Compare the2024 Nissan AltimaVS 2024 Infiniti Q50

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 Infiniti Q50 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 Q50 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 Q50 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Q50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Altima and the Q50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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, its standard 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 131 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Q50 is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

There are over 5 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Altima’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Infiniti vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 32 more problems per 100 vehicles, Infiniti is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Infiniti With 23 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Infiniti.

On the EPA test cycle the Altima gets better mileage than the Q50:

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 Q50 requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

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 Infiniti Q50 (3). This means the Altima produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q50 every 15,000 miles.

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 Q50 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Altima stops shorter than the Q50:

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 Q50; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Altima is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Q50.

The Altima handles at .91 G’s, while the Q50 Red Sport 400 pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Altima S’ turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Q50’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.7 feet).

The Nissan Altima may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 pounds less than the Infiniti Q50.

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 Q50 (.26 to .29) 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 Q50 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 Q50 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Altima has 1.5 inches more front hip room, 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom, 2 inches more rear hip room and 1 inch more rear shoulder room than the Q50.

The Altima has a much larger trunk than the Q50 (15.4 vs. 13.5 cubic feet).

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 Q50’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

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 Q50 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Insurance will cost less for the Altima owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Altima will cost $240 to $9835 less than the Q50 over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Altima is less expensive to operate than the Q50 because typical repairs cost much less on the Altima than the Q50, including $214 less for a muffler, $169 less for a starter, $73 less for fuel injection, $96 less for a fuel pump, $310 less for front struts, $98 less for a timing belt/chain and $757 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Nissan Altima will be $23279 to $26563 less than for the Infiniti Q50.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Altima and the Infiniti Q50, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Altima outsold the Infiniti Q50 by almost 21 to one during 2023.