The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maxima gets upgrades for 2018
‘4-door Sports Car’ adds some amenities in off year for total overhaul.
Nissan rolled out the newest generation of its Nissan Maxima sport sedan just two years ago, and now it returns for 2018 with just a few enhancements.
Those include standard Android Auto connectivity (in addition to Apple CarPlay, added last year), new content for the Midnight Edition package, and a new exterior color, Carnelian Red ($395 extra), which was included on our test vehicle.
Prices for 2018 start at $33,270 (plus $885 freight) for the base S model. Other trim levels include the SV ($35,270); SL ($37,690); SR ($38,530); and the top-of-the-line Platinum ($40,940), which we tested for this report.
With the most-recent redesign, the Maxima moved into its eighth generation as Nissan’s flagship sedan. With all of the changes and its stunning good looks, this is the best Maxima ever.
Nissan bills the Maxima as the “4-door Sports Car,” and it’s powered by the latest VQ-series 3.5liter V-6 engine, cranking out 300 horsepower and 261 foot-pounds of torque.
The engine directs power to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission. With front-wheel drive, however, the Maxima might not qualify as a true sports car to some purists.
Nevertheless, the Maxima is fun to drive, with sporty road-handling and precise, predictable steering and braking. With the redesign, the Maxima now rides on a lighter, more-rigid chassis, which gives it that sporty handling.
It has decent fuel economy, as well. EPA ratings for 2018 are 21 mpg city/30 highway/25 combined.
The transmission shifted smoothly throughout the power band, and there was quite impressive acceleration from this drivetrain. It even came with steeringwheel-mounted paddle shifters to pace the car through a range of gears.
The CVT has a wider gear-ratio range for stronger acceleration from a standing start, and D-Step shifting logic that allows for rapid shifts at high throttle openings, Nissan says.
A Drive Mode Selector has Sport and Normal settings, which automatically adjust the throttle, transmission, steering and Active Sound Enhancement tuning.
In Sport mode, throttle response increases, the transmission alters its program for more-aggressive shifting, and more steering effort is required. The Active Sound Enhancement system sends more of the engine noise into the cabin.
When the new generation Maxima arrived, it came with the reworked VQ-series engine, which has more than 60 percent new parts compared with the previous generation. It also features some technology adapted from the Nissan GT-R supercar, such as sodium-filled valves.
The car also features the new “swipe to meter” feature, which allows the driver to swipe the navigation map from the center display to bring it up in the standard seven-inch driver-assist display in front of the driver in the middle of the instrument cluster.
The Maxima is a full-size sedan that competes against such stalwarts as the Toyota Avalon, Chevrolet Impala, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger.
The cabin has been crafted to rival those of luxury vehicles. With the redesign, the Maxima was made 1.3 inches lower and 2.2 inches longer than the previous generation, which arrived for 2009.
We had plenty of room for our knees and legs both in the front and the rear, and three mediumsize adults could sit fairly comfortably together on the rear bench seat. There is a pulldown armrest with dual cupholders for use when you’re carrying just two people in the back seat.
Among other standard Maxima features are four-wheel power/ vented antilock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, rearview monitor, active noise cancellation, dualzone automatic climate control, and a HomeLink universal gate/ garage opener.
The standard Intelligent Driver Alertness system monitors steering inputs and alerts the driver audibly and visually when drowsy/inattentive driving is detected. The Platinum also comes with rain-sensing wipers, along with memory for the driver’s seat, outside mirrors and steering wheel.
A dual-panel panoramic moon roof is standard on SL and Platinum models, and there are also large dual chrome tailpipe finishers.
Other safety features on our tester included adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, stability and traction control, tire-pressure monitoring with Nissan’s Easy-Fill alert system, and a security system with vehicle immobilizer.
The Maxima also came with speed-sensitive hydro-electric power steering, heated outside mirrors with turn signals, front and rear parking sensors, front halogen fog lights, LED daytime running lights and LED low-beam headlights.