wsu

In perusing some of the threads, I get a sense that most of our forum posters drive SE's rather than SL's. It would be interesting to compile data in response to the question of how many of us drive SE's and how many drive SL's. That said, similar to a point I made on the thread polling our ages, I suspect that the data we would compile here from people who post on the forum would be reflective of computer use as much as actual Maxima model preference. I suspect that SE drivers are generally younger than SL drivers.

I drive a 2005 SL. The SE ride was too stiff for me and it seemed I could feel too much of the road surface (which is probably strictly personal preference). I drive a lot for work on 2 lane state roads and wanted a softer ride.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

2004 se, I rather the stiff suspensions. just incase I have to get alittle crazy on someone..

TheBlueWookie

my 01 was an SE. I really didn't have any complaints about it performance wise, I just liked the 05 SL better than the 05 SE. Maybe I'm just getting old...

wsu

Specifically what was it about the SL that swayed you to choose it over the SE?

tlevel5

I would have bought an SL but I didn't like the plastic wood in the interior.
The stiff ride on bad roads of the SE does bug me sometimes, I'm actually considering getting 17 inch Veloche wheels and slapping on the 225/55's that the SL has.
-Louis

TheBlueWookie

I live in southern CT, and the roads around here aren't that great. Driving the SE for the past 4 years has amplified my perception of the poor quality of our roads.

The SL just felt like a really nice ride when I was test-driving it. It reminded of one of my favorite rides of all time, a 91 Acura Legend. I really can't describe it in words, but once I felt the difference in the quality of the ride I was hooked.

Okiewan

I mentioned in another thread that our 05 SE had SL Wheels/Conti tires on it when we made the deal, I made them put 18's from another new SE back on it. (our car had 3K miles on it, finance manager demo).

It was probably the perfect compromise, with the SL wheels it rode VERY NICE, much smoother than now, but hey... I didn't like the look of the 17's And yeah I'm one of the old guys with an SE (43). Most road surfaces aren't bad at all, but some of the rougher ones are pretty noisey/rough feeling. Not a bad trade off me thinks.

ThunderMaxi

It rode cripser, and I am only 26. Plus, it had the spoiler on it already. I am not a fan of putting spoilers on cars aftermarket because of quality and warranty issues if a seal leaks into my trunk.

pae1215

iTrader: (3)

I wanted 18's and the tighter suspension, so SE for me

jcberb

I chose the SE for the suspension.

Atomic_Ed

I chose the SE for the better performance suspension and the lack of the fake wood grain interior. If it wasn't for the fake wood, I may have considered the sl a little more seriously.

brewboy13

I admit I am not as a big fan of the wood as I am the SE interior, but at least it's not as bad as the Altima's wood. That is awful at best.

Jeffs04SE

i never considered the SL. i went to the dealer for an SE and thats what i came home with.

Pause

I had 2 non SE 4th generation Maximas and my only complaint was the floaty ride. I figured I wouldn't want to strike out on the third try, so I copped the SE. All I can say iz I'm glad I went for the stiffer ride.

Atomic_Ed

Don;t get me wrong, I think the SL's are really nice cars and a Maxima is a Maxima but I just don't particuraly like fake wood in any car. I do however really like the SE interior trim which IMO looks more modern and in line with the new Maxima styling in general. Not sure about the altima wood grain you mentioned but it doesn't sound like I would care for it. I didn't like much at all about the altima when I test drove them which was why I ended up with the Maxima.

brewboy13

Hey I agree totally on the wood look I am not a big fan. I chose the SL for a smoother ride guess I am getting too old for sport tuned suspension. I would trade for the Int. of the SE anyday of the week. Actually I would love to see Nissan offer both styles of the Int. on the SL.

Okiewan

For me, the weakest (well, only weak point) of the car is the interior... nice, but, if Nissan wants their flagship to compete (with the likes of Acura or even the Avalon, they'll have to find a way to increase materials quality inside. A car this good from a driver's stanpoint with better interior appointments would dominate. ... oh and RWD wouldn't hurt. But then I guess you'd have an Infinity and the associated cost.

Mike_TX

I didn't even consider the SL, since when I bought mine the SL came with a 4-speed auto. I've been spoiled to 5-speed AT's, so I wasn't about to go backwards and get a 4-speed.

In fact, I've never even ridden in a 6th Gen SL!

Mike

04BlackMaxx

Yeah, the 5-sp manumatic vs. the '04s 4 speed no manumode it was a no-brainter. I like the stock se wheels alot, and I wanted it to be as sporty as possible.

MagicMax

I prefer the look of the SE but the softer suspension of the SL won me over.

SilverMax_04

[QUOTE=brewboy13]I chose the SL for a smoother ride guess I am getting too old for sport tuned suspension. [QUOTE]
Don't blame it on old age. At 65, I suspect I'm older than you, and I went for the SE. But then I owned a '65 Vette in my youth -- was that a hard ride. It had to be an SE for me because I insisted on the 6-speed manual -- being a control freak. Also I was tired of auto trannies and their problems. I also like the ability a manual gives you of starting in 2nd gear in the snow to reduce wheel spin.

lobewiper

Well, Mike, you've got a real treat coming...

lightonthehill

After twenty years of owning nothing but Maximas, I made the switch. I love my 2000 SE, and have had NO problems with it. It can turn on a dime and leave nine cents change.

BUT:

I am retired, spend more and more time on long trips with my wife, have long since passed the age of challenging teeny boppers at the lights, have been painfully aware all our tax money now goes to foreign wars instead of highway maintenance, resulting is an ever more crumbling interstate system, so opted for the more pleasant ride of the SL for my primary vehicle.

