It's always been my understanding that automatic transmissions don't allow for engine braking.
they can, I always drove auto transmissions. the older cars used to have 2 lower speeds, 1 and 2. in my car a 2014 chevy impala had paddles on the steering wheel, I believe they had 5 "gears". I never used them up hill as it had a v6 engine with enough power to go up hill, so only used the "manual" paddles going down hill. then they chevy cruze only had it for about 2 months so I dont know much about it as i got rear ended and was totaled.
now on the altima, only info I could find was from some customers reporting that on ds (drive sport or sporty) it seems to slow down the car faster as oposide to just on "d" without stepping on the break.
curious thing I also found is while the car is fast for a 4 cylinder 2.5 engine, for the life of me cant figure out the hp on the engine. some sites say it's 140 and others 180 for the model i got. I really didnt bother to ask as when I drove it, I noticed it had more than enough power I needed. it wasnt as fast as the impala but sure as hell didnt have 120 hp either. I called 3 different nissan dealers and got 3 different answers.
it's one of those things you dont think about as the most important thing for me was to be able to get in and out without much effort as I have a really bad back. dont take me wrong it's a great car, faster than I thought and it looks great inside and out. black on black but that was secondary thing for me. I actually have a "ball" full of fluid about the size of an egg on my left elbow as I used it to push me out of the chevy cruze as I had to twist my body to the right. with this car all i have to worry is get both legs out and use my hands on door opening to help me out.
semp
semp