Hey all. I decided to take a break from working on my powerpoint and look up the Nissan Altima Hybrid. I watched a few reviews on youtube and I noticed the energy monitor in it sort of looks like the one in the prius. I posted pictures of each. I really like the one in the Altima Hybrid, although it dosent look like it shows the battery SOC. I think the prius's energy monitor needs a little update. We've had the same energy monitor since '04. Maybe in 2010 model they will. Comments? Thoughts?
My neighbor works as a mechanic for the local Nissan dealership. He has been intrigued with my new Prius and how well it does compare to the Nissan Altima Hybrid. He has mentioned a few times the Nissan bought/acquired from Toyota the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology. I haven't verified that information, but since they sent him to the continual training about how to work on the Altima Hybrid and your pictures of the display I guess there might be some truth to that. He was trying to to convince me to look at the Altima Hybrid while I was waiting for my Prius, but I find them to be ugly and lacking the higher average MPG ratings of the Prius. I would agree some redesign of the MFD display would be a nice update.
At least in my '08, the Prius' screen shows instantaneous MPGs as a numerical value in the lower right. I don't know why the screen you're showing doesn't have it. Perhaps the car was in ACCessory, as opposed to READY, when the picture was taken. I wonder if that's true for the Altima as well. The iMPG data stream is very useful when easing back on the go-pedal to maximize MPGs when stretching a pulse to the top of a rise, or cruising on the level or slight down-hill. In the latter case, careful observations of the iMPG and the energy arrows can lead to Nirvana; yellow arrow or no-arrow glides at above 42 MPG. Wahoo!
Yup.. Nissan did indeed license the Hybrid Synergy Drive from Toyota for use in the Altima Hybrid. I like the Altima Hybrid. It looks sporty for those who want something that looks a bit more aggressive than the Prius. It's a good alternative for those who are considering the Camry Hybrid (the two cars are comparable), especially since the Altima Hybrid still qualifies for a $2200 Federal Tax Credit while Toyotas qualify for zero.
I've had an '08 NAH for a couple of weeks now. It doesn't display the SOC on the display. This is probably because unlike the Prius, you only get the LCD display if you get the NAV system with the Technology Package. There is an analog battery guage that replaces the temperature guage that is in the normal Altima. Instantaneous MPG is shown on the multifunction display below the speedometer.
hmm? It's showing 99.9mpg. That's the instantaneous mpg. Well you don't expect major stuff like that to be updated midlife. Just a higher resolution screen and a few tweaks were found on the 06+ models.
