2009 Nissan Maxima Review

Brendan McAleer
by Brendan McAleer

When I reviewed the ’07 Altima 3.5 SE, I concluded by posing the question, “Why in the world would anyone buy a Maxima?” Why indeed. The Pen-Altima far surpassed its big brother in power, handling and styling. Nissan had neglected the Maxima into a noisy Toyota Avalon with a cheap interior. Pity, because the nineties’ version was a sort of lower-case-m-5: Japanese bento-box-styling with three tubes of wasabi squirted under the hood. Now Nissan’s thrown the old Maxima blueprints out the window of a Nürburgring-blitzing GT-R. Four-door-sportscar? We’ll see about that.

The Maxima’s new “Liquid Motion” ethos looks fishier than cocktails at Sponge Bob’s. Except for the Audi Quattro-like haunches, there’s not a single surface where a drop of rain could tarry. The smeared mascara headlights look idiotic in press photos. They become samurai-helmet material in the flesh. The dual exhausts and [optional] rear spoiler signal sporting intent with similar subtlety.

With 19″ rims, doors the size of stainless-steel refrigerators, and a new wider track and shorter length, the Maxima offers pure, broad-shouldered aggression. Overall, the new, downsized– yes, downsized– Maxima looks like some antediluvian antecedent to the G37 coupe just got dredged up from the Marianas trench. And then ate four people.

Nissan may be eating Subaru’s lunch when it comes to performance, but the two brands are in a race to the bottom when it comes to interior quality. Even the mighty Nissan GT-R suffers from a cheapish-feeling interior. The Maxima’s cabin is as rubbery as Chrysler’s plastics are hard. If Nissan wants people to think their cars are built to last, they’re going to have understand that first impressions last.

Still, the four-door’s fat three-spoke steering wheel approaches perfection, and the ergonomics are beyond reproach. Nissan allows you to choose between “piano black” trim or eucalyptus wood. Choose the wood, at least it’s real; the piano trim wouldn’t look out of place on a Farfisa synthesizer.

The new Maxima offers an Infiniti amount of optional toys, from thermal butt management to premium mood lighting (want to drive my etchings?) to the industry’s biggest heat sink- I mean dual panel sunroof. But the view forward is the killer app, as your eyes stare down that fantastic hood with its stingray arches and central power bulge.

Fire-up the not-so-uber-anymore Nissan and it’s clear the brand’s engineers have a hotline to a dodgy Mexican pharmacy. The good ole’ 3.5-litre VQ-series V6 tells you in no uncertain terms that it’s chock-full of Vegas-grade Viagra; power is up from 255hp to 290hp. Fuel economy has also been maximized, with a single mpg added to the highway economy. On premium fuel. Oops. Anyway, it’s enough thrust to power the Maxima from rest to sixty in about six seconds.

The new Maxima comes with Nissan’s Continuously Vacuous Transmission (a.k.a. CVT). Sorry pistonheads, there’s no stick-shifting your expectations here. Saying that, perhaps it’s time to cut the transmission slack some slack. The previous rubbery isolation that interfered with driver involvement now feels merely latex-based, particularly in the sportier DS mode. Theoretical cogs swapped via the steering-column-mounted paddles aren’t quite as crisp as some of the other manually-shifted autoboxes out there, but the responses are gratifyingly rapid.

The best bit: the new Maxima’s rolling acceleration. With 261 lb-ft. of torque lingering underfoot, the Tennessee tornado is no real world slouch. Highway or two-lane overtaking is as easy as it is aurally satisfying. You’ll be able to pass most anything at its price point except, perhaps, a mirrored window.

Usually, turning-up the sporty knob on a family sedan creates the sort of discomfort Herr Mosley [allegedly] enjoys. In the new Maxima, aluminium suspension bits borrowed from the Infiniti M45 and a six-point engine mount (for reduced vibrations) deliver a ride that manages to hit a high note of communicative firmness without ever resorting to cruelty. It could housebreak a golden retriever puppy. But if you prefer a more sedate Maxima, a softer Premium trim is offered next to the Sport model.

OK, we’re here now. Is this the “world’s best-handling 290hp front-wheel-drive-car?” Surely the concept is as ridiculous as the “world’s best one-armed boxer.” Yes, the traction control steps-in when mashing the gas from a stop. But otherwise, torque steer is blessedly absent. Even better, the new Maxima corners so evenly you’d think it had outriggers. Even betterer, Nissan’s quick but unfortunately-named twin-orifice power-steering rack provides a direct connection to the front tires. There’s a feeling of slippery nimbleness that even an Altima coupe would be hard-pressed to match.

