Nissan Maxima flagship redesigned in fourth generation sedan
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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Chasing an elusive yellow 300ZX convertible pace car on freeways that thread through the Las Colinas district of Dallas near Texas Stadium, I saw my speedometer peg a number far higher than I care to confess. Let it be said, though, that we flew down the straightaways while whipping from one lane to the next to pick a path of forward progress through the flow of local traffic.
Then we dashed off on back routes, wrapping through the curlicues of neighborhood circuits and ripping down boondocks stretches before finally returning to our launch point on MacArthur Boulevard near DFW Airport.
Despite these intricate traffic maneuvers, my machine managed to stick behind Nissan's 300ZX, which ranks as one of the most agile and exacting sports cars in the world.
But here's the unusual aspect about this romp around the Texas Metroplex: The car I steered was not a high-revving sports car. Instead, it was an extraordinary new Nissan sedan designed to transport up to five adults.
Maxima, in fourth generation remake from top to bottom, performed like no other midsize sedan in this price range. What a power rush it delivers.
A Maxima actually hangs with Nissan's muscular Z-car?
Clearly, Nissan has reinvented its flagship sedan that in earlier editions was tepid in power but long on luxury.
Maxima's design team, based at a California styling studio and the technical center in Atsugi, Japan, was linked simultaneously by sophisticated satellite communications and Cray supercomputers. The result of this bi-national conspiracy, bearing a 1995 label and available in three distinct trims, behaves like a slippery, wily wolf of a sportster while sedately disguised in the fleece of a conventional sedan.
Drive it hard and furious, as I did, and you may agree: Maxima looks stunning, but it performs awesome tricks too.
All of that goosy pedal action flows from a vigorous new lightweight V6 engine which appears in all Maxima models, the base GXE, sport-tuned SE and luxo-rigged GLE.
This is an extraordinary engine, one of the lightest in weight -- thanks to aluminum components -- and most compact, for its ultimate displacement, ever deployed in a production vehicle. It contains a new 2-stage cam drive and employs special friction-reducing methods such as micro-finishing of crankshaft surfaces to eliminate roughness, special coatings on valves and molybdenum layering of piston skirts.
Compared to the engine it replaces, the new version pares weight by 50 percent for the aluminum block and 23 percent overall. The resultant output -- 190 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 205 lbs/ft of torque at 4000 rpm -- produces aggressive power gains in all gear ranges.
Putting so much usable power to the pedal becomes the most obvious asset of Maxima's new design, but there are many other components which combine to create what will no doubt become another best-selling Nissan model.
The sleek exterior styling, an entirely comfortable interior with logical and practical placement of all accessories and the many important safety systems: These factors add up to a successful formula, but the overriding ingredient surely comes down to Nissan's crafty pricing strategy for Maxima.
You see, in light of competition in the upper middle segment of imported sedans, Maxima looks like a bargain.
A base Maxima GXE with manual transmission lists for $19,999 plus freight fee, or $20,999 when equipped with Nissan's nice electronic automatic 4-speed shifter. That latter figure will also fetch a Maxima SE 5-speed outfitted with specific sport-tuned suspension components and a spoiler mounted on the rear deck.
Pile on all of the luxury equipment you can imagine and the price for a Maxima GLE runs up to $24,199, which is admittedly a significant sticker figure yet an extremely fair one when measured against other brands in terms of horsepower, handling characteristics and equipment added.
The best buy has to be the base GXE with stick shift.
This is a sporty midsize machine with horsepower to spare, and it too comes equipped with a long list of standard features designed to make life in the driver's seat fun, comfortable and safe.
Safety systems begin with a rigid structural system developed to provide front and rear crumple zones to absorb impact forces of a collision, plus special reinforcements on each side to protect against side impacts.
In addition, dual airbags and knee bolsters are in place to shield front seat riders, along with an energy-absorbing steering column and height-adjustable seatbelt anchors. Child safety rear door locks mount on rear doors.
Maxima utilizes a power-assisted brake system with big disc at every wheel. Also, anti-lock controls are offered optionally on all models.
Quick speed-sensitive rack and pinion steering translates to another safety asset.
All Maximas also now have an independent strut front suspension system and a new compact rear multi-link beam arrangement in back which not only shapes a smoother ride quality and contributes to Maxima's stability in cornering, but carves out more rear legroom for passengers because it permits an extention of the wheelbase.
The cabin provides twin front bucket seats separated by console and a rear bench with sculptured positions for two but space for three.
Maxima's white-faced design for analog instruments on the SE edition ranks as a favorite feature. With the clever lighting in a reverse-to-electroluminescent display, this is the most legible set of gauges I've encountered. All editions contain a tachometer, by the way, plus a digital clock, low fuel warning light and dials displaying coolant temperature and fuel level.
Base GXE carries air conditioning, power controls for windows and door locks, cruise control and a tilting steering column, conveniences like illuminated entry and overhead map lamp, twin cup holders, side window defoggers and electric rear window defroster, as well as remote releases for trunk and fuel doors, a lockable glove box and sound package with electronically-tuned AM-FM stereo radio with 4 speakers and cassette deck.
Maxima GLE adds a CD player and two more speakers, the 4-speed automatic transmission, automatic climate controls, theft deterrent system and plush leather seat upholstery, while sporty SE packs sport-tuned suspension components, fog lamps and that distinctive and functional rear spoiler.
1995 NISSAN MAXIMA
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| 1995 MAZDA MAXIMA VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Midsize sedan |
| Model Options: |
Midsize sedan |
| Wheelbase: |
106.3 inches |
| Overall Length: |
187.7 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 3.0-L V6 24v
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/opt. ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
22/27 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 20,000 to $ 25,000 |
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