Compare the2023 Nissan AltimaVS 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Altima have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Altima are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Altima has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Altima has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Altima SL/SR VC-Turbo has a standard Intelligent Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Corolla Hybrid only offers a rear monitor.

The Altima has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Corolla Hybrid’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Altima has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Alert on the Corolla Hybrid.

Both the Altima and the Corolla Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Nissan Altima is safer than the Toyota Corolla Hybrid:

	Altima	Corolla Hybrid
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	171	187
Leg Forces (l/r)	114/342 lbs.	330/310 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Altima is safer than the Toyota Corolla Hybrid:

	Altima	Corolla Hybrid
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	157	239

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Altima, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 1.3% less likely to roll over than the Corolla Hybrid, which received a four-star rating.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

Engine

The Altima AWD’s optional 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 48 more horsepower (182 vs. 134) and 22 lbs.-ft. more torque (178 vs. 156) than the Corolla Hybrid’s 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Altima’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 54 more horsepower (188 vs. 134) and 24 lbs.-ft. more torque (180 vs. 156) than the Corolla Hybrid’s 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Altima SR’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 114 more horsepower (248 vs. 134) and 117 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 156) than the Corolla Hybrid’s 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Altima AWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla Hybrid (16 vs. 11.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Altima FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla Hybrid (16.2 vs. 11.3 gallons).

Environmental Friendliness

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the Nissan Altima at emission levels ranging from “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV) to “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV). The Toyota Corolla Hybrid is only certified to “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV) standards.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Altima’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla Hybrid:

	Altima	Corolla Hybrid
Front Rotors	11.65 inches	10.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.02 inches	10.2 inches
Opt Rear Rotors	11.5 inches

The Altima stops much shorter than the Corolla Hybrid:

	Altima	Corolla Hybrid
60 to 0 MPH	115 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	140 feet	148 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Altima has larger standard tires than the Corolla Hybrid (215/60R16 vs. 205/55R16). The Altima SR/SL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Corolla Hybrid (235/40R19 vs. 225/40R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Altima SR/SL has standard 19-inch wheels. The Corolla Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Altima has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Altima has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Corolla Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The Altima has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Altima’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the Corolla Hybrid (111.2 inches vs. 106.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Altima is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Corolla Hybrid.

The Altima SR handles at .90 G’s, while the Corolla Hybrid LE pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Altima executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Corolla Hybrid LE (26.3 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .54 average G’s).

Chassis

The design of the Nissan Altima amounts to more than styling. The Altima has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .26 Cd. That is lower than the Corolla Hybrid (.28) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Altima get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the Altima uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Altima SR VC-Turbo uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Altima a Mid-size car, while the Corolla Hybrid is rated a Subcompact.

The Altima has 12 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla Hybrid (100.6 vs. 88.6).

The Altima has .8 inches more front headroom, 1.8 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room, 4.2 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear legroom, 3.2 inches more rear hip room and 5.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla Hybrid.

Cargo Capacity

The Altima has a much larger trunk than the Corolla Hybrid (15.4 vs. 11.3 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

The Altima has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Altima’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Corolla Hybrid’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Altima’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Corolla Hybrid’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Altima’s optional rear view mirror has an automatic dimming feature. This mirror can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on it, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer the luxury of an automatic dimming rear view mirror.

On extremely cold winter days, the Altima SL/SR 2.0’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Altima SL/SR VC-Turbo’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Altima and the Corolla Hybrid offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Altima SL has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Corolla Hybrid doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Altima third among midsize cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Corolla Hybrid isn’t in the top three in its category.

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