1993 Nissan Altima GXE | Retro Review 

This was arguably the golden age of Nissan.

Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I enjoy watching these old reviews more than the reviews of the newer cars. I was a child in the 80s and grew up watching this show.

That orange wood trim is actually harvested from the Oompa Loompa tree which is endemic to Wonkaland.

These original altimas were super reliable unlike post 2000 models. Nissan had a great line up in the 90s and it was unfortunate that consumer response was not as expected, even if they were better than most rivals. Their cars were better performers and reliability was outstanding on par with the best.

The first Altimas were actually badged as Stanza Altima due to a lawsuit from a computer company that used the Altima name. Likewise Toyota got sued by legal research firm Lexis (now LexisNexis) over the Lexus name. During it, Lexis ran a contest to give away an Infiniti car, saying "Win an Infiniti from Lexis!"

My dad bought a 97 Altima SE (5spd) brand new back in 96 for my aunt. Then I got it once my aunt got a new car, been in my family for so many years, until the typical PA rust took over in 2018. Been a great car, I miss it a lot now.

One of the better or best Altima’s Nissan ever made

Back in the late 90s, a buddy of mine had one of these with well over 200k miles and it drove and rode like new. Not even a dash light was illuminated. But this was when Nissan built quality cars, not the fleet grade CVT laden-ed disposable junk of today.

My mama just sold her 93 STANZA altima se had it since new. Absolutely ZERO problems. I learned to drive in it, and my first son took his first drive in it.

My goodness the Altima has fallen a long way. These first-gen models were excellent.

I remember a comment in one of the car magazines back in the day about the wood trim looking like what you see when you first open a can of Dinty Moore chili, and I was never able to unsee that.

These were a breath of fresh air when first released... Very nice car with lots of trims and options.

growing up my mom had a 1993 model just like this except silver and automatic, I remember the soft fabric seats, the weird wood trim and the actual bell sound of the chimes rather than an electronic beeper sound

The best car my family had growing up was a '97 Altima GXE 5spd. It outlived a 1992 Camry we had when we bought the Altima and a 2001 Camry we got to replace the '92 when its transmission died (the 2001's transmission died too). My mom was heartbroken when she crashed it, in her words "It was the only car that made me forget about my Mustang." At 380,000 miles the only thing that broke on the Altima outside of regular maintenance was an O-ring. We were planning on keeping that car forever.

Best Altima they ever made IMO, I call it the Egg. Drove my friends in high school(there were several in the parking lot) the handling/way it drove was impressive, felt tight as a drum despite it having 150k+ miles on it. Or maybe my worn out Buick at the time was that bad lol. Only thing was these were kind of small, especially if you parked it next to a Taurus, Regal, etc. Had to move up to a Maxima if you wanted that type of room

This is a great looking car! I think it's aged pretty damn well for a near 30 year old design. 1993....nearly 30 years....Oh gawd.

I used to see these everywhere, not so much these days, I've seen more Camry's and civics of that era.

Nissan was killing it with the Altima and Maxina. Then around mid-2000s ir started to fall apart.

In 1993, I snatched an Altima SE with 5spd manual -- a unicorn even then -- leather seats, moonroof, allow wheels. It was A LOT of car for the money, and crazy reliable. .

Even as a wee little kid I remember seeing these everywhere. The past 17 years have been very rough for Nissan but recently they're seem to be going back to their 90s roots.

I praise the way the contours flow together.

The KA24DE is an absolute workhorse and both it and the firmer suspension in the SE respond great to spirited driving. Where an Accord or Camry would understeer the Altima sticks into corners, even can get it to oversteer and power slide controllably. Not getting rid of mine!

Agreed, the early 90’s Sentra, first gen Altima and late 90’s Maxima were cars of greatness

it's crazy that 28 years later you don't see these cars anymore. they were everywhere!

I remember seeing these in the 90s, and 2000s! Nissans looked cool back then!

4:25 I remember seeing these driving around with the Nissan logo flipped up all the time on the trunk

I had one of these as a gently-used car in the late 1990s - same color, same trim level, but with an automatic. The car was comfortable, fun to drive, had quite a bit of oomph for its class. I drove it up and down the East Coast until somebody rear-ended and totalled it. Thanks to MotorWeek for bringing back the memories.

I used to see a lot of these as a kid in the 1990s. At least it didn't have a CVT up to the 2006 model year.

One of my military buddies had one with a manual. It was a smooth ride. Definitely better quality than the cvt junk piles.

For the first time motorweek has a gentle gear change test!!! Bravo!

This Was The 1st & Last High Quality Nissan Altima! These Altimas Feel So Solid

My first car was a 1993 Nissan Altima GLE. I love the Heads-Up-Display.. I hardly ever looked at the dash. That car was quick too. You'd think it had a v6 the way it took off

Long one of my favorite cars from the 90's. I wanted one back in the early 2000's when I got my license. I did eventually buy a 2007 Altima 2.5 S that I drove for four years. I bought it used with 36k miles for $13k which was a really nice car despite some problems it had including having to replace the CVT at one point, but under warranty thank god. These first gen Altima's I could tell were super reliable since I continued to see many of them on the road for years. Will never buy another Nissan again. Besides my Altima I've been buying nothing but Toyota's/Lexus & none of them have had a single problem.

