Rented a car in Toronto (dunno why it's always slim pickins) and it was a '18 Maxima. My first impression since I own a 1998 5-spd SE from new, is my how the mighty have fallen. There isn't anything sporty or flagship about this car.

Is this simply cars in general, because nearly every car I have rented last year and this year, is similar (I only get to choose from the Executive row in Toronto lol, cuz they never have peasant cars in the garage). It's not only the way they drive, but the way they're constructed. I noticed that my left knee was able to push in the door panel in i.e. it simply flexed? I tried to do the same on the LS430, and it won't budge. The fuel door is not remote anymore and looks really chintzy, like it will fall off at the Petro Canada if you're too hard on it, or if it's windy. google says this car starts at $37k? HUH? Cheap orange (non led) bulbs light up if someone is next to you...

imho the case for used is getting stronger and stronger? I feel sad for the car industry, which is why I'm focusing on curling...

 

Ugh, that's disappointing to see. The last time I saw a Maxima in-person, I didn't get to really get inside the car, but from the outside looking in, it has a pretty interior. Too bad about the materials quality... Thing is, I just booked a Maxima as a rental for an upcoming trip, so we'll see if my experience aligns with yours...

I can certainly believe the non-sporty bit. Every recent Nissan I have driven has been kinda "meh" in terms of driving dynamics - not entirely numb, but certainly not what I'd call responsive either. Then again, I haven't driven the Maxima or the 370z, which are the most sporty things they offer for mainstream price, supposedly

 

Interesting. I also owned a 98 5 speed SE- I still think back and have good memories of that car. Loved the white gauges, the above-average performance in handling and acceleration, the Bose sound system and those 5 star wheels. Pretty close to being a true 4 Door Sports Car as they dubbed them in the early/mid 90's. I had a buddy in high school who had a 92 or 93 Maxima- absolutely mint black on black, 5 speed, and he did some minor mods (sway bars, etc) to improve the handling. That was a sweet ride- I wish you could get a performance 4 door sedan with a stick shift today but they're really nowhere to be found (I've looked).

I just had a loaner IS 200t for a few days- drove about 400 miles in that and then rented a Nissan Altima for a 500 mile 2-day road trip. Comparing the two back-to-back, I'd buy the Altima over the IS. I thought the ride quality was better (WAY better on a highway trip IMO), interior fit and finish was slightly better, and you get things like blind spot monitoring in the low-level Altima (albeit with the strange dim orange light as you reference) that aren't found on the low-level IS. I think the Altima starts in the mid $20k range whereas the IS 2.0t starts in the mid $30k range.

It's disappointing that the Maxima didn't impress you more. I think there is a very wide gap in between cars like Maxima, Accord, Camry and the jump to mid-and upper-tier luxury brands like Infiniti and Lexus. I also think this is where Hyundai, Kia and Genesis can fill an interesting void - they can offer a very solid feeling car with pleasing aesthetics to compete in this price range. You could buy a higher-end 1 or 2 year old Hyundai/Kia/Genesis for around the same price of a new low-end Maxima.

 

I rented one in Vegas last year and thought it was a good car. Looks really nice, nice interior, steering and power was halfway decent.

Maybe I don't know this class of vehicles well enough :/

 

Funny how many roads lead back to Maxima? The 4th gen was my first new car, and I remember the salesperson saying to me, "How'd you get here? Did I just see you get off the bus?" Again I thought it was the greatest affordable car known to mankind when I got it. But I saw a crazy GS400 with a wing, on the way to work when the Maxima was new, and thought, dang.....

My dad told me a story that I actually did not remember until he brought it up.....you let me drive your car brand new from NY to CT, in a snowstorm, and I really enjoyed driving it, and appreciated that you would trust me with your brand new car. I had to think, why were we doing that...it was because I was giving my Volvo GLE to my brother, so we each had to drive a car.

I'm thinking back now....I got a Nissan Pathfinder in Feb 17 when I went to Brampton. I got a Nissan Murano in Dec. when I went to Toronto. Jeep Wrangler first time in Feb. Toronto, and now the Maxima. All of the vehicles were not very great. The Murano also surprised me, I thought it would be a luxury crossover, it underwhelmed. I truly believe that if cars are becoming so androgynous, then why not get a used 2007-2015 car and skip the expenditure... After I saw Doug Demuro's review, my car of choice is the E63s AMG wagon. And since that's not in my price range, well....

 

I also had a 4gen Maxima, a '97 SE 5spd loaded, black on black.

Other than my LS it was BY FAR my favorite car. That VQ motor was amazing and really hauled with the manual, the car looked great with those 5 star rims, and the Bose stereo rocked. The interior was also extremely luxurious and high quality.

Back in those days it was Maxima, Camry, or Accord, and the Maxima was by farrrr the nicest of the three. From there it was BMW 3 series. Kinda crazy how there weren't a billion cars to choose from back then.