Despite sharing platforms with the Altima and Murano, the Nissan Maxima is not a super-sized something. Their new flagship- I mean, four-door flagship won’t look out of place slotted next to a GT-R on the showroom floor. Brutal styling, a snarling V6 and a sorted chassis: welcome to the Circus Maxima.

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Brendan McAleer
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  • Segar925 Segar925 on Aug 02, 2009

    Having been an owner of numerous Honda & Nissan vehicles, here’s my two cents on the new Maxima: 1. It’s way better than the two previous Maximas. 2. Looks much better in the flesh than in photos. 3. Other FWD competitors are either too generic (Accord, Camary) or down right ugly (Acura TL). 4. It’s no G-37, but it’s the best FWD alternative and several thousand $$ less. Sure, I’d rather have a 6 speed Maxima because almost every vehicle I’ve owned in the last 35 years was a standard, but the CVT is much better than the annoyance of an automatic that constantly shifts up, down & in-out of overdrive. The Maxima CVT is the ONLY automatic I’ve found that’s tolerable for this hard-core manual trans guy. I also prefer a FWD sedan because it goes everywhere 365 days a year without the added expense & maintenance of AWD. So the new Maxima is by far the best sport sedan for me. Honda’s bizare styling cost them my business and the new TL is Butt-ugly. My 1999 Maxima has been absolutely trouble-free & unlike a Honda or Toyota V-6, it will never need a new timing belt. I’m convinced Nissans are every bit as dependable as a Toyota or Honda and often Nissans are less expensive.

  • Waynegro Waynegro on Nov 08, 2011

    The tone of this piece is annoying. It's not funny, or clever, but it tries to be.

  • Alan Years ago Jack Baruth held a "competition" for a piece from the B&B on the oddest pickup story (or something like that). I think 5 people were awarded the prizes.I never received mine, something about being in Australia. If TTAC is global how do you offer prizes to those overseas or are we omitted on the sly from competing?In the end I lost significant respect for Baruth.
  • Alan My view is there are good vehicles from most manufacturers that are worth looking at second hand.I can tell you I don't recommend anything from the Chrysler/Jeep/Fiat/etc gene pool. Toyotas are overly expensive second hand for what they offer, but they seem to be reliable enough.I have a friend who swears by secondhand Subarus and so far he seems to not have had too many issue.As Lou stated many utes, pickups and real SUVs (4x4) seem quite good.
  • 28-Cars-Later So is there some kind of undiagnosed disease where every rando thinks their POS is actually valuable?83K miles Ok.new valve cover gasket.Eh, it happens with age. spark plugsOkay, we probably had to be kewl and put in aftermarket iridium plugs, because EVO.new catalytic converterUh, yeah that's bad at 80Kish. Auto tranny failing. From the ad: the SST fails in one of the following ways:Clutch slip has turned into; multiple codes being thrown, shifting a gear or 2 in manual mode (2-3 or 2-4), and limp mode.Codes include: P2733 P2809 P183D P1871Ok that's really bad. So between this and the cat it suggests to me someone jacked up the car real good hooning it, because EVO, and since its not a Toyota it doesn't respond well to hard abuse over time.$20,000, what? Pesos? Zimbabwe Dollars?Try $2,000 USD pal. You're fracked dude, park it in da hood and leave the keys in it.BONUS: Comment in the ad: GLWS but I highly doubt you get any action on this car what so ever at that price with the SST on its way out. That trans can be $10k + to repair.
  • 28-Cars-Later Actually Honda seems to have a brilliant mid to long term strategy which I can sum up in one word: tariffs.-BEV sales wane in the US, however they will sell in Europe (and sales will probably increase in Canada depending on how their government proceeds). -The EU Politburo and Canada concluded a trade treaty in 2017, and as of 2024 99% of all tariffs have been eliminated.-Trump in 2018 threatened a 25% tariff on European imported cars in the US and such rhetoric would likely come again should there be an actual election. -By building in Canada, product can still be sold in the US tariff free though USMCA/NAFTA II but it should allow Honda tariff free access to European markets.-However if the product were built in Marysville it could end up subject to tit-for-tat tariff depending on which junta is running the US in 2025. -Profitability on BEV has already been a variable to put it mildly, but to take on a 25% tariff to all of your product effectively shuts you out of that market.
  • Lou_BC Actuality a very reasonable question.
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