08 Altima mileage numbers
 

First tank average was just over 33 MPG.

Using the factory instrumentation.

Steady 55 MPH no traffic for 50 miles
40.2 MPG

Interstate at 71 MPH average in very heavy traffic (unavoidable drafting)
35 MPG

One of the best riding cars I have ever owned, only better was a 95 Riviera that would make me sleepy after a couple of hours.

Exceptionally nice ride with 44 PSI air in tires, no comparison to the Civic or the Insight both of which let you know when you hit any irregularity in the pavement. Roads here are decent, but many areas are really trashed, and with my age and back that is a huge factor for me.

Wind noise practically non existent.

While some here may fault me for selling the two Hondas, and buying a car that gets worse mileage, try to remember, there are two people driving those cars and saving a lot of fuel.

I ride the bikes when the weather permits, which around here is almost year round as long as it is not raining. My overall consumption is about the same. Fill ups for the Altima should be happening two weeks or more apart, depending on trips taken.

regards
Mech

Very nice! What kind of cruise rpms are you seeing at 55 and 70? I think you'll be surprised with the numbers you can get out of it.

72 MPH is 2250-2300 RPM. almost exactly what the VX was at the same speed.
55 MPH is 1850 or so.

Nissan has really worked on this CVT operational tactic.

The lock up torque converter works like a clutch, locking up at low speeds, while unlocking to allow coasting with very little engine drag. It takes some getting used to the coasting factor, but with the ranges of transmission ratios acceleration is great when you need it.

The cruise control also benefits from the transmission technology, climbing most grades around here, the RPM does not change. In most cases you can accelerate briskly without engine RPM exceeding 2000 RPM.

Even when the engine is cold the RPM through my neighborhood is barely above idle speed at 25 MPH. Warm up time is exceptionally short with operational temp obtained within 1 mile of a cold start in 50 degree weather.

The first Nissan CVT vehicle we owned was an 04 Murano and when you let off the gas the engine drag was significant. Not so in this Altima. In the wife's 06 Murano, I have seen 35 MPG at 60 MPH speeds in heavy traffic here.

The best mileage I saw on the Altima so far was a short stretch of 55 MPH road that has only one traffic light in 7 miles. The road runs parallel to the Interstate so traffic is very light. I set the cruise at 46 MPH and got just over 50 MPG on that 7 mile stretch.

Stop and go traffic really hits the mileage average, so I have changed my route to avoid the 3.5 mile stretch with 12 traffic lights. Instead I just hop on the Interstate and avoid them altogether.

I just checked the mileage on the last leg of our trip yesterday, 60 miles at close to a 70MPH average, was 36.4 MPG. The VX on the same leg at the same speed would have done about 47 MPG.

regards
Mech

Sounds like a nice ride. I certainly can't fault you. When I totaled my 02 Civic I was in the middle of a divorce so the natural replacement was a mid-life crisis car, thus the Acura. Same exact chassis and yet I brought my mileage down from 32-36 to 27-30.

Now the GF is thinking about a Subaru with her first winter in the mountains (she's from Texas) and I'm begging her to keep her Protege 5. Ah well, there's the things we can control in life and then there's our loved one's...

Enjoy the new ride and don't feel guilty for a second. I'm sure you earned those aches and pains, so you've also earned a way to cushion yourself from them. ;)