A Maxima these days does nothing for me, while back in the day I lusted after them.

I still dream about driving it from time to time.

 

 

Maxima may have been the sexy sporty four door but it never sold well against Accord and Camry or even other domestic sedans. So eventually Nissan ceded the ground to other car makers and went on to do crossovers etc. Would you invest heavily in a car like that if you're not going to sell a lot of them. We're car enthusiasts here so we see everything through that filter, but the vast majority of midsize sedan buyers focus on price, space and reliability.

I like those 90s era and even the early 2000s Maximas, but face it, Nissan was getting an a**kicking from the other guys in this segment. So if you only sell 67K of these in 2017, why bother investing heavily in it? You move on to what people want and spend money on large crossovers and bof SUVs.

 

No, it is not your imagination. Because of the never-ending quest for weight and cost-reduction, Tin-Can body sheet metal has become more or less routine now in many new vehicles. Although dent-resistance is not one of them, there are benefits, however, to thin body sheet metal...better gas mileage, easier hood/trunk/latch opening/closing, and lower weight/mass for the engine, transmission, and chassis to have to deal with, resulting in better performance and braking.

 

That's because the Maxima was a half step up from those cars, and more expensive. A loaded '97 Maxima GLE or SE was a much nicer car than a top line Camry or Accord of the same year. The domestic choices were rolling junkpiles compared to the Maxima lol. But much less expensive.

But I agree with you otherwise, I stopped caring about the Maxima after the 5th gen. I had two I35s (based on that) and they were great cars.

That said, what reviews I have read about the current Maxima were all positive. The last gen was a looker and is aging well.

 

Keep in mind, most new cars do not use the same gauge metal as cars sold 40 years ago because crash management has progressed and changed. No longer does thick sheet metal need to hold up in a crash. Now, complex internal crash management systems come into play to help protect the central cabin. The front and rear are supposed to sacrifice themselves and fold in. So today, outer sheet metal is merely a skin, rather than part of a car's strength.

 

I don't know what trim level your Maxima was, but the one I rented in Ft Lauderdale was very impressive. The interior was at least as nice as an ES350 and the engine had plenty power. The trunk was large and easily held our luggage from a 2 week cruise. Everything worked on the car which is better than average for a rental.

 

The one that I rented said SL on the trunk and had the panoramic roof, so I believe it starts at about $38k. Anyone who rents one, push your knee into the door and see it flex. I really feel that the argument to buy used, and never finance a car (I have a wealthy friend who impressively has never purchased a new car, yet has 2 Porsches blah blah blah), might carry more weight when I see what "only 40k" buys today lol

It's interesting how many people had a 4th gen Maxima, seriously. The youtube guy who is now fixing his Gallardo in his garage, said he got into cars with his 1998 Maxima. I think it was truly a decent car for the 1994-1999 era, and as time has shown, a very reliable car, none of the modern issues and they're still on the road today after 20 years. So in a real sense, they don't make 'em like they used to!

Now I'm Camry curious--if I can rent one, I will. My hunch is it would be built better than the Maxima, but who knows...

 

This was my favorite and best Maxima for its time (1989-94). The subsequent two gens were fine too, but it's been downhill since the 2000's with the latest gen being inconsequential to the market (and to me).

 

I think there were a couple of domestic sedans that beat up on the Maxima pretty damn hard in terms of driving dynamics and power under the hood. 1990-1994 Ford Taurus SHO, good looking car, hauled *** for its era(fast as a stock 5.0 V8 Mustang), that Yamaha developed V6 was a real screamer. Also handled/braked well for a big FWD car of that era. Main thing that let that car down was the overall quality, from the way the interior was screwed together to just overall reliability.

2nd on my list is the 1998-2003ish Buick Regal GS/Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. 240hp/280lb-ft torque supercharged 3.8 V6, just an insane amount of off-idle torque. Very fast cars for that time, once again. Also if you do a custom air intake/modify that stock intake, you can hear that supercharger whine, plus the V6 does emit a rather throaty growl with the right muffler. Stock vs stock these would blow the doors off a 90's Maxima. Once again, fit/finish on the interior sucked, especially the Pontiac. But they were pretty reliable cars mechanically, GM had that down pat on these cars.

The Maxima was the nicer car back in the 90's, from the whole package perspective. It was also impeccably built IMO, the interior was light years ahead of either of those cars I mentioned.

I also remember helping my mom shop for a new car when I was 16 back in 2000. Had it narrowed down to about 4 cars, Lexus ES300, Acura TL, and the all new Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima. Parents were too cheap and conservative to buy the Lexus or Acura. Mom for whatever reason didn't like the styling of the Maxima, so we ended up with the big Avalon. At the time, I thought the Maxima was the better looking car(still do) and the one to buy since it was a bit sportier, but the Avalon has proven to be the unkillable car. It now has 260k+ miles and serves as daily transportation(80 mile round trip) for my brother in law going to grad school.