silberma

Having driven several generations of Honda Accords V-6 I got tired of their noise levels and poor seats. Went to A Nissan dealer to test drive a sensible Altima V-6 and the delaer suggested that because of the rebates on the 2012 Maxima's I shoul try them as well. I did and was sold immediatly, paid a few thousand more but I am enjoying every minutes of it.

lightonthehill

Well, we have someone here who may have missed the last ten years in the life of the Maxima. The 5.5 gen Maxima was the LAST EDITION of the traditional 4DSC Maxima. That was when Ghosn announced the Maxima would be taken upscale and become a near-luxury FLAGSHIP sedan, leaving its boy-toy 'affordable 4DSC' ways behind.

And Ghosn kept his word. The 6th gen was a plush, very comfortable, very roomy, upscale sedan, NOT an 'affordable 4DSC.' Lots of traditional Maxima owners were not happy, and Nissan got the message.

BUT

Instead of returning the Maxima to its original 4DSC form, Nissan took the 7th gen Maxima EVEN FURTHER UPSCCALE with the 7th gen, but also returning a little of its former sportiness. All this upscale plushness added weight to the Maxima. It is now a 3600 pound sporty, near-luxury car. Nissan has moved the Maxima FAR from its 'affordable 4DSC' days, and has aimed it at a completely different audience than the one at which the 5.5 was aimed.

Elapsed times to 60 MPH is no longer a primary consideration to Nissan when designing new Maxima generations. Yes, the Maxima must be SPIRITED, and cannot be a laggard, but other things are now much more important than 0-60.

Several mags testing the Maxima clocked it at 5.8 to 60, but that is not relevant. The Maxima is NOT a car one would buy if elapsed time runs were a major factor for the buyer. Handling, slalom times, comfort, lots of accessories and convenience factors, aggressive styling, etc, are more important for the Maxima's new target audience.

The 7th gen Maxima is so far advanced above the 5.5 in so many ways that only someone who has not kept up with what Nissan is doing with the Maxima would even consider comparing the 7th gen with the 5th gen. Totally different vehicles aimed at different target audiences.

I drove Datsuns (built by Nissan) before Nissans were sold in the U.S., carpooled for three years in the 1st gen Maxima, and have owned all Maxima generations from 2nd through 7th (more than one of some), and drove several to over 200,000 miles, so I feel I understand where Nissan has been and is going with the Maxima. I personally am convinced the 7th gen is the best Maxima Nissan has ever produced.

But those not keeping up very closely, or who measure a car ONLY on things such as its 0 to 60 time may disagree. We all disagree on something or other. What is 'right' for one person may not be 'right' for the next person. Doesn't mean either is wrong.

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

Actually the 5.0 was the last traditional 4SDC, Ghosn announced in 01 that in 02 it was starting the move upscale (Looking at an 03 brochure currently they clearly has Acura TL, and Avalon listed as its competitive models). 02 was a year with stuff never available on a prior Max including available; memory seats, auto entry/exit, heated steering wheels, Hid's etc etc. The 5.5 was and felt softer than the 5.0 Max as they tried to market it to a notch above the 5.0 to where it is currently to satisfy those buyers as the 3.5 Alti SE was going after the prior market, since it has done a decent job at it.

Also alot of those features on the Max were not available on the 02 Altima and lets not forget the Maxima's interior was head and shoulders above the Altima that year, the Max did not get a nice interior again to the 7th gen arrived. The 6th gens interior and quality was just sub par for a Max and it was clearly criticized for it along with the Altima of that gen, the 6.5 gen it improved some. 7th gen its back to a quality standard that's fitting for the Max.

Ryan31

Spot on.

Nissan didn't design the 7th Gen to be a young streetracers toy car. Like he said, it's a near "luxury car".

I could care less that the Altima is just as fast. The Altima looks cheap compared to the Maxima.

I think the new Altima is hideous.

Shift_A32B

iTrader: (14)

That's true, I did miss that part

True, it seems like Nissan did go after a new audience because I sure lost interest after the 5.5 gen. Well some may agree while others will disagree. Well whatever floats their boat

Mario66

Did anyone else feel like punching those two guys until they stopped talking?

lightonthehill

You are not alone. Quite a few long-time Maxima drivers either kept their older Maximas or moved to other makes when the 6th gen 2004 arrived, while a new breed of driver suddenly took to the Maxima at that time - drivers looking for lots of creature comforts and lots of room for their family.

