TOKYO: Nissan has offered few reasons for buyers to step up from a loaded Altima to the Maxima the last few years. Many of the same features and much of the same performance and design panache in the Maxima could be had with its less expensive sibling. There was no 2015 Maxima, and what 2014 models remained were sold to loyalists (and there are many) — until the 2016 models arrived this summer.
The new Maxima, now in its eighth generation, make a stronger argument for paying the extra cash, at least for those who find its design attractive. Lovers will love; haters will hate here. The Nissan Murano’s floating roof treatment has been installed, and so has a grille that wouldn’t look out of place on a locomotive from the future. Nissan designers must be trying to out-French their partner Renault.
Maxima’s attitude harks back to Generation 3, the one first marketed as a four-door sports car (4DSC is embossed in the boomerang head and taillamps). The car is a bit longer and lower now, and the silhouette makes the car look more menacing. In the SR trim, the car gets a performance-oriented suspension, but it has no sunroof, which helps lower the center of gravity and raises structural rigidity (up 25 percent for 2016).
The Maxima has five trim levels; none have option packages. All run with a heavily revised 300-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 with 261 pound-feet of torque. The front-wheel drive is powered by a continuously variable transmission that feels remarkably like a geared box — most of the time.
While SR gets no power bump, it does achieve 0 to 60 miles an hour in a satisfying six seconds. Torque steer is mercifully faint, but rear- and all-wheel-drive cars eliminate that steering wheel tug. That is a consideration if maximum sport sedan dynamics are desired. Maxima is composed, but powering into corners with patchy pavement gives the front tires a lot to do. SR’s demeanor turns a bit jittery in those conditions.
Sport mode appropriately remaps steering weight, transmission dynamics and engine growl. SR’s electronic chassis management uses braking after bumps to restrain body movements. Even with low-profile tires, sharp impacts are muted. Safety technology includes radar-assisted cruise control and a collision-warning and auto-braking system that peers two cars ahead. When sleepy drivers are detected, the Maxima suggest a coffee break. All it needs is a built-in Keurig machine.