My parents let me drive their 93 Bronze GXE back and forth to college. Great car, some of the best clothes I've ever experience in any car. The engine was perfect, great torque and hp combined with its curb weight. It was the automatic transmission. My brother ended up getting the car later from me and letting it get illegally reposed by a repair shop(forgot why it was there, the car was super reliable). These cars are very rare, i barely see the 2nd generation altima where i'm at.

I had a 1997 nissan atllima this was a great car very reliable I drove it to 300,000 miles. These were the days when Nissan made High Quality Cars. Not like the Garbage they make today 80s and 90s Nissan cars were Built to last.

Cars from year 1985 - 1997 are prettiest looking, small, fun, reliable, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain. Today cars when break down it cost a fortune to repair.

Hard to believe that the Nissan Altima has been around for 30 years as of this time.

The 1st generation Altima was the best model ever used to have a 1997 Altima GXE that was the best car ever was really tough. I was little when this car came out seen few of these at that time. I really didn't care much for 2nd generation they were fun to drive especially abrupt braking with the rear nose going up in the air one thing about these first generation Altima be later years the taillights would burn out for some reason not sure why but used to see ton of these Altima's with that problem also had that problem as well. Learned how to drive in a Altima that what made me huge Nissan fan. I am so glad MW did a review of 1993 Nissan Altima got so excited now this makes me miss my 1997 again so many fond memories.

I love these ancient motorized seatbelts. Saves you from having to fasten your seatbelt ..unless you want it to actually work as a seatbelt, as you would still have to search for and fasten the lower half. Brilliant. I remember more than one person in highschool with these early 90’s cars leaving the motorized upper half unplugged while diligently using the lower half. ..also “brilliant”.

90s Nissan: Hardbody pickup Badass pathfinder 300zx turbo This review makes me want to buy 93 Altima now. Abs airbag well laid out physical controls and mpgs no different than modern cars. In the last 30 years we have made ICe cars bigger faster and more unreliable. It’s time for EVs for all.

In Japan, the Nissan Stanza Altima is sold as the Bluebird and Bluebird ARX hardtop sedan.

This car really was a totally new styling direction, and seemed to be an improvement in quality as well.

The one that started it all.

There used to be a ton of these cars on the road. Maybe not as diehard as the Toyotas and Hondas in the long run, some of these Altimas are still running around trouble free.

My mom had a 96 purple altima. I actually learned how to drive in this car

My favorite was the 95 Altima SE...Yea baby! That thing was bad ass in the day. A real great car of the time.

I remember racing a guy that had one of these in my 93 Grand Prix, we were dead even from a stop until we both let off at 100mph. I was shocked at how quick the Altima was.

This was my first car so much memories

This is the one I have GXE with some GLE tech on my car and adding a five speed manual and it’s lower and have tasteful wheels

I brought this Nissan sedan second hand in the early 2000s. It has great performance and great reliability. In Australia, they called it the Nissan bluebird. Either way was a great car

I loved the Altima’s of this era I haven’t seen one in a while two neighbors of mines had a 93 fully loaded and a 95 Gxe and back when Nissans was reliable as Honda and Toyota

I like the smooth lines and rounds on these 1990s cars. Yet they make the car look coherent and don't have an abnoxious feature like a large size grille of today's 2020s cars.

I bought a 96 SE as a beater for $700, had the 5spd manual and I drove it until the motor went. It was the best beater ever.

I have this car still running like new 28 years later

I learned to drive a manual transmission in my mom's 1992 Stanza just before the name and model change. That was one smooth and sweet ride. And that 2.4L just wanted to rev.

These cars sold really well. I remember them being everywhere in the mid 90’s.

Common car that was around back in the 90s. Good car to drive. Still see them around today.

I remember these looking as wild as the '02 redesigned Altima, which was basically the car to have when I was in highschool.

Classic ride i remember seein em around alot my homie used to have one with 2 jl audio w3's 12 lol it was reliable and it bumped 🎵 😏

Cool, I had a Dark blue 1995 Nissan Altima GXE I bought in June 1998 and drove till October 2006😀

The reliable Altima!! My uncle had a 94 GXE in champagne. It felt more expensive than it's MSRP! To drive home that point they used the stack of champagne glasses trick in advertisements to prove how smooth it idled (like Lexus did with the LS debut). I was inspired so much by that and my uncle's car that I purchased a 99' SE Limited in Ultra Red. Lasted 224k miles until the timing chain jumped time. 😍

When the Altima was actually pretty good. But now being equipped with that garbage CVT now. I wouldn't give one to my worst enemy.

Surprising amount of power

Is that the largest hazard light button ever in a production car???? Lol

While nothing exciting, you do get basic, reliable transportation, comfort, decent handling and safety at an affordable price with an Altima.

