If you want to drive a sports car, but need a sedan, Nissan has the solution: the 2016 Nissan Maxima, which combines a sporty driving experience with the practicality of a roomy four-door sedan.
The body styling of the Maxima is sporty and aggressive, especially the front end, creating a very good-looking car. Two drive modes are available, sport and normal, depending on your mood and your need for speed. Paddle shifters for the continuously variable transmission add to the driving excitement, and the flat-bottomed, leather-wrapped tilt/telescoping steering wheel is a nice sporty touch.
The Maxima provides a smooth ride but still handles well and has a nice communicative steering feel that is not too over-boosted, making this a fun car to toss around. Power is plentiful from the 300-horsepower, V-6 engine, with quick acceleration and equally impressive braking. Performance in regular mode is good, but in sport mode, it’s even better.
Advanced safety features such as blind spot warning, cross traffic alert, vehicle dynamic control, front and rear parking sensors, back-up camera, adaptive cruise control, and predictive forward collision warning and braking provide the latest in crash avoidance technology.
Two-stage heated seats and a heated steering wheel combine with dual automatic climate control to keep passengers comfortable in any weather, and the dual-panel moonroofs over the front and rear seats let in plenty of sunshine. If it gets too warm, the front moonroof can be opened for some open-air motoring. An 8-inch touchscreen in the middle of the center console controls audio, navigation, climate and a variety of other features and is easy to use. Hard buttons surrounding the screen make it easy to access the function you want to control, and knobs for radio are much appreciated. Two USB ports and an auxiliary port allow for maximum connectivity with the audio system.
A small screen between the speedometer and tach can display audio, navigation and other useful information. The GPS alerts you to traffic delays and re-routes you around them if necessary, and it can even tell you where the cheapest nearby gas prices are and navigate you to them. The interior, including the dash, seats and door panels, are covered in leather, giving a true luxury-car feel. The trunk is large, and the 60/40 rear seats fold down to increase cargo carrying capacity even more (though the trunk opening is somewhat small due to the sharply sloped rear window). Rear seat room is also generous, and second-row passengers get their own air vents; head room is at a bit of a premium due to the aforementioned sloping rear window and the moonroof over the rear seat.
According to Bud Coleman, sales manager at Bommarito Nissan, “The Maxima is a four-door sports car that offers the styling and handling of its German competitors, but for a lot less money.”
technicals >> maxima sl
Price:
Base: $38,000, including delivery
As driven with options: $39,400
Gas mileage:
22 city
30 highway
Drivetrain:
Front engine; front-wheel drive
3.5-litre V-6 engine
300 horsepower
Continuously variable automatic transmission
Robert Paster (robertpaster.com) is also an attorney in private practice, concentrating in estate planning and probate.