2011 Nissan Maxima Expert Review: Autoblog
Autoblog
Front-wheel drive is a funny thing. When originally introduced during the Thirties in the Cord 810 (then later in the awesome supercharged 812) and the Citroën Traction Avant, FWD was hailed as a major breakthrough, a wondrous technological innovation that allowed for lower ride height and greatly increased passenger space. Postwar consumers got a taste of the wonders of FWD with the iconic Citroën DS. At the top of its game in the Sixties, General Motors reintroduced FWD to American consumers with two remarkable luxury coupes: the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado and the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. Come the Seventies, Citroën produced what is arguably the greatest GT coupe of that decade, the impeccable (and FWD) SM.
The average gearhead hates FWD for all the right reasons (weight distribution, steering feel, the front tires being asked to both propel and turn, etc.), and during a recent discussion we had with a half-in-the-bag PR guy, [NAME REDACTED] exclaimed, "Front-wheel drive sucks!" So, how can a technology go from the penthouse to the doghouse like that? One answer (of many) comes from the Minnesotan economist/social philosopher Thorstein Veblen and his book The Theory of the Leisure Class. Here's a quick, ten-cent Cliff Note version: When electric lighting first appeared, only the rich could afford electric lights. As such, electrically lit dinners were considered romantic and desirable. However, once electrification trickled down to the unwashed masses, only the rich could afford both bulbs and candles. Hence, candlelit dinners became en vogue. Which – believe it or not – leads us very nicely to the 2010 Nissan Maxima SV Sport and its $38,384 asking price.
Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2009 Weblogs, Inc.
Granted, you can get a new Maxima for less scratch. The base car starts at "just" $30,460. But the car Nissan provided us has a price tag of nearly $40,000. You do get a lot car for that money, but at the end of the day, $38,384 is a big chunk o' change. So big, in fact, that you might be tempted to choose an Infiniti G37 sedan (beginning at just over $33,000), or even a Cadillac CTS (starts at $37,000). Two similarly-sized cars that are, as it happens, rear-wheel drive.
The Maxima's shape is one thing it has going for it. When the third-gen Altima was introduced in 2002, suddenly the once lofty Maxima looked an awful lot like its lower-priced platform mate. Then the Altima was redesigned and placed on Nissan's new D platform in 2007 and it still resembled the more pricey (and very long-in-the-tooth) Maxima. Finally, last year, Nissan brought us an all-new Maxima that didn't resemble anything.
A quick poll of the Autoblog staff reveals that almost all of us like the shape. From the blunted front end to the deeply sculpted sides to the fat, sexy haunches, there is little question that design-wise Nissan's biggest sedan has got the look. Though admittedly strange at first, the harpoon/fish hook head and tail lamps look sharp (no pun, no pun), especially when set off against a dark color. And these are some of the finest looking wheels we've seen on any car, let alone a big FWD sedan.
The interior's nearly as good as the exterior. First and foremost is that thick (we're talking BMW-thick) leather-wrapped steering wheel that is mercifully (nearly) free of button clutter. While all Maximas now ship with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), the large, almost oversized aluminum flappy paddles behind the wheel feel great. The seats are also thick, many-way adjustable and comfy. Though we'd like some more leg and hip bolstering – the seat bottom is a little flat – rear seat customers will enjoy their spacious perch. The instrument binnacle is intelligently designed and filled with big, legible gauges, exactly what one would need if you were to take Nissan up on its renewed 4DSC (Four-Door Sports Car) boast.
Many of us are also fans of the very Infiniti-like nav-cluster. Overall, the quality of the materials is on par with other entry-level luxury offerings with one big exception: The area surrounding the gear selector is not only dull, but almost undesigned. And if the car's got a CVT (i.e. no set speeds), why not follow BMW's lead and move the gear lever to the column so as to free up some space? A minor quibble, maybe, but that area was beneath (again with the no pun) the rest of the rather pleasingly pleasant interior.
Allow us to state up front that when CVTs first arrived on the scene they were nasty, despicable things that were constantly whirring, wheezing and searching for who knows what every time you buried your right foot. Much like automatic transmissions – only worse. That rant out of the way, the second generation of CVTs are actually... okay.
The first good one we experienced was in the cyber barge Lexus LS600hL, though we chalked up that transmission's okay-ness to the fact that Lexus had buried the shiftus interruptus beneath the brand's requisite nine tons of sound deadening. Besides, in a $120,000 automobile, the CVT had better be good. Then we got our paws on some down market CVTs – principally in Nissans like the Rogue, Versa and Cube. And you know what? Most of us like 'em just fine. They weren't Lexus wonderful, but they were a fifth the price.
