. There’s also a new acoustic windscreen, added soundproofing, new engine mounts and a larger centre muffler for reduced NVH.
The chassis has also been upgraded with new shock absorbers, rear springs and bushings for more dynamic handling, while a remapped hydraulic power steering valve improves steering feedback and feel. The four-wheel disc brake system has also been recalibrated for improved stopping performance (especially in the wet), and brake feel has also been improved.
New for 2016 is a sportier SR variant for both 2.5 and 3.5 litre models, which adds smoked headlights, larger 18-inch wheels, a rear bootlid spoiler, blue interior stitching, paddle shifters for the seven virtual ratios and a more aggressive suspension setup with larger anti-roll bars and revised damping; the latter results in a more than 20% drop in body roll.
Safety-wise, the 2016 Altima adds a number of optional active safety features, including Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW), radar-based Blind Spot Warning (BSW) with Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) on SV and SL models, and Forward Emergency Braking (FEB) and Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) as part of the SL Tech Package.
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Hi Jonathan. Can you also give us a rough idea when it will be in Malaysia considering the current teana was just launched in 2014 and the fact that Nissan takes a while to launch new models.
Pls give us an estimate
We can’t; we’re not even sure if the updates will apply to our cars, since these far-reaching US-market facelifts tend to stay there (current ninth-generation Honda Civic sedan being a prime example).
Thank you Jonathan!
You won’t go wrong with sushi cars. Although Nissan RV is much less compared to Toyota/Honda, their cars are reliable that you DON’T have to change cars that often.
Are you sure? I check the RV, it is far better than Toyota. 1 year old Teana still selling for RM108k plus. New Car about RM120k. One year can jatuh RM10k quite normal
Camry 2.5, 1 year old already selling Rm100k, jatuh RM80k,
Camry 2.0G 1 year old selling RM98k. Jatuh about RM52k
That’s general opinion I suppose. And D segment is not really holding up it’s value really well. And the higher price it’s, the depreciation values seems to be higher.
OMG…Front – nice. Rear – still ugly. Interior – too simple and look boring.
Teana… The biggest among the Japanese trio of Camry, Accord and Teana! Very comfortable and spacious although r driving dynamic still go to Accord.
Still… I prefer the old name Cefiro.
Much much better looking now..
I think Nissan is one of the few car companies with no scandal. I am proud to be a Teana owner. I find it far superior ride and comfort compared to Accord or Camry. And cheaper. I bought my Teana 126k OTR (with Navigation and leather seats)
Why no mention of the superior Mazda6
Looks different, not necessarily better but it was a good looking car from the start, probably nissan needed to keep things fresh to keep up with the accord…
if it wuz my money id still go for d accord tho….cuz im still young n reckless….
ETCM shud start including active safety gizmos during the facelift launch….n NOT nearing the end of its lifecycle…
Still awful and ugly
Honda still the king of this D segment with good looking design and 5 years warranty and lowest maintenance cost among the d segment car.
Nissan can only beat them If:-
1) 10% cheaper than Honda.
2) Improve the existing L33 external look especially the back. (too curvy)
3) With 5 years warranty + free maintenance.
4) improve the existing 2.0 litre engine to twin CVTC. 2.0 liter.
The design of Honda Accord is fine but nothing special, it’s just more acceptable as compared to the pre-facelift Camry. I bet now it is loosing to the facelift Camry again in sales figure as Camry comes with better engine now. Malaysian will never change, it will always be Honda and Toyota. I will never buy another Accord as Honda has never improved the NVH part, still bad generation after generation. Teana on the other hand is way better here.
Engine performance is subjective, Teana feel show but the 0-100km/h timing is better than Accord in real drive test. Also the picture here doesn’t tell the whole story. Try check out the facelift Teana in YouTube HD video, it looks good.
Before facelift version looks better.
The facelift makes the car look more neat and tidy .. I hope it applies in Malaysia too and that too really fast…
Nissan car design is just plain weird and no no for.me..tis facelift makes it even.weirder
the colour also plays important factor
this blue colour looking very striking and with the yellowish signal light even at no use, it looks rather fantastic
the colour decision please leave to the artist to decide. if engineer decide then the colour isnt much attractive
CVT… no pls.
feel free to rage but I’d take Mazda 6
Interior to bland, 2016 facelift Accord does offer more. Advance styling and AppleCarPlay & Android Auto. But I think in terms of comfort, Teana better, feels more quite and suspension softer.