I bought a '13 Mustang GT Premium, loaded with the goodies and it's very clean and stock (a god send for a Mustang). I didn't trade in my old '03 Max TE but it's just been sitting in the drive since I bought the GT. I took her out the other day and I think I like my Maxima more than the Mustang. I wanted more power and speed, yet despite the sound of the 5.0 and the raw power I just find myself not enjoying it.

My Maxima has some grinding synchros which ruin some of the fun factor, and I swear I tried a 0-60 video and I got 7 seconds (dafuq?) but even despite all that I think I'd rather the Maxima. Maybe because the GT is an auto? I don't know. I always thought Mustangs were "ok" but I don't really care about their history or anything. Yet I come on here and see other Maximas and I'm naturally inclined to say "Nice car!" but I see a nice Mustang that's clean and I'm just completely indifferent.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience? I'm seriously thinking of selling the Mustang and just keeping the Maxima. I always thought I'd replace it with something like a C5 Vette (I still might, I like Corvettes an awful lot) but I had stuff like a late model Camaro SS, a 5.0 Mustang, 370z and some others I was considering. I think maybe it's the practicality of a Maxima, it looks sharp yet isn't so overt as to say "I'm a sporty car!" like all the cars I just listed.

But for all the love of Maximas I have, I wouldn't give you anything for a CVT one. A darn shame that Nissan won't offer a stick in any of the newer ones.

 

I have a 03 Max TE and a 11 Mustang GT Premium convertible. Both are 6 speeds. I had a couple of Mustangs way back when and always wanted a GT Convertible so when I was able to I got one.

I love my Mustang and have enjoyed putting some bolt ons and tune for extra power and it can be scary fast but I'll tell you I love my Maxima too and you will have to pry it out of my cold dead hands before I give it up.

I'd say hold on to the Max. You'll regret it if you don't.

I couldn't agree more about the CVT in the new ones. It's a deal breaker. I'd really like to see the coyote engine in the Mustang into a 4 door sports car by Ford but don't guess that will ever happen.

 

Just like nissan won't stick a 500 hp 5.0L into a Z. Both are stupid not to, but why make cars that people want to buy? Better keep making soccer mobiles, sleds they call sports car and underpowered platforms.

 

Dodge Charger SRT please

 

It's a barge. Heavy, not really fast and made of dodge junk. Probably the worst buy lol

 

I know the Z would really compete with a V8, but somehow it just seems kind of wrong for that to have a V8. I'd almost rather they did a factory turbo option on it or something to get it around 400 hp. The 370z already does very respectably against a 5.0 Mustang, so with a little more oomph I think it could pull ahead.

Ford has full on gone obsessed with "Ecoboost"-ing everything, but I've got my concerns about their reliability as it is with just NA cars. I sure wouldn't want anything to do with one of their turbo'd platforms, seems like trouble waiting to happen. I was looking at some Max vids the other day and found a guy who took a 7th gen to the track and it was just sad to even watch. Hurts thinking how much more fun they might be with a stick, but we'll never know.

Ford does actually offer a nice looking RWD V8 sedan, they just don't sell it to us. Ford Falcon sold in Australia and a few other regions I think. Reminds me of the old GTO and G8's Pontiac sold for awhile that were rebadged Holdens. Darned Australians, they got the old Skylines too *shakes fist*

 

puke

that is just gross, its like half ford focus half dodge dart , thank god they dont sell that in North america.

 

my buddy got the new rustang.... its an inline 4 banger 2.4L with turbo !!!

i can't wait to actually see how the 13 year old max holds up

 

Supposedly they're a down pipe and a tune from gaining 80 hp or so (And factory rating is 310 at the crank IIRC), seen some dynos that support it. I wouldn't give you anything for a 4 cylinder Mustang though, much the same as I am with any American sports car they need to have a V8. Anything lesser just seems wrong. The only 4 cylinder turbo that would be in my life would have to be a WRX.