In the Maxima, the CVT experience is better than in its smaller siblings, and about on par with the big, electric Lexus. In fact, for the first 20 minutes we were behind the wheel, we were unaware (fine – we forgot) that the car didn't have a regular old slush box. As our normal testing procedure begins with jamming up the curvaceous 110 freeway to Pasadena to fetch Drew Phillips and his photographic chops, we threw the tranny into manual mode and used the paddle shifters. That's right, the Maxima (like the LS600hL) has six faker-gear ratios (though the Lexus has eight) that allow it to behave just like an automated manual. It was only on suburban streets back in regular mode that we noticed the tach needle slowly rising and falling, as opposed to a regular automatic where the needle falls precipitously with each gear change.
So, how's the Maxima drive? Well, it's very quick. Stomp the gas and this sucker just goes for it. However, due to so much power spinning the front wheels, you are very aware that you are being pulled to extra-legal speeds, instead of pushed. To be fair, this has been a Maxima trait since they first started dropping VQs into the sedan. But in the 2010 Maxima, you really do notice all 290 ponies. The sensation is like holding onto a horse's reins. And torque-steer – the engine's tendency to try and rip the wheel from your hands when you throttle out of a corner – is an all day event.
While there's nothing inherently rotten about FWD, there is something unsettling about big horsepowered FWD cars – unless they've got a fancy way of fighting back against all that power, like in the power-chopping Mazdaspeed3 (fuel gets cut early in low gears at high RPM) or the unequal-tracked Citroen DS/SM (where the front wheels extend out further than the rear ones). With the Maxima, you're just left to arm wrestle the mighty motor. We hope you've been eating your Wheaties.
When you're not shredding apexes, the Maxima is a fairly cool customer. The ride is plush and plenty comfy, while the cabin is quiet and nicely shielded from wind and motor noise. Those big, beautiful wheels do make some racket, though. Nothing fatal, but you hear 'em. Should you choose to saunter through corners (instead of play Lewis Hamilton), the well-engineered chassis can carry plenty of speed around the bends. Just watch your right foot.
Far from a four-door sports car (sorry, Nissan), the Maxima SV Sport is a roomy, nearly-luxurious, semi-athletic steed. If we woke up tomorrow and (somehow) discovered we owned a copy, we'd be happy. But would we pay $38,000 for one? Short answer: No. There's nothing really wrong with the car, save for its sticker. Who then would consider a Maxima spec'd out like our test vehicle? Best we can figure, an Accord owner who is quite happy with his/her car but just wants something a little nicer, a little quicker and a whole lot more good looking. Then again, they might not. For our money, we'd take an Infiniti G37 sedan with the six-speed manual and pocket the extra $2,000. It's not that RWD is always better than FWD. But in this case, it is.
Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2009 Weblogs, Inc.
New Car Test Drive
A four-door sedan with sports-car performance.
Introduction
The Nissan Maxima occupies a unique place in Nissan's lineup. It's a midsize sedan like the Altima, but it costs more, comes with more equipment, and is sportier. It's close to the price of the rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G37, but the Maxima has front-wheel drive instead of rear-wheel drive so it isn't as sporty as the G37.
The Maxima is engineered, built, tuned and aimed at drivers who prefer sporty handling and a firmer ride as opposed to the softer, more luxurious rides associated with many cars in this class.
The 2011 Nissan Maxima competes with the Acura TL, Infiniti G, Cadillac CTS, and Toyota Avalon, as well as deluxe versions of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
The Nissan Maxima features a notably wide track, which helps the chassis handle the corners on its wide tires. Maxima's underpinnings are shared with other Nissan front-wheel-drive models, including the Murano and Altima. Sized close to the Altima, the Maxima's platform is measurably stiffer.
Maxima Sport and Premium models benefit from a large steel panel behind the rear seat to connect the floor, walls and package shelf into a single unit that, according to Nissan, is up to 17 percent stiffer than the base model, all aimed at sharper handling. Sport versions also add a brace across the front suspension towers for greater stiffness and steering precision. We think that's a vote in favor of the Premium and Sport packages, though it means giving up the cargo benefits of a folding rear seat. Upgrading to these packages is more than the sum of their feature lists.
Changes for the 2011 model year are minor. They involve mostly minor appearance tweaks for cars equipped with the Sport package. This package now includes smoked headlights, a dark chrome grille, and shiny gray interior stitching. All 2011 Nissan Maxima models also get rolled edge tailpipe finishers and two new exterior colors.
The 2011 Nissan Maxima is offered in two models, S and SV.
All 2011 Nissan Maxima models are motivated by a 290-horsepower 3.5-liter dohc V6 engine and come with Nissan's Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), which works like an automatic.
