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Months in fleet: Seven
Miles to date: 18,105

The most outstanding feature of the Altima is its powertrain, as the continuously variable transmission smoothly transmits the substantial 270 hp produced by the V-6 engine to the pavement. The exterior styling is nice but doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, and much the same can be said of the interior. In a category that is still dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord powerhouses, and with the recently redesigned Ford Fusion and Subaru Legacy also making a place for themselves, the Altima seems to have become somewhat lost in the shuffle.inline_mediumwraptextright0027719156/reviews/editors_notebook/1005_2010_nissan_altima_3_5_sr1005_02+2010_nissan_altima_3_5_sR+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

The most outstanding feature of the Altima is its powertrain, as the continuously variable transmission smoothly transmits the substantial 270 hp produced by the V-6 engine to the pavement. The exterior styling is nice but doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, and much the same can be said of the interior. In a category that is still dominated by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord powerhouses, and with the recently redesigned Ford Fusion and Subaru Legacy also making a place for themselves, the Altima seems to have become somewhat lost in the shuffle.

It was 12:45 a.m. and I was bounding down a very dark two-lane country road. Traffic cleared and I hit the high beams. Whoa! These are really, really good: bright as day, very good reach, very strong, uniform beam. A few days later, I drove a Porsche on the same stretch of road, also at night. I didn't find its headlights to be any better than the Impreza's. Very impressive.inline_mediumwraptextright0029053768/reviews/editors_notebook/1005_2010_subaru_impreza_25i_premium1005_06+2010_subaru_impreza_2_5i_premium+front_three_quarter_view.jpgtrue

It was 12:45 a.m. and I was bounding down a very dark two-lane country road. Traffic cleared and I hit the high beams. Whoa! These are really, really good: bright as day, very good reach, very strong, uniform beam. A few days later, I drove a Porsche on the same stretch of road, also at night. I didn't find its headlights to be any better than the Impreza's. Very impressive.

If ever there was a car company whose success was born of mud and snow, it's Subaru. It first got going in the United States in the 1970s, with awkward-looking little front-wheel-drive cars - back when front-wheel drive was still a novelty - and soon achieved notoriety with its four-wheel-drive wagons. The combination of traction and toughness made Subarus particularly appealing in areas of the country that see lots of snow and mud. So it was fitting, then, that to demonstrate the two different all-wheel-drive systems in its Impreza Subaru carved a vaguely pear-shaped track in the spring-thawing snow and mud outside of Park City, Utah.inline_mediumwraptextright28619689/features/news/1003_test_driving_subaru_awd_systems1003_z_03+subaru_utah_adventure+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The 2010 WRX STI Special Edition doesn't make much sense as a business plan. With an upgraded suspension and a slightly decontended interior, it's a better handling STI for less money. Unless you just have to have HIDs and a trunk-shaking sound system, there's no reason to look higher up Subaru's performance hierarchy. That is until late this summer, when the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, which is making its debut at the 2010 New York show, reaches dealer lots.inline_mediumwraptextright32824041/features/news/1003_2011_subaru_impreza_wrx_sti_sedan2011-subaru-impreza-WRX-STI-sedan-side.jpgTrue

As the performance gap between the standard Subaru Impreza WRX and the racy Impreza WRX STI continues to close, so too will the appearances of the two cars as Subaru updates the less-powerful car with the more-powerful car’s bodywork for 2011.inline_mediumwraptextright32718240/features/news/1003_2011_subaru_impreza_wrx2011-subaru-impreza-wrx.jpgTrue

I know this sounds like the petulant whine of a performance junkie, but why do Mitsubishi's high-performance Lancers (Ralliart/Evo) get supremely advanced, powerful four-cylinders while the Outlander is stuck with this asthmatic 3.0-liter V-6? Step on the gas, and you hear it furiously pumping air, but don't get a commensurate push in the back.inline_mediumwraptextright28512487/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_mitsubishi_outlander_3_0_gt_s_awd1003_04_z+2010_mitsubishi_outlander_3_0_gT_s-AWD+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue