Compare the2024 Nissan AltimaVS 2024 Volkswagen Arteon

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 Volkswagen Arteon 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 Arteon doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Arteon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Altima and the Arteon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee 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, 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.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Altima 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Arteon. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Arteon ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Altima’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Arteon’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 66 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 69 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 10 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

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

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 Arteon doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Altima stops shorter than the Arteon:

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 Arteon doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Altima is .7 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Arteon.

The Altima SR handles at .90 G’s, while the Arteon SEL Premium R-Line pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Altima executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Arteon SEL Premium R-Line (26.3 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Altima S’ turning circle is 2.9 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (36.1 feet vs. 39 feet). The Altima SR/SV/SL’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (37.4 feet vs. 39 feet).

The Nissan Altima may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 700 pounds less than the Volkswagen Arteon.

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 Arteon (.3) 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 Arteon 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 Arteon doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Altima has 4.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Arteon (100.6 vs. 96.5).

The Altima has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, 8 inches more rear hip room and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Arteon.

The Altima is available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The Arteon doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Altima will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Altima will retain 41.69% to 47.34% of its original price after five years, while the Arteon only retains 35.76% to 36.38%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Nissan Altima will be $16611 to $21944 less than for the Volkswagen Arteon.

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

The Nissan Altima outsold the Volkswagen Arteon by almost 55 to one during 2023.