The Altima predecessor, the Stanza, lasted for 30 years for me. Of interest: all Nissan engines up until the last ten years (incl pickup trucks) seem to have a timing chain / cam shaft problem that requires servicing around 80k miles (as did mine). But, at least the old engines were not 'interference' engines so if the timing chain messes up, it won't ruin your engine completely like in modern cars.

When cars were made with quality not like today's junk

I knew these as the Nissan Bluebird when I lived outside the US. They were really cool! They even came with the turbo 2.0 'SR20DET'. But here we got like really boring base models with hubcaps, drum brakes in the rear, and the slower 2.4. People never knew how cool these really could be.

My very first car. That KA engine is very Tourquey and boosted can be a lot of fun. That was my plan but unfortunately the Canadian salt roads destroyed it and sent it to the junkyard as it was too far gone when I got it. Thankfully I'm restoring my very first new car I ever own. A 2007 Pontiac G5 gt sedan that im doing a stage 2 supercharger build plus performance suspension. Fun little project so far.

Remember when Nissan reliability rivaled Toyota and Honda? What happened?

I test drove one of these new way back when, don't remember why I decided not to buy it.

I had a 97 with the stick shift. I thought top speed was 110mph but nope automatic trans was 110. I had mine up to 130 mph while my brother on a motorcycle beside me 1000rr.

Enjoyed driving this body style of Altima. Unfortunately couldn’t afford one as I was too broke and young.

I had the First Altima SE and enjoyed driving it for seventeen years. Struts and fuel injectors went a bit early but otherwise the car was a great ride.

That Nissan chime. Love it.

This is one of Nissans best moves making the Altima. Cheap but fun to drive and ready to maintain. I had a 98 Altima SE and it was a blast to drive. Unfortunately rust killed it but with almost 245k it was still kicking

My middle-school math teacher had a GXE in black, 18 years ago. I could probably count the number of times I've seen another one on the fingers of one hand here in VT, but I could say that for a lot of cars from that time period lol

Someone must of finally told him at this point it's "Cam-ree". This car was pretty cutting edge at the time, putting The Ford Tempo and Chevy Corsica to shame.

A true classic

A manual equipped GXE is so rare

These first Altimas were very nice at the time. It was a serious attempt by Nissan. I know a couple people who drove and loved these. And I still see them here and there with no clear coat and a loud exhaust😂😂 but still rolling.

My uncle has a 1997 Nissan Altima gxe 2.4l k24de same motor in the 240sx with 87,145 miles runs good

My mom had a 93 SE auto in gray. Great looking car and strong performance for the era. Looking at this gxe it seems surprisingly dated though the SE always was the best looking with the fog lights, spoiler, and aero kit.

My brother and I bought a 1993 Altima about 13 (2009) years ago and sold it. The car had like 35k miles on it and was immaculate. What I was most impressed by and didn’t know Nissan offered - the car had a heads up display in the drivers window. I couldn’t believe it, and it was totally functional! These old Nissans were awesome. What happened to Nissan now?!?

My mum and I had one of these from new when I was little. A 94 black GXE with a spoiler. Only ever had the starter die on it (that took 9 years), was flawless otherwise.

So crazy that these sedans are about to soon phase out ... But the Altima being the last family sedan to touch out of Japan in the 90's era makes a big statement as always ..

My cousin used to have a 1997 Altima SE in the blue emerald color as her first car in 2005 during her senior year in high school.

These Altimas were very capable compact sedans. The 94+ models lost the motorized seatbelts and gained a darker shade of fake wood which looked classier and far more convincing. The SE had an understated body kit and interior upgrades; its suspension was slightly firmer but in no way did it beat you up on bumpy roads. Really a great, well-rounded sedan for its time.

Had one when it came out in '93 and it was a very decent car. Not as good as an Accord (power isn't everything), but a huge improvement over the Stanza it replaced. Hard to believe a mid-sized car back then weighed 2800 pounds. The current day Sentra is probably both larger and heavier.

It's hard to believe, but the original Altima was the car that first introduced “luxury appointments” in a sub-compact car. It had a “Lexus interior” for the price of a Corolla. It took a long time, but every other manufacturer eventually followed suit, and what you expect in entry-level cars today, is due to the original Nissan Altima.

I had a 2000 Altima SE and if was fun to drive. It had a 5sp manual. Third gear was the sweet spot for that car.

This brings back memories.

3:34 Orange plastic wood trim! LOL

Back when an Altima wasn't... an Altima.

8.2 seconds isn't bad for the early 90's on a mainstream sedan.

These things were everywhere, where are they now?

Eessh, the video post caption is a bit harsh - this did much better than the outgoing Stanza with retail buyers as well, and was something different in the segment, if a bit undersized.

Come on Nissan, there's still time....bring us back one of these reliable beauties.

Best generation Altima ever made

I miss the old box shape 1992 Nissan Stanza. The Stanza it one of my favorite cars Nissan ever made. It reminds me of a S14 notchback with a detuned 2.4L. If you ever find the last Stanza, find an SE 5 speed manual in red. Thats the one to get.