Nissan Altima: Fuel Efficiency dropping - 2005 Altima S

Hi.

I bot a 2005 Pre-owned Nissan Altima S with 20,080 miles in Sept., 05.
It's now ~22,500.

It's cold here in New England so I Must turn the heat on!

I noticed that my fuel efficiency dropped from 23 to 19mpg while my
driving style has Not changed! I've also checked and inflated the
tires properly so I do not know why the fuel eff. have dropped!

Could using the heater Really make that much of a difference to drop
my fuel eff. by almost 20%??

I've read on some online reviews that the Altima does not handle well
in the cold. Is this true?

I've owned a Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla and just came off a lease
for a VW Passat (hence the Altima purchase). Those other cars Never
had a problem with fuel eff. while using the A/C or heat system!

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated!

TIA!

M

Hello.

I've read many places online that the Altima does Not handle well in
the cold weather and that the engine should not idle long. Idling in
the morning is not suggested.

Well... I live in New England and it IS winter now with temperatures
at night fulling into the 20s-30s! Usually, the car is frosted over in
the morning so I DO warm up the engine but I try Not to let it idle
for more than 5 minutes.

Sure enough, doing that for one week with NOT a change in my driving
patterns have resulted in ~19mpg.

Damn! Had I known Nissan Altima engines can NOT take the cold, I would
have bot any car instead! Now I HAVE to live with a car that does Not
handle well in the winter!

It's Not JUST the fuel efficiency but the overral handling in the cold
weather and snow REALLY makes the car feel sluggish!

BTW... the Center driver's side air vent in the 2005 Altima model
SUCKS!! It blows air right into the driver's face! Did Nissan's
engineers NOT notice this when they made the center console available
for the optional DVD system??

Damn Nissan!

First time Nissan owner! Probably the last!