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By
EWAN KENNEDY
10 September 2007
The hiccup in the family car market due to rising fuel prices
seems to be a thing of the past, at least for the time being. Buyers are
coming back, seduced by the launch of the VE Commodore and Toyota Aurion,
Mitsubishi has slashed prices on the 380 and the latest Falcon is now
only about six months away. This sort of competition between the four
local marques makes the family car scene very much a buyers’ market.
Nissan, which has long been a strong fringe player with its
imported Maxima, is starting to feel the pinch of the competing
big boys. Reacting to the activity from the big four, the Japanese
company has offered special deals on prices. These have come down
to as low as $34,990 at times. That’s an excellent price for a
fully imported Japanese car in this class, a price that sees the
Maxima down with the bottom end of the Commodore and Falcon
lineups, though a fair bit more than the Mitsubishi 380 which has
had its prices pared to the bone to try and get it back into the
game.
The recommended retail price starts at $39,990, but go and try
some arm twisting at your local Nissan dealer and see how well you
can do!
Though the calendar says this family car is getting on in
years, the current Maxima was launched here in late 2003, the
lines still look bang up to date. Indeed, show a non-car person a
Maxima and tell them it’s the new 2008 design and they wouldn’t
doubt you for a moment.
Maxima has an air of modern elegance that is a pleasing result
of the Renault-Nissan alliance. This combination of French style
and Japanese practicality is a neat one that has already attracted
many buyers.
It’s not just on the outside that the Maxima looks
futuristic, the interesting full-width sweep of the dashboard,
with its inset instrument panel works particularly well, as does
the swept-back treatment of the front-seat backrests and the
styling of the door trims.
Aimed at the family buyer, Maxima has good interior space due
to the tall roof and long cabin. Legroom in the back is
particularly impressive. However, the Maxima isn’t quite as wide
as the Commodore/Falcon, so try if for size if you routinely want
to move three full-sized teenagers.
Maxima has a large boot that’s well shaped and reasonably
easy to load. It uses a ski port to let it cater for extra-long
loads.
Ride comfort is generally good, though the Maxima has that
slightly firm feel you sometimes find in cars with sports
suspension. Which is something of a surprise because the Nissan's
suspension is certainly not aimed at the sporty driver. Thus we
feel that the ride should be a bit smoother.
Handling is safe and predictable and some may find that the
steering is rather light. However, the person to whom a car like
this appeals, the one looking for a refined car that will
transport them in comfort for long distance holidays, or through
the grind of daily commuting, will find its characteristics very
much to their taste.
The big Nissan does feel sporty is in its engine performance,
it’s a delightful powerplant that is a modified version of the
3.5-litre V6 used in the Nissan 350Z sports model. Rather than
chasing straight out power at medium to high revs, the engineers
have concentrated on a more even spread of power and torque that’s
better suited to use in a sedan. There’s plenty of acceleration
for safe overtaking and the Maxima's engine is smooth and quiet
under virtually all conditions.
Power is taken to the front wheels by way of a continuously
variable transmission. This gives seamless ‘gearchanges’ that
are taking place virtually all the time, but which are
unnoticeable to those inside the car. The result is exceptional
smoothness (there's that ‘smooth’ word again!) that is
combined with good fuel economy.
Most owners will only use about eight to ten litres per hundred
kilometres in gentle country driving, perhaps 10 per cent more if
the country is hilly. Suburban use will see this rise to about
eleven to thirteen litres per hundred, again it depends on the
driver and the road/traffic conditions. These are pretty good
numbers for a medium-large family car that provides plenty of
comfort and trouble free motoring.
Nissan's Maxima can tend to get lost in the clutter of other
cars in this hard-fought market segment, but smart shoppers will
seek it out and add it to their list of possible purchases.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Maxima ST-L 3.5-litre four-door sedan - $39,990
Maxima Ti 3.5-litre four-door sedan - $44,990
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: Standard in all models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Side Airbags: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Nissan Maxima Ti 3.5 litre four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 3.498 litres
Configuration: Transverse V6
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 10.3:1
Bore/Stroke: 95.5 x 81.4 mm
Maximum Power: 170 kW @ 5600 rpm
Maximum Torque: 333 Nm @ 2800 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Not offered
Automatic Transmission: Continuously variable
Final Drive Ratio: 3.789:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4890 mm
Wheelbase: 2775 mm
Width: 1765 mm
Height: 1470 mm
Turning Circle: 11.4 metres
Kerb Mass: 1470 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 70 litres
Towing Ability: 500kg (1200kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: Independent struts, MacPherson struts, coil
springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 7.8 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 16.1 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: Petrol 98RON
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 11.7 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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