Nissan Maxima: Returning the Flagship to its Throne

What's New About the Nissan Maxima:
The seventh generation has an all-new design, stepping up its game. With its Maserati-looking front-end surrounded by muscular bulging exterior lines, which highlights the brawniness of the vehicle, Nissan has finally returned the vehicle to the glory it once had prior to the popular Altima stealing the spotlight.

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Must Have Goodies:
The all-new four-door sedan was equipped with Nissan’s sport package, which consists of a stylish rear spoiler, 19-inch alloy wheels, high-intensity Xenon headlights, a power tilt and telescopic steering wheels, a heated steering wheel, programmable power heated driver’s seat, an automatic entry/exit system for the driver’s seat and steering wheel, Bluetooth capabilities, satellite radio with 9-Bose speakers and a keyless push button start-stop system.

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And for those who opt for a few more upgrades, they can look forward to their Maxima being equipped with a dual panel moonroof, ventilated front seats, a rearview back up camera, a navigation system, XM real-time traffic and wood-tone trim.

What Rocked:
The Maxima we reviewed was equipped with a few nice touch comfort features typically reserved for premium class luxury vehicles – heated steering wheel, the power tilt/telescopic steering wheel and heated integrated European mirrors with turn signals.

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And we can’t forget the steering wheel and the driver’s seat which adjusts and readjusts automatically -allowing the driver to easily exit and enter the vehicle. Oh yes, we can’t forget the premium leather heated form-fitting sports styled seats, specifically the driver’s seat. The Maxima front designed seats are in a class only a few luxury sport sedans have been able to master. We also were enamored with independent multi-link rear suspension coupled with the speed sensitive steering, which made for a comfortable driving experience.

What We Hated:
While we loved the redesigned Maxima, we didn’t particularly care for the pitch-fork styled paddle shifters obtrusively located behind the steering wheel, which are designed to make the driver feel like operating a manual transmission, as opposed to an automatic. What Nissan should consider doing is offering a manual transmission in the Maxima to truly enhance the driving experience. Also with so many luxury touches on the redesigned Maxima, we were surprised the headlights weren’t synchronized to turn on when the windshield wipers were in use. In a number of states, you’re required to have the headlights turned on when it’s raining. Furthermore, we experienced excessive road noise entering the interior cabin, when driving at highway speeds. Nissan should add extra insulation to eliminate the wind noise.

Any Juice:
The new Maxima has increased the power underneath the hood for the 2009 Maxima by 35 horses, while at the same time increasing fuel-efficiency, when compared to the previous generation. The gutsier 6-cylinder 290-horspower Maxima is equipped with Nissan’s trademark Continuously Variable Transmission. Unlike the typically transmission, this one remains constant. There is no downshifting or upshifting. And with all of this power and innovation, we still managed to achieve 400 miles with the 20-gallon gas tank.

Verdict:
Nissan continues to push the mark with the more luxurious new Maxima, which further differentiates itself from the brand’s little sister – the popular Altima sedan. The Maxima is available in two trim levels and pricing starts at $31,160 and can climb to $40,850, when fully optioned. Just in May of this year, sales of the flagship redesigned Maxima sedan posted an 86 percent increase over a year ago.

Competition:
Acura’s TL, BMW's 3-Seires, Cadillac’s CTS, Hyundai's Genesis Sedan, Infiniti's G37, Volvo's S80, Volkswagen’s Passat and Volkswagen’s CC