The 2016 Nissan Maxima may have the long-running 4DSC badge molded into the rear turn signal lenses but I’m not going to classify this as a sports car. There, I said it, now let’s move on and talk about what this car actually is and what it’s about. The all-new eighth-generation of the flagship of Nissan’s car line launched a few months ago with a dramatic new design and a host of technical upgrades. After a preview drive last June, I finally got to spend some extended time with the Maxima just before Christmas.
The Maxima is the second model in the Nissan lineup to adopt the brand’s new design language following last year’s third-generation Murano crossover. All too often today, automotive brands are rightfully accused of extensively borrowing from other brands for their premium cars, particularly the Germans. One look at the Maxima and the Murano and no one will mistake it for anything but a new Nissan.
The Nissan design team has crafted a surprisingly well integrated combination of sweeping curves and sharp creases that give the Maxima a sense of muscularity and athleticism. Like most newer sedans, the Maxima has a sweeping fastback roofline that is typically described as coupe-like. One detail that sets the Maxima apart from most of its contemporaries is the floating roof appearance. This is achieved through a combination of blacked out A-pillars and a black trim panel on the C-pillar separating the roof sheet metal from the fender. The effect is further accentuated by the slim strip of chrome that runs across the top of the doors and under the rear black panel. In profile, the car looks particularly long and lean giving it a sporting air.
Behind Nissan’s signature V-Motion grille, the Maxima like most higher end Nissan models is powered by the latest edition of the company’s 3.5-liter VQ V6 engine. Tuned to deliver 300-horsepower and 261 lb.-ft. for this application, the output is more than adequate for what is effectively a midsize sedan. The Maxima is nominally Nissan’s largest sedan, but just barely. It stretches about one-inch more in length and width than the hot-selling Altima with a roof that is 1.4-inches lower. Both cars have identical 109.3-inch wheelbases. Additional equipment likely accounts for most of the 100-pound weight penalty for the Maxima.
Click here to compare the 2016 Maxima against other V6 midsize sedans
Given American drivers increasing indifference to fully manual transmissions, it’s no surprise that none is available in the Maxima. Like other modern Nissans, this one uses an XTronic CVT programmed with Nissan’s D-step control strategy that makes it behave like a seven-speed step ratio transmission. Given the lack of actual gear shifts, this unit gives the seamless ratio changes expected of a CVT but it pretty much never exhibits the behavior most drivers hate in this type of transmission where the engine is held to a constant speed as the car accelerates. The result is the best of both worlds with smooth, efficient operation that still gives a sporty feel.
In the mid-range SL trim I drove, the there are no shift paddles on the flat-bottomed steering wheel but tap shifting is available with the center console lever for semi-manual control. Speaking of the steering wheel, the contrast stitching found there and on the dashboard looks good but the flat bottom is really kind of a poseur element in this car. While you do sit marginally lower than in an Altima, it’s not so much that the flat bottom is needed for clearance as it might be in a 370Z or GT-R for example. Again, not a sports car, but it’s really a minor quibble that doesn’t impact the driving experience one bit.
While the Maxima isn’t notably larger than the Altima, the finishings and trim inside the cabin do give it a more upscale feel than the volume model. The aluminum trim that sweeps across the doors and dashboard looks good without being ostentatious. The rear seat feels particularly spacious with plenty of legroom although the headroom in back is compromised a bit by the roof profile although my six-foot-one-inch son still had plenty of clearance. The panoramic glass moonroof that comes standard on the SL trim provides a view of the sky without really compromising headroom.
The new Maxima has a multi-modal interface that lets the driver control navigation audio and more through a choice of touchscreen or physical control knob and buttons
Maxima features what is known as a multi-modal control interface, something we’ll be seeing a lot more in the coming years. In essence, designers have given up on trying to force drivers into a single control paradigm. Everyone is now accustomed to touchscreen interfaces on their phones and tablets and some people even like them in cars despite the fact that I personally don’t think they work very well in this environment. Over the past decade most premium brands have eschewed the touchscreen in favor of physical controllers on the center console, a design pioneered by BMW with its iDrive.
not a sports car but who really cares about labels?
The Maxima uses both with pretty much all control options available through either the screen or the control knob and buttons behind the shift lever. I’m partial to the latter myself, but drivers can now choose. Fortunately, Nissan has seen the wisdom of keeping dedicated buttons and knobs on the center stack for the climate controls. Of course all of these controls are augmented by voice recognition which like most vehicles is somewhat hit and miss and clumsy to use.
Unlike Siri, Google Now or Cortana, these embedded voice systems still lack natural language processing capability and require multiple steps of inputting pieces of information to enter an address into the navigation system. The sooner automakers start incorporating cloud capabilities into voice recognition, the better.
Plenty of back seat room
Despite its athletic pretensions, the Maxima is still a very comfortable car to drive or ride in. The combination of strut front and multi-link rear suspensions does a great job of soaking up the road while minimizing body motions. The steering feel as you press into a curve in the road is acceptable but not exceptional and the brake pedal has a good solid feel that modulates deceleration in direct proportion to the pressure you apply with your foot. Even with 300-hp being applied through the same wheels that provide directional control, torque steer never reared its ugly head.
Even powered by a big V6 engine, Nissan has done an admirable job of wringing decent fuel efficiency out of the Maxima. During my week with the car, it averaged just shy of 28 mpg which compares quite favorably with the EPA estimates of 22 mpg city, 30 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined. The mid-level SL trim stickered out at $37,725 including lots of standard equipment such as the radar-based adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitor with cross traffic alert and forward collision warning with emergency braking.
For some reason, humans feel compelled to label and categorize the items they encounter in their lives. Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism to help deal with the overwhelming amount of information we encounter on a daily basis. Put everything into a bin where we can ignore the unimportant stuff. Seeing the world as a continuum, I’ve never been entirely comfortable with that and prefer not to assign a label to the Maxima. Let’s just say that this handsome and distinctive looking car with room for five that’s a pleasure to drive briskly.
Click here for full specs of the 2016 Nissan Maxima
