I was thumbing through my old Maxima brochure that I got at the dealership before buying my max. I noticed on the last page of the brochure, they show all of their models in descending order grouped by category. The first category listed was "Sports Cars". In it, the GT-R and 370Z were listed. The next category was "Cars". The Maxima was listed in this category for obvious reasons.

Wouldn't you think that if Nissan truly wanted this car to be thought of as a 4DSC they would have made a category labeled "Sports Sedan" or "4 Door Sports Car"?

I think it's an admition on the part of Nissan that they only market the car as a 4DSC and that it really isn't.

Don't get me wrong here, I love my '10 SV and I think it defnitely has a MUCH sportier look and feel than it's competition. I just thought it was funny when I noticed that bit of marketing mistake.

If it were up to me, I would have listed the Max by itself in a "Sports Sedan" segment.

I'll see if I can find a PDF version of the brochure.

 

As sporty as this car is, I dont think classifying it as a sport sedan would be fair, sport sedans should have rwd and awd options and offered in a 6mt model. By doing that, i think Nissan would subject themselves to more ridicule from the car magazines, they are getting enough as it is by marketing it as a 4-door sports car. Don't get me wrong I love my car to death but a true sport sedan it is not.

 

^ agreed with you guys 100%! The Maxima is great but its no sports sedan, not with the FWD-CVT match up. The closest description would be a sporty premium sedan, or sporty family sedan b/c it is certainly sporty compared to something like a LaCrosse, Avalon, etc.

Nissan itself screws up with its marketing but not only that, their regional reps and stealership personnel have been ingrained and diluted into thinking this new Maxima is a four door sports sedan/car and that noises and things are okey dokey b/c its a sports car. Nissan marketing = massive epic fail!

 

this should be a good thread...subscribed!

 

A CVT isnt sporty at all ....And the paddle shifters are even worse....Although a sporty sedan not a true Sport Car .... Maybe if it had a regular auto and the 3.7L engine it would be closer....My .02

 

The numbers and the feel and the capability of the SV Sport car qualifies it as a sports sedan. Can't say much for the Premium as I haven't driven one.

The CVT in the 7th Gen is fine.

There is just extreme bias against the CVT and the FWD layout, that is the only reason why people say what they say about the 7th Gen.

Even with those "crappy" RSA's that everyone complains about the Sport is registering around a .87 on the skidpad, with some Michelin Pilots tires that will definitely rise. Fastest time to 0-60 I have seen posted was 5.6 seconds. Fastest 1/4 mile is a shade under 14 seconds...the steering is very communicable and precise. I have thrown this car into a 90 degree turn (not a curve) going 45 mph without losing traction and with enough power to pull out of the curve with no interruption. I have driven this car in the mountains of Tennessee in ways that you couldn't pay me to in a bloated dull *** Avalon or a LaCrosse. It would be suicide.

This is a sports sedan without a doubt. But like I said I am speaking from the perspective of the SV Sport, it has a tighter suspension and chassis reinforcement which makes all the difference in the world as far as handling characteristics.

I also own what is UNIVERSALLY known as a Sports Sedan in my 535i. I know what I am talking about.

 

Curious how making definied shift points (which makes it slower btw) and giving it a 0.2 L increase would make it a "Sports Sedan"

Here is a few questions for everyone. Why does it have to be a RWD/AWD platform to be exclusively a Sports Sedan? Is it transmission specific?

How many people here actually take their brand new "Sports Sedans" (without modifications) and put them in situations which would define it as such?

 

Matt - I appreciate your incisiveness, and agree with you. But decades of having enthusiasts generally define the 4DSC as RWD and manual tranny cannot be changed simply by having someone think through this situation logically and scientifically.

Just as it will take several centuries for evolution to be fully accepted, it will also take at least a half-century for folks to understand a 4DSC can be FWD with a CVT. If you doubt that statement, try to shove a FWD CVT vehicle down the throats of posters on BMW or Infiniti boards as a 4DSC and watch the spittle spatter across the web.

Closed minds have to be opened from the inside. No amount of scientific knowledge or intuitive logic can open them from the outside.

 

If this thread continues the way it is, I'm merging it with the CVT-MT thread where everyone's beat this horse down.

 

I, like many others, think calling the Maxima a "4 door sports car" or "sports sedan" is a bit of a stretch.

However, if you want to call the Maxima a "Grand Touring Sedan", I'm right there with you. In case you don't know what I mean, here's how Wikipedia describes a Grand Touring automobile:

A grand tourer (Italian: gran turismo) (GT) is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement.


The term derives from the Italian phrase gran turismo, homage to the tradition of the grand tour, used to represent automobiles regarded as grand tourers, able to make long-distance, high-speed journeys in both comfort and style. The English translation is grand touring.

and:

Grand tourers differ from standard two-seat sports cars in typically being larger, heavier, and emphasizing comfort over straight-out performance. Historically, most GTs have been front-engined with rear-wheel drive, which leave more space for the cabin than mid-mounted engine layouts. Softer suspensions, greater storage, and more luxurious appointments add to their driving appeal.

I think there's room in Wikepedia's general description for a four door, Front-Wheel-Drive, CVT transmissioned Maxima. Anyway this is what I see when I look at my 2009 Gen 7 and what I wanted when I bought it. It has exceeded all my hopes and expectations.

Live long, and prosper
Jerry L. Gubka

 

I'm not sure what really is the difference between the sport package versions and base SV or premium versions that would make that much of a difference. The only main difference is in the sport package you get a firmer suspension and different/biggger summer tires. I guess the tires are what your saying making the difference. I have yet to read one professional review of the new Maxima where the test drivers felt it lived up to its true 4DSC marketing.

