LOOKS

Nissan has never been about flash; they’re about utility and what you can do with the vehicle; In the case of the Altima, it’s actually very roomy for a midsize sedan, even in the back seat, so you can fit the family in it comfortably. Packing in lots of bags plus the family might mean a bigger vehicle (like the Nissan Murano or Pathfnder) is needed, but as far as getting everyone from place to place, the Altima is more than adequate even for families.

Materials used inside the vehicle are mostly very basic and not overly fancy, but much of that is by design. The price is lower so they can keep more customer at reach.

If you go up trim levels, you can get some upscale features like a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats and leather-appointed seats.

Sometimes, simple is good -- so long as it doesn’t venture down into the “cheap-looking” category, and the Altima doesn’t do that. The exterior of the Altima is attractive from the sides, and I like the new grille design.

ENGINE, HORSEPOWER

My test vehicle had the lesser power plant offered: A 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine with a CVT automatic transmission; and 182 horsepower. Nissan also offers the Altima with a V6 and 270 max horsepower.

While I wasn’t going to win any races with the power I had, overall I still enjoyed my time in the Altima. With the size of this vehicle and light weight, there’s plenty of zip in it. There’s also a sportier trim level offered called SR that will improve your driving impressions.

One issue you might run into with the Altima is that the amount of road noise is a bit more than expected, but I wouldn’t call it a deal-breaker.

TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY

Among the safety features touted on the Altima is the optional Predictive Forward Collision Warning, which isn’t available on most competitors; Other options include Rear Cross Traffic Alert; Blind Spot Warning ;Tire Pressure Monitoring System; Forward Emergency Braking; Intelligent Cruise Control; NissanConnect with Navigation; voice recognition for Navigation and Audio, Automatic Collision Notification, Remote Start via your phone, and more. For a lower-price sedan, there’s a lot of options on the tech and safety fronts that aren’t always there in other sedans, which is a key thing for Nissan.

MPG
This is perhaps the biggest selling point of the Altima -- 39 mpg on the highway; 27 in the city; 31 combined. If you’re a highway driver most often, this tops all the competition. With numbers like that, on a vehicle that’s not even a hybrid, you will gain some fans immediately.

To put it in perspective; a full tank will take up upwards of 550 miles, so most days you can wave hello to the gas station as you drive by (and really, is anyone a fan of stopping for gas? I’m gonna guess no.)

If you go with the V6 engine, you’ll end up with a max mpg rate of 32 (still not a bad number), but get more power as a tradeoff.

PRICE
My test vehicle (a 2016 Altima) was just over $32,000 and pretty strongly loaded, other than the engine choice; Base price on the 2017 model-year Altima, which is now available, starts at $22,500, making it one of the more affordable sedans on the market.

BOTTOM LINE

The Nissan Altima is not the fanciest ride available in its class, but when you factor in the strong fuel mileage and low starting price, it makes a strong case for being considered in your vehicle case if you’re in the market for a midsize sedan.

There’s more than a few strong competitors in the segment, but there’s enough areas where it beats the opponents that it should continue to be a popular model. Even if it can’t dethrone perennial leader Camry overnight, it’s certainly going to do its best to get closer and closer to doing so.

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Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu.