2020 Nissan Altima Review: Affordable Midsize Sedan With Improved Reliability Ratings

Ashleigh on January 12, 2025

I love my low mileage CPO 2020 Altima SV fully loaded well maintained car with only 23K miles. Car gets excellent gas mileage and nice pick up. Beautiful beige protected seat and stony blue metallic with paint protection. Take care of your vehicle and your vehicle will take care of you. Replace CVT fluid every 30K and regular tire or oil changes you will be fine. I’ve had two other Nissans with CVTS with no issues.

Recv on January 8, 2025

The cars are recommended, I have not had any problems, but I give the credit to the salesman at Wesley Chapel Nissan (Randy Torres) thanks for his timely advice and dedication 5 stars to him.

Jeff Mills on September 10, 2024

My daily driver is a suburban , wanted something easy on gas , found a great deal on a one owner 2020 Altima in mint condition , not something I'd shop for but it was a great deal and I just wanted something good on gas , on a recent 600 mile round trip this thing averaged 42 mpg. I'm impressed. I'm not impressed with the exterior , too much Cheap plastic , but that's with most vehicles these days .

Paige on July 12, 2024

Im definitely more of an suv person but after being given this car after switching from a Jeep I absolutely love the reliability and the gas milage. Currently my average is 40mph which is unheard of. I get 600 miles to a tank which is absolutely crazy. I’m not absolutely in love with the ride, it’s just a bit bumpy. If you’re merging onto the highway the car can get up and go, only having a bit of squeaking of the brakes but mostly with hard stops. I’ve had a couple of the infotainment problems other people have listed but have just turned the car off and on again to fix them. Would recommend to people who like a reasonably priced sedan. You definitely are getting what you pay for!

Kelly Wood on January 19, 2024

Having rented a car on a trip, I got one of these. After the entire venture, I kind of fell in love with it. I'm 6'1" and the thing fit me so well, I could even put the seat where I couldn't work the pedals. Drive after drive, the simple simplicity of the car, with a good look too, had me hooked. Everything was where you could reach it and blast along in actual comfort. Surprisingly, 90MPH was a happy place with that rental across all of Arizona and it always felt "in control" and pretty confident. When you look down and you're doin 85 at under 2K rpm... the good mileage really stands out. Being a race car driver, the steering felt quick and solid. You knew where you were going and it just feels good. As a mechanic, I was skeptical of that CVT... and that whole 2.5L engine thingy in it... but, they did their work and the thing works really good. It's not race-car fast, but they go when ya tell em to and it's just... a good car. Also, the fact that the engine used in them is the same block as the last proven 20 YEARS... does say something. Look around, how many altimas do you see on the road still? That tells the story of the Altima. Good commuter car, sure! Good Road trip car? Oh yes. Cram 5 people in it and some crap.. Yep! 2 yrs after that trip, I bought a nice silver SR with 20 k miles. I plan on having this car a good long time.

ForseenVal on July 4, 2023

So, the reviews you see about people upset on the CVT transmission, has nothing to do with anything other than the older generation believing cars should have manual transmissions, and the standard automatic. As this doesn’t give them enough VROOM VROOM. When they hit the gas. Day 1, of having this, someone tried to race me lol. Because the car can handle speeds pretty well. Interior is silent, feels like I’m just gliding through the street. The most comfortable car I’ve sat in. Google if it’s reliable, it’s average mileage is 250k-300k miles. It lasts awhile. Definitely a great car to drive then pass down if that’s your thing. This is a fuel efficient, newer vehicle. If you want a vroom vroom car, don’t buy one with a transmission you don’t like… True car enthusiasts read all specs and test drive before purchase.

Nissansucks on May 3, 2023

Worst car I’ve ever owned out of 20+ cars, had a 2020 sr thing was the biggest lemon ever, the cvt transmission is trash and wicked dangerous on the highway. The interior rattles and vibrates over every single bump in the road. The person who designed that cvt trans should be locked up.

CHARLES MURRAY on December 29, 2022

I purchased the 2020 s model as a certified vehicle with 100,000 mile warranty. My catatilac converter went out and the cost of it is $3000 and I was told by my service advisor that it was busted up in the inside because the fluide was not flow correctly in it. And this is just a 2020 model. So this means the motor is bad in this vehicle or something. NOW I AM OUT OF $23,000 because when I thought I was buying a reliable [preown] vehicle from the dealership. (UNION CITY OF NISSAN} WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER ALL MAJOR PARTS

James Norse on March 10, 2022

I’ve own a 2020 Altima (under 30k miles) for a few months now, its my daily commuter, and I’ve made certain to take care of any issues and required maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotations. One thing I can say for certain about the 2020 Altima is that its definitely a good car for long to medium distance commuting. It gets above 30 mpg, has a Continuously Variable Transmission which makes keeping high speeds while traveling up hill far less intensive on the engine itself, and it makes for a smooth ride as you can’t even feel it shift unlike conventional geared transmissions. It has good handling, blindspots are not as terrible as I have seen, and the adjustments to seating and music give you just enough variety to let you feel at home without bogging you down with too many options. Those are the good parts. One problem out of a very small number of negatives is the Apple CarPlay. I am not certain if this is a natural thing with Apple CarPlay, but its not entirely reliable. Some days you need to turn the car off and on again to get it to work, or maybe your steering wheel buttons don’t work, or the standard Altima music bar sticks on top of CarPlay, or maybe for an entire day music plays out of only your back passenger speaker. The problems happen just frequently enough that when I drive a car with a much simpler music player, I find myself relieved. Now I like CarPlay. It allows me to use Google Maps in a very simple manner, and selecting music as well is not too difficult. I just wish it were more reliable

Chiefdougmc on May 27, 2021

This model meets all my requirements of style comfort and reliability , as have the two Altima’s we have owned in the past . Would buy another, in the future !