Nissan seems to be coming out of the hole it has been in for a while when it comes to design, just recently the company has unveiled a new Murano which has quite an interesting design as well as an updated Altima. Images of all three cars after the break. The new Altima brings the new Nissan design closer together as well as being more sporty and faster. The last version of the Altima was introduced back in 2013 but this new version is named a “major facelift” as well as new styling, better performance and aero dynamics and most importantly better economy.

“Despite the remarkable success of the current model Altima in the marketplace, which has seen a more than 60 percent increase in sales since 2009, no area was left untouched in redesigning our cornerstone Altima sedan for the 2016 model year,” said Pierre Loing, vice president for product planning at Nissan North America, Inc.

Performance

This new model certainly looks better but also the new design means that the new Altima is more aerodynamic and faster. It is has a drag coefficient of 0.26 which is lower that the 0.29 of the old model. Also similar to the Ferrari 458, it has grille shutters which open at speed to make the car more stable and efficient.

Nissan has also made some improvements to the noise of the car, with the addition of an acoustic-glass windscreen. Better insulation in the firewall areas, new engine mounts and a modified muffler also add up to make the car quieter inside.

Also the front and rear sections of the car are composed of a new metal

In addition to the aero changes, Nissan has also launched a new SR model which includes a new performance pack called the “true performance pack” which has added visual features such as alluvium alloy wheels, fog lights, smoked headlight cover, daytime running lights and a rear spoiler. But the SR wouldn’t be a performance model without suspension improvements, this model has a rear stabiliser which is 257% stiffer than the standard model.

Economy

Nissan has also made some changes to the fuel economy, something which is becoming more and more important. The company states that the new design equals to an increase of 10% in airflow, which the grills and covers on the underside of the car have added up to.