We drove a $31,000 Nissan Altima that will the challenge the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Here's our verdict.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Our Nissan Altima SR test car.

• The Nissan Altima is one of the most popular mid-size sedans in the US and was only outsold by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
• The sixth generation Altima is all-new for the 2019 model year.
• Our Nissan Altima 2.0 VC-Turbo SR FWD sedan is powered by an innovative 248 horsepower, 2.0-liter, turbocharged variable compression, four-cylinder engine. The Altima comes standard with a traditional 2.5 liter, four-cylinder engine.
• We were impressed by the Altima's well-designed interior, new infotainment system, and innovative engine.
• The base 2019 Nissan Altima 2.0 S FWD starts at $23,750 while our mid-grade SR test car started at $29,150. The top-spec Edition One VC-Turbo starts at $35,750. With features and options, our Altima came to an as-tested price of $30,655.

The market for family sedans in the US is shrinking. According to data collected by Kelley Blue Book, US mid-size sedan sales drop by more than 16% in 2017. Last year, sales fell another 15.9%.

However, the segment still represents a massive 1.48 million cars sold in 2018 or 8.6% of total auto sales in the US.

In short, there's still a lot worth fighting for here.

As a result, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, the segment's leaders, have both been completely revamped and are about as good as they've ever been.

Read more: We drove a $31,000 Honda Accord and a $39,000 Toyota Camry to see which one is the better family car. Here's the verdict.

The Smyrna, Tennessee-built Nissan Altima is the third member of the triumvirate. Nissan sold more than 209,000 Altimas in 2018. It's a figure bested only by the Accord's 291,000 and the Camry's 343,000 in US sales.

The Nissan Altima is all-new for 2019 with the debut of a sixth generation variant.

Recently, Nissan dropped off a new 2019 Altima 2.0 VC-Turbo SR clad in an attractive Deep Blue Pearl paint job.

The base 2019 Nissan Altima 2.0 S FWD starts at $23,750 while our mid-grade SR test car started at $29,150. The top-spec Edition One VC-Turbo starts at $35,750. With features and options, our Altima came to an as-tested price of $30,655.

Here's a closer look at the 2019 Nissan Altima.