I posted this in the 6ES forum already but wanted to post in the car chat to see what everybody else has to say. ]Which car do you prefer? Do you consider the maxima a luxury car in the platinum trim? My cousin has been arguing with me about this subject for a while now so I wanted to get some opinions. He says the es is nothing but a souped up Camry,and he claims the maxima is "WAYY SMOOTHER"he says the maxima will smoke the es no doubt it is faster but Nissan claims that it is a "sports" sedan while the es is nothing but luxury. Also which car is nicer inside out? Looking forward to the replies.

 

Drive them yourself and you will find out which one is smoother.

 

I disagree with your cousin's view. An ES is more than a "souped-up" Camry. And he (or she) needs to study up on terms a little.....the term "souped up" usually refers to a larger, more powerful engine, not luxury-coddling or comfort. Among other things, the ES has noticeably better fit/finish, parts-fit, and sound insulation than a Camry....though it doesn't necessarily ride any smoother over thumps (depends on the Camry's tire/wheel size).

I examined a Maxima closely at the recent D.C auto show, though I haven't actually test-driven one for a couple of years. On the surface, it appeared to be well-built, with good materials, and well-screwed together from the factory. But, I thought the overly-raked, C-pillar "floating roof" was a gimmick, Nissan uses CVT (continuously variable) transmissions whose long-term reliability I am not sold on, and, even apart from the transmissions, under the skin, according to Consumer Reports, a number of Nissan products have lately been unreliable by today's standards. Lexus also gives you a better warranty (6/70 and 4/50) and customer service.....Nissan's warranty is the same general 5/60 and 3/36 as most mainstream Japanese manufacturers. If it were my money, I'd go with the ES, hands-down.

I'd consider it a borderline luxury/semi-sports sedan.

 

I owned a 10' Lexus ES and drove a rental Maxima several months ago.
Lexus ES has much better interiors finish.
Maxima felt much stronger and solid than ES.

If their prices are similar, I'd choose ES over Maxima.

 

Not just a fancy camry. Only people that say that have never driven one smh. By the way they are based on the Avalon frame now anyway.

Never been a fan of Nissan/Infinti plastic material, or that CVT system.

 

I would definitely argue that the past ES models were indeed Lexus versions of a Camry. The current ES is more of a high end Avalon. All built off the Toyota K platform.

As for how the ES vs Maxima. Both are nice cars. The Maxima is closer to a premium car. The ES is a luxury car.

 

The Maxima is pitched as a "four-door sports car." Even in luxury trim, the car's DNA and roots lean to sportiness. The ES is all about luxury, isolation, and smoothness. Both drive nice and both felt solid to me. But the Nissan is definitely the sportier of the rides. I believe it comes down to what you value more- the sporty experience or the luxury experience.

Other points: The Maxima should cost a bit less. Nissan, in the past, has used cheaper materials for construction. Their longterm reliability isn't as good as comparable Toyota/Lexus products. The ES is built better in my opinion, and would be the type of car to last 200k miles without issues.

 

The 4DSC is such a misnomer. There are entire segments of 4 door sedans that are faaaaar more sporty than the Maxima. Hahaha

 

I'll take an ES over Maxima.
1. Made in Japan
2. Better fit and finish.
3. Doesn't pretend to be something it's not, a 4DSC

 

I had 2 maximas in the past which I loved, a 99 and 02. They were great cars, and I wanted to consider some of the newer ones, but a few things that really annoyed me about them, the CVT and fwd. If they had a DCT transmission and rwd and awd drive I may consider one again. But between the 2, the ES. I'm not a big fan of the new Maxima styling, especially the side pillars.

 

Uh correction; since the 2016 MY, the ES has been manufactured in Kentucky. Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

The Maxima is a very good car; it also has been in (I can't remember either KBB or Car & Driver) the "Top 10 fastest depreciating new vehicle" list due to multiple reasons including Nissan's fleet sales. Nissan has been on a rampage (good version) of sales figures in the US in the past decade, a large part of this is due to fleet sales to corporate and rental fleets. Due to this, and the basic economic law of supply and demand, I'd recommend checking out a 1-3 year old Maxima rather than getting a new one.

For me, the Nissan is a gutsier vehicle, it has a wonderful V6, the Platinum trim has pretty respectable interior build. I prefer the "fun and excitement" of the Maxima compared to the ES. That said, Nissan does have some reliability issues in the long term that you won't have to worry about too much with the ES. The ES is based off the Toyota Avalon platform (yes, not a Camry...the Avalon) so it does ride smoother especially the 2016 MY and newer.

At the end of the day, I prefer a more serene ride and thus choose the ES. Purely personal choice and that does not make the Maxima a bad choice. If you do choose the Maxima, look for a pre-owned one for your wallet's sake.

 

#1 is no longer necessarily true for the ES. D'ahh Wandl beat me to it =)

 

I'm going to date myself here a bit and pull us slightly off the topic of ES vs Maxima, but this is what I would consider to be the best Maxima:

 

I prefer the next gen after the one pictured. The 1995 Maxima featured the first VQ ever and it went on to win many many awards thereafter. I had a 96 Maxima and compared to the rest of the competition, it blew them away. The Maximas thereafter started to get too big and eventually became a full size car while the Altima became the midsizer. I always thought they should have reduced the size of the Maxima to really make it a 4DSC. Sad.

 

That's actually the same model I had, it was my first car, 96 pearl white maxima with grey leather interior. Sold it with about 172k on the clock.

That said, I like the maxima's before the newest refresh, the new refresh for Nissan, at least the front ends to me look odd. But my mom recently had to have her GS in the dealership for a service package they were applying, and gave her a 15' ES. I gotta say, that ES wasn't bad at all. It looked nice, plenty of interior room, and felt big.

They are two completely different cars, but in terms of refinement, again, probably gonna have to give it to the ES.