 

I know the feeling with the Maxima, that's why I still have it after 14 yrs since I bought it new, I don't drive it much since I have been driving my 08' Accord as my daily car, a moment of Truth is that when I drive the Maxima, it gives you that exciting feel and a lot of soul in that car, when I drive the Accord, it doesn't give that same feeling or lack of enthusitasim that's why I won't part my Maxima, even if someone offered me a load of money I still won't give her up. I feel that Nissan did a bang up job with that generation, that there's no car out there that can compare to it since Nissan was ahead of their time with design, tech and power for the money at that time. Now today cars, they have advanced quite a bit but they lack the excitement such as a Love it or hate relationship. Sadly that car companies are just focusing on automatous cars in the next decade where it going to take away the spirits of driving experience.

 

I was in the same situation as the OP. I got a 14 Mustang GT, and I traded my 2003 Max in for it. I wish I kept my Maxima as a 2nd car, as much as I love the raw power of the Stang, everything else about it doesn't compare to my old Maxima. The Maxima isn't any luxury car, but list of minor quips about the Stang is long compared to my base Maxima SE, no foldable mirrors, no auto dim mirrors, front seats that can barely recline back, cheap hard plastic feel of the interior, and the worst is the horrible MT82 transmission. Plus, it's been to the dealer twice for warranty work, I was the 2nd owner of my Max, only problem was an 02 sensor and just regular maintenance. I traded it in at about 96k, city driving, still on the original clutch.

I do enjoy driving the Stang, but if I could have, I would have kept the Maxima also. Living in the city, parking, time, and money makes it hard for me to keep 2 cars. I would definitely buy another 5.5 gen, or 4th gen all over again, but not any newer Maxima after that.

 

I understand everyone. I am in love with my 03 6 speed and wouldn't trade it for the world. I am not even looking to replace it. Only have 103,000 miles and she runs perfect. I would have looked at the 2016 Maxima as a replacement, but the hell with that CVT. I don't understand why anyone would spend that kind of money for a CVT

 

Yea, I still prefer manual, it is just so much more fun to drive, even if automatics today are better. I don't know where the 8th gen Maxima fits in anymore. Plus, performance times are barely better than a 03 Maxima, even the current 3.5 Altima or the V6 Accords and Camrys are quicker.

 

Yeah, it's kinda sad in the affordable sedan market if you want a V6 and a stick. I think the Accord is the only one left that offers it. Didn't the Altima go pure CVT in '13 or '14?

I've got around 153k or so in my Maxima, but I'm still inclined to drop the cash to rebuild my synchros and get the rust on my rear fenderwells fixed and drive it till the wheels fall off. Before the Maxima, I never understood why people dumped lots of money in cars that you can't get it back out if you had to sell them but I get it now. It's like you find this perfect balance in a car that seems so hard to replace with anything that you don't want anything else. I agree with suny, my list of complaints on the Maxima are small (synchro grind, rear windows probably need motors replaced, sunroof is quirky, sometimes in the winter I get a horrible squeaky belt or a loud blower noise, rust in those rear fenderwells, lots of little chips and stuff on the front bumper/hood, faded headlights that won't stay clear, consumes oil like most VQ's of this age). The Mustang doesn't have much in mechanical issues, just the passenger window doesn't always want to roll up/down from the driver side but in general it's just a lot different. I'm not sure if I wouldn't have a similar complaint list on a 350z/370z as well.

The Mustang is definitely faster, but I swear years ago I had a real new body style Mustang of some kind pull in front of me and floor it (saw and smelled the exhaust) and he could not pull away from me in the Maxima. Maybe it was just a V6 (I thought it was a GT at the time, thought I saw it on the rear badge), but those are no joke with 300+ hp. Maybe it was a 2010 and still had the 4.6. Sometimes it feels like it's not all about being the fastest, just about enjoying the car itself and the Maxima has that in droves. I just wish mine had more of that visceral VQ intake sound like the newer ones. My dad owns a 6th gen and his makes a much more raw intake sound than mine.

 

The new V6 pusstangs are still slow b/c most of them are auto and still weigh several hundred pounds more than our maximas.

 

They have 305 hp and they're 3520 lbs, compared to 255 hp and 3239 lbs. Better power to weight than we have. Factory spec 0-60 puts them equal to or faster than an '03 6-speed even with an auto in the Mustang. It doesn't really matter to me, I'd rather have the Maxima nonetheless but there's no need to trash on them. Now the old 4.0 and 3.8 Mustangs...those deserve a good trashing on, because their performance is pretty sorry for a sports car. The 3.7 is pretty healthy though.

