The 2026 Nissan Altima Is The Cheapest US-Built Midsize Sedan
The Nissan Altima is getting a small price hike for 2026, but will remain the lowest-priced midsize sedan that’s made in USA.
Nissan is dropping the Altima’s entry-level S trim and offering it only as an SV or SR for 2026, with the SV starting at an MSRP of $27,580. That’s just $150 more than the 2025 SV. The S was $27,000 for 2025.
Add the mandatory shipping fee and the total base price for the 2026 Altima S comes to $28,825. The Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are the only other mainstream midsize sedans that are still assembled in the U.S. and start at $29,490 and $30,195, respectively.
The $28,545 Hyundai Sonata and $28,585 undercut the Altima, but are both imported from South Korea. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Mazda and Subaru no longer compete in this segment. There had been rumors that the Altima was on the chopping block, but Nissan never confirmed them and it is business as usual at the Mississippi plant that builds it.
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All Altimas come with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and CVT transmission with either standard front-wheel-drive or optional all-wheel-drive. The power rating is 188 hp in front-wheel-drive cars and 182 hp in all-wheel-drive cars, while combined fuel economy is 31 mpg and 28 mpg.
The SR comes with 17-inch wheels, an eight-inch touchscreen display and the Nissan Safety Shield 360 system, which includes automatic emergency brakes, blind spot monitoring and lane departure prevention.
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The SV steps things up with 19-inch wheels, a 12.3-inch touchscreen and the optional ProPilot Assist lane-tracing adaptive cruise control system. It also gets Nissan’s Active Ride Control, which imperceptibly modulates the brakes and engine torque to smooth the ride when driving over bumps.
The 2026 Nissan Altima is in showrooms now.
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