Nissan Altima Hybrid

After jumping back and forth between the seats of the Camry Hybrid and Altima Hybrid, you definitely feel that the Camry has more space and a generally more pleasant feel. The high degree of finish on the materials of the Camry makes it seem like Nissan didn't spend as much money or care on the Altima interior. Nissan tried to spruce everything up to give it an edgy sportier feel, but we suspect that will wear off for most owners after a number of months. The Altima simply doesn’t feel as well put-together, although it may have a slight edge in terms of visibility.

USA Today nailed it when its reviewer said, "Camry is lusher inside, has a more premium ambiance vs. the somewhat spare interior of Altima."

Half the fun of driving a hybrid is monitoring the fuel efficiency and flow of energy. Toyota’s been in the hybrid game for nearly a decade, and benefits from its experience in producing hybrid instrumentation. The Altima’s dashboard, on the other hand, made reading the mpg a guessing game. Instead of delivering an exact number, the fuel efficiency showed up on a display graph. Overall, the Altima’s interfaces were not clear and the ergonomics were less than ideal. This is where the Toyota brand, characterized by simplicity, clarity and safe choices, came shining through.

The one exception, and it’s an important one, is the Altima’s backup camera. The Altima’s use of overlay guidelines to show distance from the car and likely distance from the curb beats out the Prius. The Camry lacks the backup camera entirely. That’s a must for Toyota to fix on the next release.

Perhaps the biggest drawback of the Altima's hybrid version is the diminished cargo space, which is shrunk from 15.3-cubic feet of trunk space to 9.1 cubic-feet—with no pass-through or 60/40 rear-seat split, all to make room for the hybrid batteries.