I prefer manuals, but it should be noted automatics can and often are faster on newer cars these days (doesn't make them as fun to drive as I'm learning with the GT).

 

There's plenty of reason. They're still piles except now they put better motors in them...of which the v6 can finally match a 2005 350Z in power

 

F8ker hipster with a dog (same breed as mine too URG) rear ended the Maxima and caused me 8 months of headache.

I hate that generation mustang now

Stupid fuking young driver thinks he's boss with RWD 4 door, go to sh8t

 

dude why do u have no miles? is the max your second car?

 

im sure you thought your were boss at one point in your life too... don't hate

 

Yeah I mean I still don't think Ford quality is wonderful, though since my last experience with anything from them was from the '90s this is a vast improvement. Of what I've seen, the main complaints are about the hood rusting due to some crappy design on the end, issues with the rear end, and if you have the manual (MT82) issues with that thing in general (but it's made in China, so I'm not surprised there). Still, the V6 is the base model so that the base model is actually potent now is pretty good. I mean you're talking 0-60 in 5.4 on the V6 which goes to around 4.5 on the V8.

I thought about getting a 370z, but the fact it's a two seater and has no real room for mods without big dollars and the 5.0 is very friendly to bolt ons and such I went with it. I found plenty of cases where the 5.0 beat the 370 and then vice versa, so they're pretty close. I still think for a low to the ground 2 seater car I'd have to go with a Corvette, still my favorite car. I used to look at 350z's, but I honestly found a couple who tried to pull on me in the Max and couldn't do it so wasn't really interested after that. Plus it seems G35s and 350s both have a lot of people who drive 'em who don't know what good looks like and make 'em look like ****. It should be noted, I think I'm probably going to sell the Mustang and keep the Maxima and drop some money on fixing it up (couldn't justify doing it before).

Hipster driving a Mustang? That's pretty rare, I guess his VW must have been in the shop...

 

Yeah got a company vehicle. I only drive the Maxima on weekends and to my son's AAU basketball tournaments. Car pretty much sits during the week.
Car is in excellent condition

 

awesome, whats your DD ? or what else is in ur stable

 

Vistance got it right on this one. I have a 06 GTO that I want to climb into everyday until I remember I have to pick my kid up from daycare. But I agree the Aussies really do have it made in the RWD V8 sedan segment. I do think the maxima is the closest thing I've driven (as far as fun to drive) to my GTO but more fit for every day life. Sure I could have an EVO or an STI or something on those lines but it's not the same as the MAX, I do really enjoy the car. Oil consumption and all I'll take it all day long. Unless anybody wants to volunteer to pick my kid up for me so I take the bike or GTO out. LOL.


Anyways your not alone, I enjoy the crap out of my max and the when the motor finally lets go I'll be throwing in another one.

 

Yeah, it's really weird. I love the sound of V8s just as much as I do a nice sounding V6 like the VQ, but the Mustang while satisfying in some ways is just kind of whatever. I think if I'm going that route I'd rather have a Corvette, they look better and sound better. Plus there's ultimately some level of enjoyment you just can't get with an auto. There's never a time where I complain about a clutch, not even on hills or in traffic so it just feels like a lot of the freedom is taken from me even when using SelectShift.

I drove an '06 GTO that was actually priced pretty fairly for the miles and was a 6-speed but I had the problem of being too afraid to punch it. When I finally convinced myself while test driving with the salesman to do it I misshifted when going from 3-4 and went 3-2. Luckily wasn't going too fast, but I felt like an idiot after that and didn't even want to look at it anymore. I was told about what a PITA parts were to get for it anyway and how expensive all that ended up being and that just helped me decide for sure. It was I think $15k for an '06 with like 60k miles, I remember looking for GTOs for a long time and was so disappointed in that I don't think I'd ever buy one now. But in that same token, I'd probably never buy a Camaro at this point (gets beat by Mustangs even though I prefer GM, also has terrible visibility and a really lackluster interior, and too expensive), and easily would never buy a Challenger or any Dodge. So for V8 sports cars, I think I'm left with Corvette or bust. German cars are a nightmare for reliability and I am not looking to buy something that needs tons of work to stay running like most German cars.