Lineup
Nissan Maxima S ($31,400) comes standard with cloth upholstery, eight-way power driver's seat with lumbar adjustment, four-way power front passenger seat, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, interior air filter, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, trip computer, power moonroof, cruise control, intelligent key and starter button, eight-speaker AM/FM/MP3 sound system with six-disc CD changer, auxiliary input jack, Bluetooth wireless cell phone link, tilt/telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls, auto-dimming rearview mirror, automatic headlights, theft-deterrent system, and P245/45VR18 tires on alloy wheels.
Nissan Maxima SV ($34,100) upgrades with leather upholstery, nine-speaker Bose sound system with speed-sensitive volume control, driver's seat with a thigh extension and power lumbar, compass, fog lights, HomeLink universal garage door opener, turn signal repeaters in the mirrors, and XM Satellite Radio.
Options for the SV: The Sport package ($2,100) features a sport-tuned suspension, P245/40VR19 tires, rear spoiler, HID xenon headlights, upgraded leather upholstery, heated front seats, heated leather steering wheel, power tilt/telescoping steering column, paddle shifters, automatic entry/exit system (with two-driver memory), driver-side memory (driver's seat, outside mirrors, steering wheel), rear bucket seats, rear-seat trunk pass-through, large rear-seat fold-down center armrest, heated outside mirrors with reverse tilt-down feature and auto-dimming on the driver's side, and metallic-link trim.
The Premium package ($3,300) features rear air conditioning controls, premium leather upholstery, heated/cooled driver's seat, heated passenger seat, power tilt/telescoping heated steering wheel, paddle shifters, memory system (driver's seat, mirrors, steering wheel), rear bucket seats, trunk pass-through, Eucalyptus woodgrain interior trim, heated mirrors with driver's side auto-dimming and tilt-down back-up aid, dual-panel moonroof, seven-inch color monitor, rearview camera, USB port, 9.3-gigabyte Music Box hard drive, power rear sunshade, xenon headlights.
The Technology package ($1,850) adds the hard drive Navigation system with voice recognition and XM NavTraffic and XM NavWeather, 9.3-gigabyte Music Box hard drive, and seven-inch touch-screen color monitor. A Monitor package ($700) comes with the seven-inch color monitor, rearview camera, USB port, and a two-gigabyte hard drive.
Stand-alone options include the Cold package ($400) with heated front seats, outside mirrors and steering wheel; HID headlights ($400); and a rear spoiler ($375).
Safety features on all models include dual-stage frontal, side-impact and side-curtain airbags; anti-lock brakes with brake assist; Vehicle Dynamic Control (electronic stability control); Traction Control; tire-pressure monitoring; and active front head restraints.
Walkaround
The Nissan Maxima has an attractive, shapely look that fits with its sporty character. Brand styling themes are evident, but the look is unique in Nissan lineup.
Every exterior body panel on the car shows adventurous and modern design and shaping. The fenders bulge at the wheelwells front and rear, accented by character lines along those bulges. The hood has similar bulges, and they all lend a sporty appearance. On each side, the door skins are pulled in from the fenders and flattened out so that the whole body has what the designers call a Coke-bottle shape, with a short nose, a short deck, a long, sloping roof and a BMW-style C-pillar curvature. The grille, headlamps, and 12-LED taillamps are large and fit well into the whole exterior design.
The Maxima is a great looking, assertive sedan with high style and fine detailing, and it doesn't look like anything else in the Nissan lineup.
Interior
The Maxima's place at the top of the Nissan lineup is most evident from the driver's seat. The design, materials, and execution of the interior are top-notch.
The interior features of the Maxima are all about concentration of controls and information around the driver. The interior includes a few items right out of the Nissan parts bin. The radio and navigation control panel sit at the top of the center stack, backed up by lower controls with large, very readable labels and markings. The instruments are black with white numbers that are lit even during daytime driving. The hefty three-spoke steering wheel has redundant controls for the audio system, and is available with huge paddle shifters that will never be out of reach for a quick shift. The floor shifter is located to the left of the center console, for those who want to shift via the stick instead of the paddles.
The available Music Box hard-drive radio holds thousands of songs, and drivers can plug their iPods and MP3 players into the available USB port to listen to songs that way. Nissan also offers a smaller two-gig hard drive in the Monitor package to hold a few hundred songs.
Front and rear comfort is quite good, though not class leading. The driver's seat is multi-adjustable, especially in the Sport package version that we drove, and very huggy and comfortable. Headroom and legroom are generous for most drivers, though the very tall will want more of both.
The rear seat doesn't have as much space as we would expect for a car of this size. Legroom is decent. So is headroom for those of average height. However, taller occupants will want for more headroom due to the car's coupe-like roofline. The seats themselves are fairly supportive, though. Nissan designed the Maxima primarily with two people in mind, with the back seat designed for occasional use. The Altima is better suited for a family of three or four.
