As promised, Nissan has given its midsize Altima at least one more model year with the 2027 example. This could very well be the last model year for the model that’s been on sale since 1992 (and even longer when including its direct predecessor, the Stanza). Even if it isn’t, the end is definitely near for the sedan.
With that in mind, it’s not entirely surprising that Nissan has thinned out the model for this year, though it’s a little sad the car may go out with a whimper.
It’s A Little More Expensive With Fewer Trims
Nissan changed two main things for the 2027 Altima, and neither are great. Firstly, it dropped the all-wheel-drive option for the base SV trim, meaning that you have to opt for the top-level SR to get rear-driven wheels. Secondly, it raised the price by $210 across the board, and it didn’t include any extra equipment for the cost. As such, the base Altima SV now starts at $27,790, or $29,065 with the unchanged $1,275 destination charge. The rest of the lineup’s pricing is below.
2027 Nissan Altima from the rear three-quarter angleNissan
While it’s a bit disappointing that Nissan didn’t include an extra standard feature or two for the price increase, it’s at least not as large of an increase as that for one of the Altima’s key rivals, the Toyota Camry. Toyota raised the price of its family sedan by $700, and it didn’t add anything either. Plus, if you were already considering a higher trim Altima and possibly adding all-wheel drive, that feature is the same $1,500 extra as it was last year.
Dig deeper into the feature set, and you’ll also find a few other strange changes to the Altima. Many of the premium options that were available for the SR trim have been dropped. If you want leather upholstery, heated front seats, a sunroof, and dual-zone automatic climate control, among others, you’ll need to stick with the SV trim and add them to that.
This is despite the fact that the SR, in addition to getting sportier suspension tuning, is a more expensive and better-equipped Altima trim, adding 19-inch wheels, a larger 12.3-inch infotainment screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a wireless phone charger. So check the available features closely if you’re seriously looking at buying an Altima.
What Happens When The Altima Is Gone?
A few months ago, Nissan’s head of product planning for the US, Ponz Pandikuthira, confirmed that the Altima will be discontinued in the near future. He didn’t say exactly when the end would be, but since other Nissan representatives confirmed this 2027 model year would arrive, it will certainly be sometime after the model year. Since the 2027 examples are on their way now, we’ve reached out to Nissan representatives for confirmation as to whether this is the final year, and this was the reply:
“The Nissan Altima remains an important part of our lineup and continues to meet the needs of sedan buyers today. We continue to invest in and evolve our portfolio, and we don’t have anything further to share at this time.” —Nissan representative
In other words, Nissan isn’t ready to say whether 2027 is the actual end.
Even if there’s yet one more year left, Nissan will drop the model, and it has a few reasons to do so. Sales have been slipping, and a number of models are outselling it this year, even the Frontier pickup truck. Nissan is also preparing a big push into SUVs, and it will need production capacity for them. Some of that will likely come from shutting down the Altima line at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi plant. Not only would there be capacity, but Nissan already builds the Frontier there, and the new SUVs will be using a platform shared with the next-generation pickup truck.
Even though the Altima’s sales aren’t what they once were, Nissan does sell tens of thousands of them a year. Pandikuthira said that the Sentra will help bridge the gap. It’s smaller and not as powerful, but does offer quite a bit of value and can be well-equipped.
2027 Nissan Altima interior photo showing the dashboardNissan
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
It’s sad to see long-running models and nameplates go away, especially without much recognition. However, Nissan is probably making the right move. Altima sales have been dropping, and it would need a full redesign to stay competitive in a segment that isn’t growing much.
So, instead, it’s going to focus on investing in more-profitable, and potentially better-selling SUVs, which is exactly what the struggling company needs to turn around.
