Road Test: Nissan Maxima Ti

By Damien Tomlinson - 28/04/05

I like Nissan's new Maxima. This is a car that has taken many shapes during the many years it's been available in Australia, designed to be a cut above the rest, and offering next-gen features unavailable in its peers.

A friend of mine has one that's 14 years old; it's got a 12 CD stacker, power windows and climate control air-conditioning, and it goes like a dream.

So it was with not a little bit of excitement that I negotiated a week-long stay aboard the Good Ship Maxima with our friends at Nissan.

The first thing you notice about this car is its "Nissan-ness", albeit the new-age flavour. Hard but smooth lines, big proportions and an overall fresh feel. Nice big doors, and a satisfying thud once you're in.

There's no doubt, the brainiacs at Nissan want you Fairmont or Calais buyers to consider this car when it comes time for a trade-in.

The expanse of the dash before you is a delight at first glance - a long, solid section of timber (-look) panelling, a TV-like central display and a simple, elegant automatic shifter.

The seats in the Ti (one model down from the Ti-L, which gains a DVD entertainment system and rear proximity sensors) can only be described as cloud-like, electric leather luxury. Quite honestly, these could be the most comfortable leather seats I've sampled this side of the extraordinary Jaguar XJ6.

The Ti is a cut above the $39,990 base-level ST-L, adding a sunroof, full leather, a 6-speaker, 6-stacker CD player, overhead console, adjustable rear headrests and side curtain airbags. Considering the jump up to the Ti-L, my example would have to be the volume-seller in this crowd.

Here's the first of my few gripes about this car: despite the added fruit above its poor, I-couldn't-afford-the-Ti cousin, there is no easily discernible way to tell the difference from the outside.

Nissan's Maxima measures almost 4.9 metres long, and offers plenty of interior space

Nissan VQ35DE 3.5-litre V6 The fuel injected vee 6-cylinder engine has a 3.5-litre (3498cc) capacity and both the cylinder heads and the engine block are made from aluminium alloys. Quad camshafts (DOHC per cylinder bank) actuate 4-valves per cylinder and make use of variable valve timing (VVT) for improved fuel economy. A compression ratio of 10.3:1 allows 95 octane petrol (regular unleaded) to be used, which fills a a big 70 litre fuel tank. Max Power: 170kW @ 5600rpm Max Torque: 333Nm @ 2800rpm

The ambience in the Maxima's cabin is relaxed and quite luxurious, the dash design a highlight

Worse still if you forked out the extra $3000 for the top-of-the-line model - all three models have the same available paint schemes and the same 17-inch alloy wheels (with 215/55 R17 tyres).

Now I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I speak for most of the general motoring public when I say that if I've shelled out the extra coin for an upgraded model, I want more than a silver model designation on the back to distinguish me from the also-rans.

Holden cleverly uses subtle body kits, wheel designs and taillight clusters to distinguish its range -- could be some lessons here for Nissan.

But apart from that, there's not a lot to fault about the outside of Nissan's big car. Everything is styled "safely": no Bangle-esque "uniquity" here, just clean lines that neither challenge nor overly inspire.

It's a pleasant design, and there are obvious design cues aimed at drawing the genealogical line between this and Nissan's other sedan range, the Pulsar. From front and back, you can certainly tell the cars are related.

Nissan has banged in its impressive VQ35DE 3.5-litre V6, borrowed from the sizzling 350Z. The mill produces 170kW of power @ 5600rpm and 333Nm of torque @ 2800rpm, which isn't bad for a motor of this capacity.

Nissan claims 11.2 litres/100km (combined city and highway driving) from the 70-litre fuel tank, which is pretty good for a car this size.

The only negative with the engine is that it's mated to a four-speed automatic transmission, which offers no semi-automatic mode.

It would've been nice to put this engine through its paces with a bit more control, but considering how comfortable I was in the plush pew, I was happy to try out this latest offering exercising only my right ankle.

In the performance department, I was not disappointed with the 1480kg Maxima. The engine is super-quiet, which means it sneaks up and bites a bit when you first punch it. The Maxima will lurch off the line, announcing itself with little more than a hum from the (hidden) exhausts, a bit like the old Holden Ecotec 3.8-litre V6, but with less noise.

Once you're off the mark, the Maxima seems to find its groove quickly. As with many 4-speed autos, third gear is the most versatile here.

While the car will sit in fourth during general cruising, little more than a brush on the go pedal will produce a smooth kickdown and access to a few more revs in third, which is particularly handy at highway speeds.

The emphasis with the suspension and handling on this car is all about rocking the kids to sleep and providing as little as possible jarring over the ripples, so as you can imagine, it's quite supple to drive.

There is noticeable, but not outrageous, body roll around roundabouts and into some aggressive turns, but once the Maxima squats, it stays, tending not to bounce you out the back of the corner, but hunkering down and letting you power through. Definitely one of this car's stronger, and most unexpected, positives.

It's a big car too. At 4.8 metres long, it's in the big family car category, which will please Aussie families thinking finally about pinging off that awful Avalon or considering a change from the big Fords and Holdens.

My only concern with what Nissan's tried to do with the Maxima - that is, create a big car with modern features and creature comforts and a high level of standard equipment - comes at a price.

For instance, to create that wonderfully comfortable leather-clad cabin, the budgeteers have cut back in what I call a crucial area: the "feel" of things, something I'm most passionate about.

I hate nothing more than textured plastic which looks padded, but is rock-hard, and unfortunately, there is plenty of this stuff inside the Maxima. Storage slots in the doors are flexible, giving not a lot of a feel of substantiality, and your fist will knock on hard plastic, rather than thud on padding, on most other interior surfaces.

Also, while the timber-look panelling on the dash, coupled with lashings of aluminium and the leather, creates a warm, classy cabin, I can't help but think it'll be "uncool" all too soon as car design moves ahead (my brother's got an all-blue interior 1986 Celica - what were they thinking?).

Overall: 3.5/5

Nissan's new Maxima has hit the market at just the right time. While it was 18 months ago now, the car has settled in nicely, lifting from where the previous model left off in the race for the family and medium-corporate dollar.

The gripes above are the practical necessities Nissan's designers had to face when they decided to pump a lot of quality into a sub-$50,000 family sedan, and with that in mind, it's easier to applaud the company for its successes than berate it for its shortcomings.

Sure, the Maxima won't compare to the much more expensive luxury sedans it's emulating, but it feels a lot nicer than the Fairmont or Calais, in several key areas. And if that's its purpose - to offer a real alternative to buyers of the home-grown makes - it does a cracker job, and should definitely make many short-lists.