To the max

It’s often easy to forget that Nissan is the home of the big-brained gurus behind one of the ultimate car-enthusiast pin-up girls, the R34 Skyline. It’s also easy to forget that, in 2007, those same gurus produced the successor to the R34: the GT-R. This is the car that blew away the automotive world by posting the 7th fastest production car lap around the Nürburgring, beating out the Porsche 911. They were so meticulous in the making of the GT-R that the tires were filled with nitrogen rather than oxygen, because it is “more stable.” They also assembled each engine by hand in a hermetically sealed lab.

Suffice to say; these fellas know how to build a wicked fast car, and they’re not afraid to get wizard-level geeky about it.

So, how does that technical wizardry and performance gumption translate from a $100,000 supercar to a family sedan?

Before 2015, the Nissan Maxima was not a vehicle synonymous with the words “sleek” or “sporty.” As much as Nissan might’ve liked us to believe otherwise, the Maxima was resigned to a primary customer base of retirees who couldn’t afford a Lexus and college kids who thought the Camry was too mainstream. It was not a car for enthusiasts, thus far removed from the royal status of its progenitors. And then, in 2016, the Maxima stepped out of the awkward teenage phase.

There is no denying that the Maxima is a good-looking car. This trim comes stock with big, black alloy wheels, splitters on the front and sides and a cute little spoiler - but the base model is still a sight prettier than any other option on the market in the price range. On the subject of price range, this exact car (new, in 2016) was a hair over 32 grand. Frankly, it’s a steal.

You’ve got room enough for 5 passengers, a big trunk, better gas mileage than a crossover thanks to less weight, it wins the 4 door sedan beauty pageant by a country mile, and you’ve got Japanese quality and reliability to boot. This specific model is the SR, which means you’ve also got some pretty cool tricks up your exhaust. The SR is rather audaciously coined the 4DSC (Four Door Sports Car) by Nissan, though not entirely without reason. It’s fitted with the exuberant 300hp 3.5L V6 found in the 350z, re-tuned dampers on a fully tuned sport suspension, a reinforced chassis, stiffer springs all around and a beefed-up front stabilizer bar, coming together to make the Maxima feel like it means business. I should point out that the Maxima SR is a front wheel drive car. As Jeremy Clarkson once pointed out, asking the front wheels to handle over 200 horsepower AND steering all at once requires a lot of engineering witchcraft which I, like Jeremey, also haven’t got the patience to explain. The drivetrain actually handles the power delivery surprisingly well - maybe too well. It won’t be kicking a rear wheel up like a hot hatch, but it won’t understeer into your neighbor’s fence at 40 miles an hour either.

Building a car that functions as a practical, manageable daily driver AND a sports car is putting together two fundamentally opposed design philosophies. Sports cars are tight, sharp, and lightweight. Their design ethos is derived from simplicity and performance, meaning that amenities like back up cameras, power seats and sunroofs are quick to be sacrificed for all important weight reduction. A sports car is (or at least should be) purpose built for the enjoyment of the driving experience, and nothing else. A sedan is… not. A sedan is the commuter, the take the kids to school car, the grocery getter; it’s all things to all people. Pinning these philosophies together is like serving blowfish at a restaurant; it takes delicacy and precision. If it’s done wrong, people die.

Fortunately, Nissan took a moderate approach to their tuning. They recognized that ultimately, a sedan will never truly be a sports car - so why make it uncomfortable? The sport suspension is stiff, but it isn’t completely uncompromising. You’ll notice pot holes more than you would in your grandmother’s Cadillac, but you won’t break your back. However, when you make that sharp left turn across two lanes and pin the pedal to the carpet, you’ll feel the suspension working to keep you flat and level. You’ve got plenty by way of comfort and options too. This is not a light car, but it doesn’t need to be.

Ergonomically, this is best in class. The interior is elegant, thoughtful, and simple. “Driver Centric” is a word getting thrown around to describe well-designed interiors, and the Maxima deserves that moniker. The cupholders are on the passenger side of the center console, all the controls are subtly tilted towards the driver, and the dials are set deep into the dashboard so your wife can’t see how fast you’re going. The driver’s seat feels like it’s the best place to be - and not just because it’s supremely comfortable. That feeling of an interior being designed with the intent of making the driver feel special is something which can’t be said of many sedan’s on the market today, where you might just be better off in the back for a long journey.

There is a strong whiff of driving enthusiasm throughout the intention of this car, and it shows in the performance. Let’s not forget that this has the same engine as Nissan’s posterchild sportscar, the 350Z. As happy as that engine is past 5000 RPM, it’s not exactly chomping at the bit below it either. This car isn’t a thoroughbred, it’s an exuberant trail horse. It’ll give you a steady ride with no drama, but it’s ready to buck if you’ll let it. Nissan will even pump the engine note into your ears through the sound system when you press the sport button: a silly gimmick, I know, but ya can’t help but smile when you hear that naturally aspirated engine shouting at you through the door speakers.

In truth, the Sport mode doesn’t do much beside make the car louder. Like so many manufacturers in the entry level market, Nissan has fallen into the trap of creating driving modes just for the sake of claiming their car is versatile, that you can “choose your own adventure” when you bring it back to your garage. Most driving modes do nothing but change the color of the lighting accents from blue to red. Sure, when you switch to sport mode in the SR you get faster throttle response and the transmission will adjust the simulated gearing to be more aggressive, but what’s the point? If you’re buying the SR you’re going to keep it in Sport mode the whole time anyway, so chalk this up to a marketing stunt and nothing more.

You might of noticed I wrote the transmission will adjust “simulated” gearing. That’s because the Nissan doesn’t exactly have a transmission, at least not by the standards a layman would expect. The Maxima has what Nissan calls an Xtronic CVT putting the power to the front wheels. Think of it as the margarine of the transmission world. It might feel like your shifting up through the gears, but you ain’t. That’s because a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) is actually two pulleys working in tandem, able to change gear ratios continuously based on torque demand. While this transmission is essentially keeping the car in an optimal powerband at all times, it doesn’t actually “shift” from one gear to the next; it seamlessly glides between an infinite number of gears. To an enthusiast - we CAN believe it’s not butter. It’s the glaring piece of this car that almost makes me call it a phony, another half-ass attempt at slapping sporty badges and bodywork on an otherwise boring car.

But the Maxima SR isn’t boring. Despite the knowledge that every time you hit the paddle shifters you’re essentially selecting a gear that doesn’t exist, the rest of the package - primarily that V6 engine - makes up for it so well that you don’t really notice. I could wax lyrical for a dozen more paragraphs about the pros and cons of a CVT, but the real question is would the Maxima really be better off with a traditional automatic? Maybe. Maybe not. Ultimately - this is a very safe, practical, reliable, plucky little car well worth the 32k price tag. It may not be the best sedan you could buy nor by any means is it comparable to an actual sports car, but boy does it have heart.

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