Compare the2024 Nissan AltimaVS 2023 Dodge Charger

Safety
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
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 Dodge Charger 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 Charger 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 Charger doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Altima’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Charger.

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 Charger only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

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 Charger’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. Dodge charges extra for Rear Cross Path Detection on the Charger.

The Altima’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Charger doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Altima and the Charger have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

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 Dodge Charger:

	Altima	Charger
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	114/342 lbs.	582/440 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.7 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	260/280 lbs.	267/469 lbs.

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

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Nissan Altima is safer than the Charger:

	Altima	Charger
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
Head Neck Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Head injury index	59	222
Peak Head Forces	0 G’s	0 G’s
Steering Column Movement Rearward	4 cm	9 cm
Chest Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Max Chest Compression	19 cm	28 cm
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Femur Force R/L	.4/.5 kN	3.7/3 kN
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L	0%/0%	1%/0%
Lower Leg Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
Tibia index R/L	.53/.45	1.21/.58
Tibia forces R/L	.9/.4 kN	3/4.7 kN

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Altima is safer than the Dodge Charger:

	Altima	Charger
	Front Seat
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Movement	1.4 inches	1.4 inches
Abdominal Force	164 lbs.	212 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	157	270
Spine Acceleration	42 G’s	48 G’s

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

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Altima its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Charger is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Altima have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Charger.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Altima gets better mileage than the Charger:

			MPG
Altima
	FWD	S/SV 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/39 hwy
		SL/SR 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/37 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/34 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/36 hwy
Charger
	RWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/30 hwy
		5.7 OHV V8	16 city/25 hwy
		6.4 OHV V8	15 city/24 hwy
	AWD	3.6 V6	18 city/27 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Altima uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended on Altima SR for maximum performance). The Charger Scat Pack requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Altima has a standard locking fuel door. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Charger. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Altima higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Dodge Charger (1 to 5). This means the Altima produces up to 47 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Charger every 15,000 miles.

The EPA certifies the Nissan Altima at emission levels ranging from “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV) to “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV). The Dodge Charger is only certified to “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV) standards.

Transmission

The Altima has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Charger doesn’t offer a CVT.

Tires and Wheels

The Altima S’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Charger SXT’s standard 65 series tires.

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 Charger doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For better maneuverability, the Altima’s turning circle is tighter than the Charger’s:

	Altima	Charger
Sedan	36.1 feet	37.5 feet
AWDSedan	36.1 feet	37.5 feet

Chassis

The Nissan Altima may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 to 900 pounds less than the Dodge Charger.

The Altima is 5.5 inches shorter than the Charger SXT, making the Altima easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Nissan Altima amounts to more than styling. The Altima has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .26 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Charger (.304 to .38) 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 Charger 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 Charger doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Altima is quieter than the Charger Scat Pack:

	Altima	Charger
At idle	40 dB	52 dB
Full-Throttle	79 dB	87 dB
70 MPH Cruising	70 dB	71 dB

Passenger Space

The Altima has .5 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom and .3 inches more rear headroom than the Charger.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Altima easier. The Altima’s trunk lift-over height is 26.9 inches, while the Charger’s liftover is 30.1 inches.

Ergonomics

If the windows are left open on the Altima the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. The driver of the Charger can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Altima’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Charger’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Altima (except S) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Charger doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Altima is less expensive to operate than the Charger because typical repairs cost much less on the Altima than the Charger, including $32 less for a water pump, $712 less for a muffler, $92 less for front brake pads and $194 less for a fuel pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Altima and the Dodge Charger, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Altima outsold the Dodge Charger by 75% during 2022.