I have a rental Altima right now. It took me a little while to get used to the shiftless CVT. It's a bit sluggish off the line, even if you turn off the overdrive setting, but once you're moving, it can be pretty zippy. I've had it since Monday and have been doing about 5 miles of city driving daily since then, but the gas gauge still shows full.

I had four people in the car yesterday and it didn't act too weighed down.