Vehicle: 2009 Nissan Maxima SV Sport with Xtronic CVT
Price as tested: CDN$39950

Performance: Nissan claims Maxima has got back its “4 door sports car” mojo with its latest offering. Any good sports sedan has to begin with a proper engine. The new Maxima is no exception. It all begins with Nissan’s legendary VQ engine series. With its latest iteration, its a 3.5 liter V6 24-valve DOHC, or what we usually referred to it as VQ35DE. It has got all the latest advancement in variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust valves for better engine breathing. It has 290 horses and 261 lb/ft of torque at driver’s disposal. As one of the world’s finest V6 powertrains, its level of refinement is simply top-notch. Nissan’s renowed control of NVH, smoothness and flexability in their legendary VQ engine series remain intact in their latest example There are plenty of low-end grunt, as witnessed by its 261 lb/ft of torque arrives at 4400rpm. All this power is put through Nissan’s Xtronic CVT. Xtronic has always been considered as one of the best CVT available in the market. In Maxima’s case, it works equally well. Driver can also control which articial gear they are in with the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The level of seamless gearchange match decently with Maxima’s supposedly luxury character, as suggested by its MSRP. While the mid-range is equally potent with 290hp, VQ35DE has always been felt short on the high rpm.

Handling: Based on the modified and upgraded chassis shares with the Altima, Maxima has a good foundation to build itself on. With our SV Sport tester, it got stiffer suspension and rebound damping, larger front and rear stabilizer bars for more spirited driving experience. For a high-powered front-driver, Maxima still exhibits the same nasty habit as its predecessor. Putting 290hp through the front wheels isn’t a good idea. It has been a heavily criticized dynamic trait in its predecessor, although it got slightly improved, it doesn’t take away the fact that it is an overpowered front-driver. Another dynamic deficit is the amount of understeer when pushed. No matter how hard Nissan engineers have tuned the suspension and rebound damping.

Its not that Maxima is a completely handicapped handler. Its safe understeer is easy to control for 99% of driving population than its rear-drive peers. The steering provides familiar steering feedback and precision we have used to Maxima nameplate. With Maxima’s dynamic deficit, it isn’t hard to understand why its stability control has acted like madness when its start to get understeer and oversteer. Ride comfort is what makes Maxima stands out. It absorbs all the bumps and patholes with ease. It actually rides like more like a luxury than a sports sedan.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, Maxima provides good braking feel and stopping distance. Its brake assist doesn’t grab driver’s right foot before ABS activates. On the other hand, ABS only steps in when necessary.

Interior: Maxima’s interior is decently layout. With stereo placed above automatic climate control for easy access. The instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. Those leather seats are comfortable with good side supports. While the amount of cheap plastic has been mostly eliminated in Maxima’s cabin, we still find some nasty pieces around the center console and door panels. It is much better than before, unfortunately, still far from being class leading.

Although the Max got 60/40 split fold-down rear seats, it doesn’t take away the fact that it got a high liftover, narrow opening and tight side sills.

Conclusion: Maxima was the crown jewel of Japanese sports sedan when it first incepted in 1976. It was fast, it was fun, it has lots of bang-for-the-buck and it had great build quality. This title was completely tranished when the previous generation Maxima debuted in 2004. So it begs the question, can Nissan bring its mojo back with the 2009 version? I don’t think so. It just doesn’t have the soul and spirit that made Maxima stands out above the crowd. Its 290hp VQ35DE does provide silky smooth driving experience. But it doesn’t feel as capable as its forebears nor its peers. Its sad to see Nissan has sold the soul of its once sports sedan icon completely.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2009 Nissan Maxima
=====================================
Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 3/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 3/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5