In the quarterfinals, the Altima beat out the Camry. I didn't read it. So the Altima was pitted against the Blazer, which is weird. They concluded that there is a reason midsize crossovers are replacing sedans. Especially when the crossover is actually good.
Clearly, the biggest difference between the Altima and Blazer is their design philosophies. It's hard to overlook the inherent packaging advantages of a midsize crossover compared to a midsize sedan, but the Altima puts up a good fight. Its trunk opening is wide, and the trunk itself is deep; two massive hockey bags, for example, would fit next to each other—but the lack of a center pass-through for sticks could be seen as a flaw the Altima and many sedans have. The Nissan's rear seats do fold forward, but that obviously reduces how many passengers you can carry. The sedan's biggest advantage here is its low step-in height, making it easier for children to climb in by themselves.
You used to be able to rely on sedans out-driving crossovers and SUVs, but after driving the Nissan back to back with the Chevy, we might be witnessing a changing of that guard. Sure, both were comfortable, quiet, and plenty powerful at city speeds and on the highway, but they differentiated themselves on the proving center's winding road. The Blazer handles surprisingly well for a front-drive-based crossover. Its chassis is buttoned down and refined, and steering is light and accurate—it was at least equally as engaging (and likely faster) than the Altima on the winding track.
Maybe that's meaningless to most buyers, but those same dynamic qualities that make the Blazer such a performer on the winding track also make it better in emergency lane change scenarios. In simulated emergency situations, the Chevy was rock solid and drama free, its electronics working unobtrusively to keep all four tires grounded and the nose pointed in the right direction, helping the Blazer clear the test without so much as brushing a cone. With all-wheel drive manually engaged (it's permanently "on" in nearly every other CUV), the Blazer is even more stable. The Altima, on the other hand, was easily upset in our emergency tests. Its chassis is less composed and its electronic stability systems less sophisticated, making it harder to control compared to the Blazer.
FWIW, the Blazer runs 14.7 sec @ 95.5 mph. It is 4,274 lbs.At the end of our bout of dissimilar training, one insight became abundantly clear: There's a reason American families have been abandoning sedans for crossovers, and that reason isn't necessarily styling or ride height. As the Chevy Blazer proves, midsize crossovers are incredibly versatile—serving as a one-size-fits-all magic bullet for an average family—and they can be both better to drive and more engaging than a comparable sedan.
The Altima SR turbo runs 14.5 sec @ 98.9 mph. It is 3,416 lbs. They have the same 0-60. The Altima also stops better, has a higher skidpad and runs the figure 8 faster. But as they said, numbers aren't everything and it sounds like they actually preferred driving the 850 lb heavier Blazer. I think that speaks to how good the Blazer is because nothing about any of what I just mentioned is an advantage to the Blazer that would translate to better anything.