The dropping of all trannies but the (not fully functional) CVT when the 6 1/2 gen 2007 arrived changed the Maxima audience even further.

The arival of the more stylish, more powerful 7th gen 2009 with better handling, improved CVT and a much tighter turning radius brought some former Maxima drivers back, but this 7th gen has moved substantially upscale in both creature comforts and price from the 'affordable 4DSC' of early generation Maximas.

Jig9798

^This

I remember my father getting his 2001 SE and shortly thereafter the introduction of the Altima 3.5 SE (240-245hp if I remember correctly), which was an absolute BEAST for the times. Once that Altima arrived on the scene the Maxima was well on it's way out of that market demographic. Since then the Maxima has sort of been (IMO) stuck in Never Never Land without a true competitor or class, which Nissan has branded as entry level luxury.

The 6th Gen Maxima's, again IMO, were an experiment gone terribly wrong. Gen 7's, however, were a home run and it is/was very clear that Nissan has/had (I hope) a clear direction for its flagship vehicle.

Back in my teens I never quite understood the allure that my father had for Maxima's, though at the time I was used to driving an 84 Mustang making over 400hp so I was a bit less refined. Thank God, I've matured. Like Lightonthehill, pops has owned several Maxima's throughout the years (>5 I believe). Notably, he has not owned a Gen 7, instead opting for an Altima (2010) because of the absurd price tag Nissan has assigned to new Maxima's. Both my brother and I own Gen 7's. My father has remarked numerous times to us what a quality car we own. I tend to agree. I drove his Altima SR 10 hours to Ohio this past summer. It was a very enjoyable ride. And although I never seriously considered buying an Altima, it actually influenced my decision to begin the 'new Maxima' search. I've yet to put my 2010 Maxima through a 10hr trek though I'm excited about the 6 hr trip to DC I'll be taking next month!

It's going to be very exciting to see what Nissan plans for the 8th Generation Maxima, which undoubtedly will blow the doors off the 2013 (5th Gen) Altima.

lightonthehill

Jig9798 - Nice post, and good insight. You are also right in saying that MONTE 01&97 SE nailed the Maxima philosophy change in the middle of the 5th gen.

As info, some Atlanta dealers are now advertising all '13 Maximas at $9K under MSRP. That beats any price we can find on similarly equipped Altimas. Base '13 Maximas can now be had for $23,889 at two Atlanta dealers.

Jig9798

Thank you for the kind words.

I would tell my dad he should schedule a 'business trip" to Atlanta ... but he's currently eyeing 370Z's, as retirement is a couple years away.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

Atlanta area dealers sell Altimas without radios and AC, I thought that was a thing of the past but guess not.

As for a Maxima for 23,889, I think I would go for the lesser Altima with some nice features, then Maxima with nothing on it, I think nicer cars should come equipped with certain features

Alerotaz

I worked for Nissan until June of last year.
They make a great car and I have a Maxima even now.
The reason they have not brought out a new model is very basic! LOL
They are having a problem getting suppliers on line for such a small build.
Last years build was only around 66k for the year. With all the ups and down from the 2007 - 2010 supply chain. All the effort for the Altima and high sales, who wants to eat the cost on such a small production run?

Matter of fact one supplier to remain unamed saw such a low production level they produced the parts for all of 2012 and 2013 in 2 weeks.

Yes the 2013 is close to the Maxima, but until you see them side by side. due to another styling cue.

Maxima, altima sedan and coupe ar all made on the line. sothe cost produce is built into some of the parts but main costing is price point.
They charge to what the market will bear. That is they make the money on volumn on some cars, $ on what they can get away with and many other factors I cant get into here.
That is why some cars drop in price one year to the next while other go up.

Hope this sheds some light on the $ and styleing of the Maxima / Altima

lightonthehill

Alerotaz - A lot of what you say makes sense. Nissan does intend to produce only 70K Maximas each model year, partly in order that the buyer can avoid the 'Altima syndrome' (every parking lot is full of them).

As you noted, having a fairly small production run like the Maxima can have associated problems, such as getting anyone to make reasonably priced parts or design aftermarket accessories. But if Nissan could sell 500,000 Altimas each model year, they definitely would.