Maybe a 6-speed Mustang GT might be a lot more fun, but still the looks while cool just don't do enough for me. I'm more impressed looking at some member pics here of clean Maximas than I ever am of a clean GT. Other people probably see our cars and pay no real mind to them, but I see them for more than just some car. And to me the GT is just some other car, even if it is fast it's just too anonymous in its character. Perhaps because they're everywhere, it feels like the car drives you instead of you defining what it's like to drive the car (if that makes sense). Like the car has so much of its own personality it dominates when you drive it, and if that doesn't mesh with you then you're SOL really.

 

Got an '03 Z06 now and still have the Max. That Mustang was slow as hell for how much power it had. Never got 0-60 better than 5 seconds, so that 4.5 rating was some BS or they were using slicks or something. The Z06 has power, handling, and looks nothing like that garbage Mustang. Glad to be rid of it and happily never buy another Ford product again. Cars that gave that Mustang a hard time (for real): 2007-2010 Eclipse V6, '89 or '90 Corvette, '05-'08 Chrysler 300C, '06 Maxima, '14-'15 Dodge Dart GT (I know, I said wtf when it happened too - I got in front of him but it took longer than I expected). The only way that Mustang would win is if you kept the pedal buried. So much for 420 HP...meanwhile with the old Max I've had a new Focus ST that I was rolling up on that had it to the floor, had a '10 GT with the 4.6 who could not pull away from me, and left some little dope in a Fiesta ST by car lengths (got that ricer fly by though ).

Funny thing is though, I still love this Maxima. The Z06 is noisy and raw and I love it, but nice to know I can hop right back in the Maxima and it's smooth and quiet until you open it up. Even without trying it chirps 2nd gear sometimes. Such a comfortable and fun car to drive.

 

The best fix for your tranny problems is to swap a 6th gen 6-speed HLSD tranny into it. They fixed the syncro issues in these years and the HLSD literally transforms the car. Huge improvement in acceleration, handling and wet weather performance.

 

very interesting?, the 6th gen trannys fit right into a 5th gen? i thought 6th gen at least some years had rough tranny issues, probably auto i guess

 

Yes, the VB is trash.

Poor OP, but I don't know what he expected from a pusstang

 

Yes, to be specific the 6th gen 6-speed fits in a 5.5 gen 6-speed with no problems. I don't know about the autos but the 6th gen 6-speed is much better than the 5.5 6-speed. I wouldn't bother putting in any other tranny.

FWIW, I did the swap about 120,000 miles ago back in 2006 and it's still going strong.

 

Hey, I heard the hype about 5.0's and figured it would be pretty quick unlike the old 4.6's which were nothing that impressive. Faster than the Maxima, but still sucked for a 420 HP car. But like I said, it's long gone now and I doubt I'd ever buy another. Hate Ford too much to buy anything from them again.

Did all '04+ 6-speeds have LSD or still optional like the 5.5 gens?

 

was that swap auto to manual, or manual to manual?

and what i get from HLSD is that when u loose grip both tries engane not just one, and or for an example if you floor it during a turn both tires would engage w power etc.

 

Manual to manual. The synchros (3rd gear specifically) are crap on the 02-03 cars. And you're correct. Goes from 1 tire fire to wheel hop city.

 

get a sentra transmission (they came with HLSD) and put it into the gen 5.5 housing...

 

Optional

 

Manual to manual for me. I could have lived with the 3rd gear crunch but I really wanted the HLSD.

In an open dif the power is sent to the path of least resistance. When you see a car doing a one wheel burn out or doing donuts with one tire spinning you know it's an open dif. A locking dif sends torque away from the wheel that's spinning faster and basically keeps them at the same speed.

 

Yeah, my G35 wheel hops too but at least its posi.

 

The OP must have had a lemon. I am new to the 5th gen and like it a lot but I also own a 13 Mustang GT 6spd. Its scary fast with full bolt ons and a custom dyno tune. With that being said for a daily driver I love the comfort of my Max.

 

I only had wheel hop on open diff. HSLD smoothly spins both. Zero wheel hop with stock suspension or coilovers (exception is damp roads where it grabs and releases quickly).