The trunk is small for the class, offering 14.2 cubic feet. The rear seat that comes standard folds 60/40, which adds considerable space. The Sport and Premium packages have a fixed rear seat with a cargo pass-through in the center for occasional hauling or ski trips. That reduces cargo capacity, but the metal plate behind the rear seat improves chassis rigidity, which is the key to sharp handling and a smooth ride.
Driving Impression
Nissan markets the Maxima as a four-door sports car. While that may be going a bit far, it certainly is a sports sedan. Front-wheel drive means it isn't as naturally balanced as rear-wheel-drive cars such as the Infiniti G or BMW 3 Series. However, the Maxima has six engine mounts, and the engine is mounted quite low in the chassis for a lower center of gravity and better handling. The suspension uses aluminum components and a geometry chosen for handling capabilities. We found the front-wheel-drive generates virtually no torque-steer, even under full throttle, an impressive bit of tuning on Nissan's part.
We found the Nissan Maxima SV Sport felt agile, glued to the road and ready to play, with no hint of harshness in the ride. Of course, the Sport package is aided by the front crossbrace and the elimination of the split-folding rear seat, both of which add rigidity. (We're inclined to think the rear-seat brace makes the bigger difference.) The base model is likely plenty sporty, too, but not as precise when pushed hard.
The speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering system is shared with the 370Z sports car, and it makes the driver feel connected, truly part of the steering and driving process, and it's never over-boosted. The ABS brakes have vented rotors both front and rear, for superior fade-resistance and added braking power under severe conditions.
The Maxima comes with a strong, responsive 3.5-liter V6 engine. With 290 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 261 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm, the V6 is at the top of the class in terms of power development for its size, but it's not peaky or cranky because the valve and intake systems keep it optimized for just about any gear and rev range. It has both variable valve timing and a variable intake system. The latter opens wide at about 4500 rpm, wide enough that you can hear the engine sound change dramatically, adding to the driving enjoyment. The Maxima is EPA-rated at 19 mpg City, 26 mpg Highway.
The engine is smooth right up to the 6200 rpm redline. The only time it gets loud is when the engine intake system switches over into high-flow mode above 4500 rpm. The rest of the time, the car is very quiet inside, with very little intrusion from the outside world. We are reminded once again Nissan builds superb V6s.
Power is plentiful throughout the rev range. This makes the car enjoyable to drive, and if you can keep your foot out of it, you can get better mileage than the 26 mpg EPA Highway label. If you keep your foot in it, expect 0-60 mph times of 5.8 seconds or less.
Much to the chagrin of some critics, the continuously variable transmission, or CVT, is the only transmission available. As with a traditional automatic, the driver need do nothing to change ratios except step on the gas pedal. The CVT has a virtually unlimited number of gear ratios, but it also includes a manual mode with six preset drive ratios that the driver can select for sportier driving. We found it a joy to use in either mode. According to Nissan, the Xtronic CVT software contains more than 700 shifting algorithms to cope with every driving situation in every gear from idle to full-throttle, and the transmission can shift 30 percent faster than a human can manually. In the Sport Drive mode, the shifts are lightning quick, and Nissan has programmed it to include a very sporty throttle blip on every downshift.
Summary
From its quick, accurate steering to the ready power to the nimble handling, the Nissan Maxima is one of the most fun-to-drive midsize sedans. It isn't the roomiest car in the class, and it isn't the least expensive. It isn't meant to be. Instead, it is designed as a premium car for drivers who want a sporty four-door but don't want to spend the money for full-on luxury.
Jim McCraw filed this NewCarTestDrive.com report from Cary, North Carolina, with Kirk Bell reporting from Chicago.
Model Lineup
Nissan Maxima S ($31,400), SV ($34,100).
Assembled In
Smyrna, Tennessee.
Options As Tested
Sport package ($2,100) with sport-tuned suspension, P245/40VR19 tires, rear spoiler, HID xenon headlights, premium leather upholstery, heated front seats, heated leather steering wheel, power tilt/telescoping steering column, paddle shifters, automatic entry/exit system (with two-driver memory), driver-side memory (driver's seat, outside mirrors, steering wheel), rear bucket seats, rear-seat trunk pass-through, large rear-seat fold-down center armrest, heated outside mirrors with reverse tilt-down feature and auto-dimming on the driver's side, and metallic-link trim; Technology package ($1,850) with Navigation system with voice recognition and XM NavTraffic and XM NavWeather, 9.3-gigabyte Music Box hard drive, and seven-inch touch-screen color monitor; Monitor package ($700) with rearview camera, USB port, and two-gigabyte hard drive.
Model Tested
Nissan Maxima SV ($34,100).
2011 Nissan Maxima Information
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MSRP: $32,545