I did have some hesitation with the early '04 quality problems and the SL's 4 speed tranny. But Nissan improved the quality, and switched the SL to exactly the same tranny as the SE. That made my decision very easy.

I just returned home from another long freeway trip late Saturday, and the very comfortable SL ride made the trip such a pleasure.

SLuxury

At 24, I have an '04 with the 4-sp. I would have chosen the 6-sp SE, but I have another car that I drive for fun. The max is for comfort. It's smooth, quick, and comfortable... Plus, I got it with a ton of options for a total of 24,000. I can't ask for too much more.

ramberg

iTrader: (29)

I am 58 years old and love the SE. I have 33,254 miles on my ride in 16 months. Drive alot between Brooklyn, NY and Florida. I have no problems with the ride. Check out my ride at www.cardomain.com/id/ramberg Later Warren

wsu

A agree with some of the comments above regarding the woodgrain plastic in the SL being undesirable. The interior of the SE looks sharper in many respects. It would have been nice to be able to get the SE interior on the SL (with the SL ride, which was the main reason why I chose the SL).

As for the spoiler on the SE, that dissuaded me from the SE, as I generally like a cleaner, simpler look on a car and really don't care for spoilers (a personal preference, certainly). That said, it is noteworthy that, as I understand it, Nissan claims a lower aerodynamic friction coefficient with the spoiler than without, which implies better mileage with a spoiler than without. I would consider a spoiler for this reason.

If we assume a spoiler costs $250 parts and labor to install on an SL, then to recover the cost of the spoiler would take about 125 gallons (assuming $2/gallon) of fuel savings. It is evident that it would take considerable freeway miles to recover the cost of the spoiler in saved fuel cost, even though I don't know how much of a mileage increase one could expect from having a spoiler versus the "stock" SL sans spoiler. If Nissan could provide such data regarding expected mileage increase with a spoiler, it might convince some SL owners to go for a spoiler.

SLuxury

That spoiler is mainly for looks... I'm not sure how much down force it would provide.

lightonthehill

I do not question that the OEM spoiler may have a slightly better aerodynamic friction coefficient. But I would be very very surprised if that small spoiler could improve gas mileage by more than a tenth of a mile per gallon, and would expect the actual improvement to be considerably less.

In fact, for around town driving at speeds mostly around 50 mph or less, there would probably be insuficient improvement in mpg to even measure.

Now if Nissan took the Maxima to a NASCAR track and let it all hang out, the spoiler might serve more than a visual purpose.

Okiewan

Best scenario for you "soft ride" guys is a SE with the SL wheels/tires... the dealer had set ours up that way, "perfect" ride between feel and smooth imho... but the 18's do corner better and look better IMHO... it's all subjective... ie; I like to feel connected to the road surface, others don't, therefore, I had them put the 18's back on.

SkItZoSkAmZ

I bought the SL 5spd auto myself, and I've had strut problems.......My momz bought an SE 5spd auto and has had no problems with her struts.....Is it possible that the SL is the only model with these strut problems? I dunno.....I put the 18'' wheels the SE had on my SL cause my mom complained about her stiffer ride, it helped smooth it out for her, but my ride in the SL is still pretty smooth......Cept for the strut problem.....I dunno, I just liked the SL better.

lightonthehill

I feel I have seen more strut problems with SEs than with SLs on this board. But that would be expected, as there are more SE owners here. I have had no problems so far (nine months of driving) with my SL struts.

rnupetroop

I chose the se 6sp(6gears) for the sportiness and not for the comfort becuase my wife has the comfy, floaty suv. I enjoy the tighter ride and the fact that I'm the only one that drives it.(wife cant drive manual)

Thank God, I've had no problems with my re se.

-AoW-JP

I got the SL. It had all the toys and suspension always wears so when that happens I'll stiffen it up a bit. As for the rims, I live and work in the city and those are stolen a lot. I wish they offered steel rims.

wsu

If you check the "strut problems an SL or SE" thread, there are data there disaggregated by SL and SE models. I agree with your sense that there seem to be more strut problems with SE's than with SL's, but if there are more SE's than SL's, then the important number is the strut problem occurence per car. To calculate this number all one needs to do is review the "strut problems an SL or SE" thread poll data and then divide the number of SE strut problems by the total number of SE responses, then do the same for the SL data. When I last checked there was a slightly greater frequency of strut problem occurence with the SE's than with the SL's, though I don't think the difference is statistically significant.

MaxMus

After owning the 2000 Maxima SE, I sworn to myself that the next car I got, had to have a decent and smooth ride on the highway.

NEPatriot

Two reasons for SE:
6spd
18" wheels

carcus

Got the SE because I can not stand the fake wood trim look. Actually, hate most wood interiors. Personal thing. SE ride is really not that bad. I guess I just got the right car for me. Nothing wrong with either. SE interior was more tolerable until it scratched to hell....than I just said BAH with all of it and went silver carbon.

Actually, mine is just a stock SE. Nothing fancy. Liked the nav....did not want to shell out the bucks for it though.

fstbusa

THE ONLY REASON I didn't get an SL.... that stupid *** looking wood.

05MAXIJJ

i drive a SL..but now i want the SE for tigher suspension and the RIMS.....why is it always when you buy something..you find more out bout the thing you bought and happen to regret a little...^^^^but i still love my SL..

maximatwo

I have had two SE's 2001 and 2004, bought both for the tight ride and wheels, doubt I would ever choose any other but guess only time would tell.