drakutis

I've tried the manual shifting on the CVT and it works fine! the only differences is that (of course) you have no clutch to step on (so there is no need to be coordinated between the gas pedal and the clutch pedal), no shifting motion in to the various gates. I was driving home last night and decided to try the manual mode and I didn't realize that pulling the lever back was downshifting, and the car responded instantaneously and on the dash you can SEE what gear you're in, so I up-shifted and again the response was instantaneous. A few yards ahead the traffic had slowed to a crawl and I down shifted to 1st which acted like I was braking the vehicle and she slowed to a near crawl. Traffic started moving and I up shifted and started moving. WONDERFUL piece of technology!!! I love the ease of it.

People really need to drive the car and try the CVT before panning that it doesn't have a stick. If you feel like shifting yourself, move the shift lever over to you and go for it. if not, go normal!! It's that simple!!!

I hope they get my car soon!!!!

lightonthehill

Great report, drakutis. The new CVT has two major things working against it:

(1) - The mushy and somewhat unwieldy early versions of the CVT are still in the minds of many 'early Christians', and they won't go near the lion's mouth again.

(2) - Many drivers equate the manual with manliness. In their minds, the CVT is a feminine sort of thing. They will deny this to the death, and proclaim all sorts of cover stories, such as the exhilirating fun of driving a manual. But open-minded testers are saying the new much-improved CVT on this '09 is a blast to drive.

I hope those doubters stay away from the '09 a while longer, so I can beat my saleswoman down to a great price before the anti-CVT mob finally understands how solid and flexible this new CVT is and begins grabbing the '09s up, which will make getting great deals more difficult.

pearle

The CVT manual mode in 09 Maxima is great and I have been using it quite a bit. The 'shifts' are indeed instant and you can always guarantee the car is going to haul *** when you downshift appropriately, unlike when you keep the transmission in Auto or Sport mode.

Edit: I've also read a least a couple of 'sport' reviews that have knocked the response of the transmission and declared it didn't belong on a 'sports' car. Yet, the reviewer seemed to have kept the car in Drive or Drive Sport. I don't understand why they didn't drop the car into manual mode where one can get the instant response. :boggle:

drakutis

My roommate just got a precision grey sport/tech package today!!! I was hoping to have my winter frost before I went on vacation to vegas, but they can't get it until Monday!! I won't be back until Friday!! I was hoping for an early Winter Frost this year!! lol!! The car is supposedly on display at a BJ's warehouse somewhere in the region!!!! For those who aren't familiar with BJ's it's like a Sam's Club or Costco.

lightonthehill

Tough break, drakutis. I know you wanted your baby in hand before leaving. At least this will be one vacation your won't be quite as sad to see end.

Minarets

how long will the stock sport tires last? the 19''s? 20k?

and how about the 18s? 40k?

lightonthehill

Depends on driving style, road conditions, maintaining proper inflation, at at what point you consider a tire to be worn out.

Assuming 2/32nds of an inch tread left is considered worn out, then on average, I would guess folks who are reasonable with their driving might get 20K to 30K from the 19" tires, and 25K to 35K from the 18" tires. There will, of course, be those whose driving style will get more, and others who will get less.

MaxShadowCT

Aint that the truth, I've really grown to love the *** of my 04.
It's totally noticable in a parking lot...all high up, round and sexy.

Guryon

Anyone who thinks that a tiptronic POS is even remotely close to a regular 5/6MT is dumber than he looks. I was thrilled when I saw/heard about the 09. But Nissan sold out to all the uncoordinated ***^&*$# who can't shift gears.

A real sports car will always have a Manual transmission, now and in 50 years. It has nothing to do with being "modern" or "progressive", simply cheap and stupid.

Without a MT the new Maxima has closed the gap between itself and other japanese sedans that used to separate a 4DSC and a soccer mom. Too bad really, such a prestigious heritage deserves better(Best engine award, however many years running).

This year we lay the soul of the Maxima to rest.

ope2k4

iTrader: (4)

I just had to laugh after reading the whole thread. I am currently a 6th gen owner and I must say I really like the car( call it big ugly butt or not). This current Maxima is my 3rd one. I had 2 5th gen ones before I bought my current 6th gen. I also have about 8 friends that drive 4th, 5th and 5.5 Gen Maximas. Everyone of my friends with 5th and 5.5 gen (all Manual transmission) had to either replace or rebuild it. The worst one was the guy with 2002 Maxima 6 speed. He replaced his tranny twice (one under warranty and the other one out of pocket.) Lets just say nissan didnt want their "sport luxury car" with a 6 speed tranny that does not match the technology that the CVT gives.