As general info to everyone here, the redesigned '13 model year dropped the Altima from SEVEN straight years as Consumer Reports' #1 rated vehicle in its class to being rated in the middle of the pack. They clearly were not as impressed with the new Altima as some posters here seem to be.

Alerotaz

First of all I love my Maxima!! LOL
The Altima has more road noise than the Maxima and the coupe is even worse.
As far as the Altima they produced over 500,000 units. last number I saw was closer to 650,000.
The new altima... well I did not like the changes they made on a few things but remember they are going up against a new camery, accord and so on.
Altima is now "a Glogal designed Car" per Nissan. Most people in the plant said they have never seen a Global car do well. So we will see.

I have a 09 with 99,000 miles. Getting ready to change the Plugs and tring to go ahead and do the Timing belt and water pump in the same trip.
Might as well...
I hope that saves me from another major bill for a nother 100.000 miles!

Maximam

I had two '13 Altimas and now a '13 Maxima. To make it short, the new Altima is a better car aside from two issues the first year has which is the tranny "lugging" and the electric power steering noise. The new Altima has more interior space, better quality materials, and a larger trunk without being a larder car overall. IMO, the switch gear and dash layout is better. They are using high strength steel reducing weight.

My first '13 Altima 2.5 was bought back by the dealer (major quality issues), the second I traded in for the Maxima since it had the same tranny issue (some V6's have the same issue). I was finished trying to get the issue resolved and I really missed the VQ. Thankfully they were taking $9k off the Maxima which helped facilitate this.

I am sure the 8th gen Maxima is going to be a real gem! If they direct inject the VQ we will see great power and great fuel economy. If they use the same CVT being used in the current 3.5 Altima that will help fuel economy as well. I'm sure it will be lighter as the current Maxima is 200 lbs heavier than a loaded 3.5 Altima!

Here is what I miss from my Altima, look at those mpgs!:

Maximam

No timing belt in your car, you have a chain. No need to bother with the chain at 100,000.

I'd look at the pump and plugs however.

jeffislouie

FWIW, I sat in a Nissan dealership after already doing the paperwork on my Max while waiting for my car to be prepped. Sitting on the showroom floor was a loaded Altima. The inside feels smaller, the seats aren't as plush, the leather isn't nice, and the overall feel you get from the Altima is that it is a family car.

Compared to the Maxima, the Altima is an appliance. It may be just as quick (or a touch quicker, according to these testers), but the drive of the two cars is simply not comparable. The Maxima feels more upscale, because it is.

My impression of the Maxima is that it is just a hair below an Infiniti M. More accurately, it is probably as close as Nissan can get to the Infiniti M without cannibalizing sales. The Altima is a base car. Even tarted up with all the toys, the big motor, and leather, it's still "just" an Altima. In my opinion, Nissan is cannibalizing sales from the Maxima by making a tarted up Altima so close in performance (and price). Of course, Nissan expects 90% of all Altima sales to be four cylinder cars.

IMO, the only reason Nissan offers a 6 cylinder Altima is because Honda offers a 6 cylinder Accord. They've made a bit of a mistake by not detuning the V6 Altima to 240 hp or so to avoid cannibalizing Maxima sales.

Regardless, the Altima doesn't have the same quality of materials, layout, space, or feeling of luxury as the Maxima. It is a nice car, but at the end of the day, it's really a family sedan with a hot motor while the Maxima is a step up.

Since owning my Maxima I have come to the conclusion that the car reviewers just don't know what to make of the thing. I've read comparisons to Ford's Taurus (I guess they compare, sort of), the 300 (non-C, which is slower and not as nice), and the Toyota Avalon (which the car magazines seem to pick as a winner no matter what it faces, despite hard seats, materials being less than desirable, and somewhat bland styling).

It's a sports sedan. It's comfortable. Mine is luxurious. I get compliments all the time. It's quick. The stereo is awesome. That Altima might be as quick, but people still see an Altima. I don't think the two cars look alike. I also don't believe that many people will cross shop the Altima against the Maxima. If I was looking for a family sedan for a family of four, I'd cross shop an Altima against an Accord, a Camry, a Fusion, and a Mazda 6.

But I was looking for a somewhat fancy car with power and features. Hence, I chose the Max.