You Won't Have Trouble Finding the 2019 Nissan Maxima in L.A.

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

At Nissan, all eyes are on the vastly revamped 2019 Altima, currently trickling onto dealer lots with a revolutionary variable compression four-cylinder under some hoods and available all-wheel drive. A very different roll-out is underway north of the border.

All of the hubbub surrounding Nissan’s new midsizer doesn’t leave much oxygen in the room for the model’s slightly larger sibling, the Maxima. Confused in identity for about the past two decades, the Maxima doesn’t enter 2019 unchanged. There’s styling and content tweaks afoot, though you’ll have no trouble spotting the 2019 Maxima after its launch at the L.A. Auto Show next month.

The above photo depicts the refreshed 2019 model, making this one of the most low-key styling updates in recent memory — though the Toyota Sienna and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport deserve honorable mentions. See the 2018 model below for reference:

To Nissan’s credit, the revised lower front fascia does represent an improvement, boosting the model’s visual athleticism with decent-sized side scoops and the appearance of a larger lower air opening. Underscored by a strip of chrome, the rejigged maw is flanked by headlamps with revised LED strips.

Anything going on out back? Maybe, but whatever it is, Nissan isn’t showing. It wouldn’t be a big change, anyways.

Right now, all Nissan is willing to reveal about the latest iteration of its so-called “four-door sports car” is the model’s available Safety Shield 360 suite of safety and driver-assist features. Oh, and it goes on sale in December. Appearing for the 2016 model year, the current-generation Maxima offers drivers a single choice of powertrain: a 3.5-liter V6 making 300 hp and 261 lb-ft of torque, mated to a continuously variable transmission.

While Nissan’s branding attempt fell apart after reviewers got their hands on the not-so-scorching vehicle, buyers responded favorably to the eighth-gen model. Last year’s volume was the model’s highest since 2009. Amid the model’s sell-down and Nissan’s move away from sky-high incentives, Maxima sales are down 36.2 percent over the first nine months of 2018.

[Images: Nissan]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Oct 22, 2018

    Amid the model’s sell-down and Nissan’s move away from sky-high incentives, Maxima sales are down 36.2 percent over the first nine months of 2018. Yeah the biggest reason to buy a Maxima was the incentives (which also contributed to serious depreciation). A friend of mine picked up a used one at CarMax and he's the kind of guy who will buy a new truck but if you catch him in a car it will be lightly used and stupid cheap. Even with the Altima ditching the V6 the best argument for a Maxima would be if it were still available with a manual trans.

    • See 4 previous
    • 9Exponent 9Exponent on Oct 23, 2018

      @JohnTaurus Every Altima coupe I see has been de-badged, murdered-out, and looks to have been to hell and back. It’s hard to guess what’s going on under the hood, but I bet each owner truly wanted a G35.

  • JohnTaurus JohnTaurus on Oct 22, 2018

    "You Won’t Have Trouble Finding the 2019 Nissan Maxima in L.A." Unless there is a 2018 parked next to it, then you may be lost for a moment. Honestly, I kinda like the current one a smidge more.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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