The Nissan Altima sedan was redesigned for 2007, while the Altima Coupe was introduced in 2008. Styling changes for 2009 are therefore minimal.

The Altima sedan and coupe look edgy and stylish. The sedan is about five inches longer than the coupe, but both of these mid-size cars share familiar Nissan/Infiniti design cues. The Nissan Altima Coupe, in particular, has a hint of Nissan's sports car.

In profile, the sedan's rear deck is distinctively short. Its fender flares are pronounced, allowing the rest of the body to be narrower and slip through the wind with less frontal area. The gap between the tires and flares looks tight, just as we like it.

The headlight and taillight clusters are elaborate, almost exotic. The halogen headlamps are irregular, vertical trapezoids with soft edges, with four bulbs inside for the high beam, low beam, turn signal, and parking lights. Nissan calls the headlamp arrangement a multi-parabola, which means its coverage is all over the place. As for the taillights, Nissan says they cost nearly as much as the headlamps, so don't back into anything. They're covered with clear plastic like the headlamps, and contain a silver ray-gun looking cylinder with the red lamp, plus a round white beam for the backup light, and a big orange piece for the parking lamp and turn signal.

From the front, the Nissan Altima Coupe looks pretty much like the sedan, despite Nissan's pronouncement that the only common body panel is the aluminum hood. In side view, though, the Coupe is pure sport coupe. There's a good balance between the longish hood, greenhouse, and short trunk lid, with just the right amount of sheet metal between the cleanly outlined wheel arches. Credit for these proportions goes to a wheelbase (distance between the tires front to rear) shortened by four inches from the sedan, which enabled a shortened overall length.

The Coupe's back end shows bustle shape that's a bit pinched, and fed by the arc of the roof flowing toward the trunk lid. This design probably increases stability at socially irresponsible speeds, but at rest it looks almost plump. The rear glass wells at the sides, reducing the impression of mass and improving rearward visibility from the driver's seat.