Anyway, since I don't have the sports package I can't speak to that, but at least with the SV and premium version, I personally don't think it feels like a 4DSC. Don't get me wrong, I like the Maxima the way it is and the FWD/CVT but it just doesn't have the ummmff and handling that the RWD/AWD vehicles I have and have had in the past. Its pretty close but just shy of meeting their capability. Not saying that it might never, I think that if the CVT keeps envolving the way it is, its going to match any other transmission option out there.

The Maxima by far, is the best handling, performing, sport oriented FWD vehicle I've ever had. FWD being the key word there.

 

First, I'd like to let everyone know that the intent of this thread is NOT CVT vs. Manual.

Now, having said that, I can understand that many feel that in order to use the words sport or sporty to describe the Max, it MUST be equipped with a MT.

I don't feel that way and it appears that many are with me.

I feel that the performance numbers speak for themselves regardless of what is motivating those numbers within the vehicle. If you ignore the CVT vs. MT and the FWD layout gripes and look at the numbers along with an open mind, I think you should be able to say that the Maxima is a Sports Sedan.

Who defines the definition of Sports Sedans anyways? I say each and every one of us does individually.

Perhaps Nissan should have put a section in the brochure just for the Max and labeled it:

Sportyish Sedan

 

Pure Marketing, no more, no less. They pulled a page from the Apple iPhone playbook! Or Toyota. They've got the "swagger wagon". Oops, just a mommy-van with some fun marketing.....

I say don't get wrapped up in marketing terms at all. See, I personally cannot use the word "sports car" combined with 4 doors. That has nothing to do with the transmission, engine, how many mods you do.

 

The .2L of displacement in a 370Z is quite a bit 332 HP vs. 290 HP.. 42 HP is quite a bit and would put it in the Sport Sedan realm ... My .02 ...I just bought my Maxima ... Its just the S ....( I dont like leather) .. I like the car ALOT ... Hopefully there will be real modifications to increase power ... Not the usual CAI and cat back which make almost no real power increases...Doesnt really bother me I do have an 8 second street car...

 

Suspension and chassis bracing makes all the difference. Yes tires are part of the equation, but the best tires will not do much for a car that does not have a sport oriented suspension. Suspension helps to keep the body from diving and keeps the car flatter during hard cornering, it also has the geometry to keep the tires positively in contact with the road during high speed maneuvering. The SV Sport has sport tuned shocks, struts, and stiffer springs, a beefier front stabilizer, and the rear seats don't fold down like in the S and the Premium to add more chassis stiffening. All that makes a difference.

You can put some Falkens on a Toyota Avalon and it's not going to do much for it performance-wise because the suspension is still going to be pretty much floaty.

I can personally attest to the handling of the 7th Gen Sport from REAL WORLD situations, not from some road test. I also have experience in sport sedans prior that I use a a personal benchmark.

I have driven both my 535i and a 7th Gen at triple digit speeds *at the track obviously*

I wish people in here would come with some EMPIRICAL information and not just some pre-conceived notions and bias. I have yet to see someone who actually owns this car who has actually pushed it to the limits to make any comments.

 

If I were ten years younger, not married with children, I'd be out pushing my Max like I was my last car .

For now, I look at what you say, what testers say and what I think based on my own backroad driving habits and believe that the car is a sports sedan. I'll ignore the CVT and FWD as qualifiers for being a sports sedan as well. To me, the performance is what matters at the end of the day. It matter not how you arrive at those performance numbers.

FWIW, I've ready somewhere that the sport Max specifically did NOT get a dual panel moonroof because it lowered the skid pad figures by something like .02 or .03 g's due to the heavier mass above the CG. IMO, Nissan did quite a bit to make the handling of the sport more lively over that of the S and SV models and that's all it really needed as it already makes a good deal of power for acceleration.

Maybe I'll go out and put a park bench style wing on the back of it so I can convince you naysayers that this car is a sports sedan. Will that make you believe? How about an overdone body kit?

 

They'll never take your word for it. "Enthusiasts" are some of the most stubborn people that you can ever find. It will take at least one more generation before the long standing notion of what a Sport Car/Sedan is changes.

I touched on understeer earlier. I must say that somehow someway they have manged to keep understeer to an absolute minimum, which is impressive considering it's a FWD. The steering is point (steer) and shoot even in the corners at high speed. The variable effort steering system works great in that regard. As you go faster the steering wheel gets feels "heavy" and doesn't feel overly light and twitchy. Gives you confidence at speed. I guess it helps that the steering wheel itself is the exact same as the one found in the 370z. The 7th Gen has to be one of the Top 5 handling FWD cars. I can only imagine how much better it would be with some Potenzas on all four corners.

 

One thing I give a lot of credit to the Nissan engineer's is how there is virtually no torque steer under brisk acceleration. That has always been an inherent drawback to high powered V6 FWD vehicles and you always had to go into RWD or AWD to get rid of that so its nice to be able to have FWD with this powerful of an engine and not have to deal with the torque BS!

 

Just a small correction - the Premium option also has the chassis stiffening and its rear seats do not fold down.

 

And that is exactly why the early magazine testers were caught off guard and surprised that the Maxima with Premium option had essentially the same slalom times as the Maxima with Sport option. The strong body frame brace running across the car just behind the rear seats on BOTH the Sport and Premium really makes a difference in handling.