For years the Nissan Maxima has tiptoed the line between two kinds of cars: sport and family sedan. At 300 horsepower the ride is quick, smooth, and fast; satisfying the need-for-speed addicts who want only one thing in a car: to go fast. But it’s roomy interior and attention to comfort often gave off the impression that this car was more for the family man/woman than Speed Racer.
But thanks to a new redesign, that’s all changed. The new 2016 Maxima has catapulted itself into both the luxury family sedan and sport markets, and tailored its concept and feel to satisfy the needs of both.
I stopped into Southlake Nissan recently to get a first-hand feel of just what these changes meant for prospective buyers, and learn how Nissan has embraced the hybrid market of “sports sedan”.
This new Maxima is full of “firsts,” Southlake Sales Associate, Mitchell Weiner, told me. 2016 is the first year the car comes equipped with fold-down seats in the back; the first hingeless trunk; and, a first for something Northwest Indiana residents can get behind in the winter.
“This is the first year the Maxima has come with remote start,” Weiner told me. “They have never had it before now, so it’s a very cool new option.”
But that’s not the only way that Nissan is stepping into the luxury world with the new Maxima, the car comes with a zero-gravity front seat for comfort in all conditions; navigation; ambient lighting; and diamond-quilting in the seats.
“There are only two cars in the world with this kind of diamond quilting,” Weiner added. “The Maxima and the Bentley.”
But perhaps what’s even more incredible about the new Maxima is despite this complete commitment to comfort, the car got even more sportier than ever before as well.
“It’s designed to feel like a race car when you are driving it,” Weiner explained. “From the dual-exhaust tips, to the paddle shafters on the inside, it looks and feels like a real race car.”
And it does, when you sit in it. With the Maxima’s zero-gravity front seats and raised console, you feel more like you’re inside a cockpit than a car, yet at the same time you don’t feel crowded or uncomfortable. Even at my size (6’ 2”), there was never the concern of not having enough room.
But then again, this isn’t just a sports car, it’s a sports sedan, and the Maxima is good with that moniker.
“It’s one of the only sports cars in the world I would feel comfortable telling someone who has never driven a sports car that they could get in and handle it,” added Weiner. “With a Corvette, or something similar, you couldn’t just tell someone to get in and go and expect they could handle it. But you can with this one.”
That’s really the beauty of the 2016 Maxima, Weiner says. If you’re looking for a sports car, it’s there. If you’re looking for a luxury sedan that you can take long trips on, it’s there too. The car is whatever you want it to be.
And, Weiner adds, for essentially getting two cars in one, you’re only paying half the prices of some its biggest competitors.
“This car competes with the likes of the BMW 5 series, but what you’re paying (starts in low-to-mid 30s) is nothing like what you would pay for the BMW.”