Disclaimer: This might just be my opinion.

jspagna

Here are the statistics:
These are total light vehicle sales (in millions of units) of domestic
and import car and trucks broken down by automatic and manual
transmissions:
Year Automatic % Manual % Total
1985 10,021,482 77.6% 2,887,171 22.4% 12,908,653
1990 10,141,794 78.7% 2,752,150 21.3% 12,893,944
1995 12,816,559 83.1% 2,602,211 16.9% 15,418,770
2000 15,995,874 90.0% 1,785,377 10.0% 17,781,251
2001 14,898,961 90.6% 1,540,618 9.4% 16,439,579
2003 16,752,979 92.6% 1,335,531 7.3% 18,088,510
*Includes manual/automatic hybrids
Source: Ward's Communications

lightonthehill

Wow! Where to start? So many misconceptions in one post.

The poster seems totally unaware it takes more skill to select between, and efficiently operate the four modes of the '09 Maxima CVT than to operate a simple old-fashioned manual. Any idiot can push the clutch and move one lever to a slot that is actually marked on the shift ****. I was very good with a manual in 1949, including double-clutching. But I would not have been good with this new very flexible '09 CVT at that age.

A real sports car will NOT always have a manual transmission. In fact, does Nissan's finest sports car (one of the world's best), the GT-R have the 'required' old-style manual tranny? No.

Trannies other than the manual are 'cheap?' Wrong again. The manual is the cheapest tranny available.

Trannies other than the manual are 'stupid?' Wrong again. The CVT is growing ever more efficient. With the CVT on the '09 Maxima, we now have a CVT that has edged ahead of manual trannies in BOTH ACCELLERATION AND FUEL EFFICIENCY. In this day of diminishing fuel supply and rising fuel cost, the CVT is absolutely the SMART choice.

Nissan announced six years ago that it was moving the Maxima upscale, and that they would keep a manual tranny available in the 3.5 version of the Altima so there would be a good, solid, affordable manual tranny car with spunk for those holdovers from a bygone era who would still cling to the old-fashioned, and growingly less-efficient manual.

As for laying the soul of the Maxima to rest? Please lay that Maxima's soul (preferably the '09) in my driveway any day of the year.

I hope you will at least take a quick test drive in the new Maxima and see how tight this new CVT is, and how quickly it can be manually controlled to do the driver's wish. Testers so far say it is much better than the '08 CVT, and are generally very impressed with it.

Compusmurf

Hmmm. I didn't think the 07/08 came in anything other than CVT either.

If that's the case, they laid it to rest in 07? Ah well, I have a nice, shiny new one in my driveway that I'm loving more and more every day. Far from dead, just a newer generation of drivers. (Dare I say younger? lol)

DAVEB

iTrader: (133)

I've been following all these 09 Maxima & CVT vs MT posts with great interest, but I did not want to comment until I had spent some time in one. Well, now I have! First off, I'm one of those "you can have my stickshift when you pry it out my cold, dead hand" nutcases, so I was very skeptical about the whole CVT thing. I have also driven every other Nissan CVT product and have been pretty underwhelmed. Well, in a nutshell, I kinda liked it! The 09 Maxima is such a well-done, buttoned-down package as a luxury car with a little edge, and the CVT just seems to fit it. I won't argue the
"4DSC" thing, obviously as others have pointed out the Maxima has evolved into something it once was not, and the result is pretty good. Nissan did exactly what they needed to do to keep the Maxima alive in the current market, it must be working- they aren't sticking around for long at my dealership!

lightonthehill

Very well put. I agree about the '4DSC' thing; That moniker sort of fits a vehicle that emphasizes performance over luxury, and goes with an old-style manual tranny more than a CVT. But I don't fault Nissan for bringing that old '4DSC' thingie out again as a way of letting us know the 'Nissan Buick' has departed. We have an attractive, competent, smooth-handling near-luxury vehicle that has a very sporty edge to it. Exactly the vehicle I wanted in the 7th gen.

liypfhe1

there is nothing like the feeling of having people gawking and staring at this car.. i had a soccer mom pull up to me praising me about how sexy the profile of the car is.. esp with the 5% tint..... i luv my Max.. only gripe i have is the wood interior ... i will be replacing it soon

vQ35LIFE

iTrader: (1)

who cares , 5.5 gen 6 speed is slow anyway

vQ35LIFE

iTrader: (1)

and YES i think the 7th gen is the best maxima ever , i love it

Crusher103

iTrader: (10)

WTF man, can u guys make these post friendly, jeez i wonder in here to see whats going down and u guys are writing HS papers on maximas

last time i wonder in here

CARLOS9827

iTrader: (7)

Ok ok I have to admit that I am really liking the 09 Maxima SV, but to be honest with you (and you should know this cause you own one) the best Maxima to date is the 00-03 Maxima SE (5th Gen Maximas) IMO