Well I checked out the 5spd Altima 3.5L the other day and thought it was pretty quick. So today I went over to another dealership to drive it again (nice day and was bored). This time they let me take it out on my own! I opened it up big time! I did a number of clutch drops at 4K rpm and the wheels spun a bit but no wheel hop at all! None! The low end torque is very nice for sure! Low speed cornering is great but high speed I found it a lil wobbly for sure. The gears are longer for sure as well. ie. 2nd goes to around 70 and third was well over 100. They are a bit longer than my 2k1 5spd max. I drove it for about 25mins and it got a lot of looks for sure since it is so new. Would I personally buy one? No. But if you wanted a car that is reasonably priced and you can live with the crap interior it is for you. The engine is so sweet! Again can't wait for the 6spd Max! When the aftermarket pulls up for this car it is going to be crazy fast!

 

nice sig

 

wow...remind me to only buy cars with 5 or less miles. 4K rpm drops....100mph...so much for not going over 4K rpms in the first 1000 miles.

 

I thought only rental cars were treated like that!

 

I feel sorry for the person who buys that "damaged" altima, sucks for them!!

 

someone will get suckered into buying them demo car.

 

I dont know about where you live, but down here the dealer uses any car on the lot?

 

i know that bmw has a demo car for each model .... why would a dealer want to let people test drive more than one car? so they can all get beat up

 

Its based on the car that you want down here, if you say, "I want to drive that one" they respond with, "no problem, ill get the key"

 

The sales guys at both dealerships said even the staff had been beating up on them. They had one demo 5spd 3.5L and as soon as one test driver would come back another was waiting to go out. The one I drove had 700miles on it already. I only opened up 4th to about 115 an there was tons of pull left...

 

the dealer usually let you drive whicheverone that you want to drive... overall it's possible that you are going to buy it... when I go test drive... they usually let me pick.. or show me what is out there.. and when I said... let's drive this one... they grab the key and off we go...

 

Same up here...I pointed to an IS I wanted to drive at a local Lexus dealer. The rep was like "alright, I'll be right back with the key."

 

Around here (Wisconsin) you can drive any car on the lot. I've gone test driving with my dad and some of his friends many times. I also recall this being the case when I was driving cars in Gilroy, CA.

Dont be so sure you're always buying a clean "new" car. Once my dad took a Toyota Tundra to 70mph and then realized the parking brake was on the whole time. He told the salesman but it didn't bother him much. A few weeks later he asked the salesman about it and they said they were able to sell the truck. I'm sure the new owner had no clue.

-Mwb90SE