Since there's a lot of discussion/concern about the CVT, be sure to pay a lot of attention to that in your test drive, and report back to the forum.

Also, I'd like to see someone do a specific test - accelerate the car to a good speed (50mph at least, 60 would be better), then rapidly brake to about 20mph, then immediately gas it hard. Needless to say, do this only if you can do so safely.

This simulates a situation where you are going along on a freeway, then have to slow very quickly because of a sudden traffic blockage, and then a hole opens up in the adjacent lane's traffic stream that requires you to accelerate back up to speed quickly again.

The point is to see how easily and quickly the CVT can go from a "high gear" situation to a sudden need to be in a lower "gear" for rapid acceleration. This kind of situation can be very dangerous if the car can't react quickly and give you a good surge of low-gear power in a hurry. If it hesitates or bogs in a real-life situation, you could be in real trouble.

I'll drive one as soon as it's available and try this myself, but I'm going out of town next week and they still aren't here yet, so let us know if you do test drive one.

 

Even though it's going to be CVT it's still going to have a manual mode but the Nissan website doesn't say how many speeds you can shift through manually. I guess not enough people opted for the 6 speed manual or they were having too many problems with them. As far as the automatic goes maybe the CVT will smoothe things out a little, especially in heavy traffic.

 

I think it's 6 speeds manual shift.

 

I'm talking about the automatic tranny being shifted in the manual mode. They don't even list a fully manual tranny as an option from what i've seen. I just looked at the website once so I could be wrong.

 

joffy - I could be wrong, but I think RHMax is saying the tiptronic manual override accompaning the '07 CVT tranny allows for six speeds.

 

Yes, you are correct; 6 speeds manumatic manual shift CVT.

 

All I know is that the 5 speed (current) is decent, but wouldn't pass that test IMO.

I would think a CVT would be able to switch faster than a traditional auto as there is no gear (or two or three) to drop, just some bands moving up and down. I drove a CVT Murano and thought it responded perfectly.

 

my 5 speed auto will pass pretty much any test...... once the engine and tranny are warmed up the 5 speed acts pretty much like a manual..... I can drop to 2nd from 60 mph..... not a good idea but I have done it...... you should never underestimate nissan performance..... let's test these 07's out and post what we think..... I have to wait till end of august.....

 

Hopefully Im doing some driving tomorrow. They should be in by then... I hope.

 

be careful with that. i used do that alot for sudden pick up on highway speeds but apparently i blew my trannsmission. nissan did give me a new one but the hassle was not worth it.

 

True there are no gears to move on gearshafts, but there are two pullies that have to change diameter, and a belt that has to readjust itself to those new pully diameters.

But that's the whole point of my suggestion ... it's about the same process as a sudden downshift, but it's aggravated by having the torque converter locked up (at least in the regular 5spd auto - I'm not sure if the CVT even has a lock-up torque converter), then having to quickly adjust to a low-gear situation.

Maybe the CVT will handle it better than a conventional auto, I don't know ... that's why I'm suggesting someone try it. That's not an unusual maneuver to have to make in heavy big-city traffic, and it's one in which you have to rely on the trans to do its stuff without hesitation.

 

the 07 maxima, is going to be cvt only yes, and the tip tronic feature will be "6 speeds"....chances are (and im not trying to brag here) that i will probably be the first one on this org to test drive the car, I will definatly post it up when i do my thoughts on the car overall, and of course the performance of the notorious CVT. Honestly i have a pretty good feeling this cvt transmission might suprise the hell out of all of us.

 

I look forward to your review

 

cvt that is being used in new line up is based off of the cvt in the murano... which is 100% jap.

expect it to be just as good as the murano

 

I'll definately go test drive one when they come out.

 

Whats the difference?

 

Difference between ???

 

The thing that concerns me most about Nissan's CVTs is their reliability. Personally, I think the jury is still out. Some Murano owners are reporting issues with them.

The Murano uses no less than 3 coolers to try and keep it the CVT unit cool. I suspect the Max will be the same. God help you (and your Max) if you lose a cooler in the middle of scorching weather.

All that inherent heat has got to have a long term negative effect on the CVT.

My 2 cents worth.

 

So far, I have not had any CVT problems with my 05 Mo. I did have to have the throttle body replaced with 7k on the odo.

 

No more manual transmission in the Max means no more Maxima's for me. I am sure glad that I got my '06 with the 6-speed.

To me, a manumatic transmission is like a bike with training wheels. They are made so that people who don't know how to drive a stick will be able to shift just a like a race car driver....in their mind.

 

I agree. I'm sorry that my 04 has over 45 K mile on it. I'm hoping that Nissan sees the error in dropping the 6-speed manual and decides to keep it as an option, but I'm not holding my breath. * What a Crock !

But the Altima SE-R has the 6-speed manual trannie as its standard trannie. Looks like my next car will be an "R" -- but I'd rather have the 6-speed in a Max.