Was at the dealer finalizing the purchase of my wifes Morano, and was told by the manager there will be an AWD Maxima coming soon (2019). Has anyone else heard of this rumor?

 

I haven't heard that rumor but with AWD the Maxima would be pretty awesome

 

I bought the maxima due to a series of circumstances after being set on a scat pack challenger, and now I'm glad I got the max instead. One of the few things I don't like is being only FWD. I would be one of the first in line to trade up to AWD. Then I wouldn't have to worry about winning the lottery so I could transplant a murano awd system!

 

Would be nice, definitely a step in the right direction. But it would probably be the Murano's AWD system which I believe only activated the rear wheels when it absolutely needs to, while I think the maxima would be more suited for a system with RWD bias.

 

I'll take 2

 

This is been discussed so many times in the past generations, everyone keep asking for AWD, but you guys need to get an Infiniti Q50 if you keep asking for AWD or RWD, don't know why you guys keep bantering about the Maxima, as you know that will never see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nissan will never make one. Do you ever see Honda do AWD Accords or AWD Camry today? NO, you gonna have to keep wishful thinking but it'll never become a reality.

 

The argument to "just get the Infiniti" is not a very well thought out one, whenever I see someone make that argument, they always seem to forget that the cheapest AWD Q50 with 300hp STARTS at $40k. The cheapest Maxima comes in at $33k and has 300hp. So there is no comparable Infiniti for the same price as the Max...

Not everyone has Infiniti money... AWD on a Maxima S would probably add $1500 to the base price. So for less than $35k MSRP, you'd be able to have an AWD Maxima S.

The Accord and Camry are not the Maximas direct competitors. They're the Altimas direct competitors.
The Maximas direct competitors are the Taurus, Charger, 300, Buick LaCrosse, Impala... 4/5 of those have an AWD option.

 

Not possible on the current platform without major modifications that would cost too much on a low volume car.

With that said, he might be partly right but it doesn't involve the Maxima.

 

I think the chances of an AWD Maxima are very slim. Reasons:

#1 - Since changing from RWD to FWD with the 1985 2nd gen, the Maxima has always been strictly FWD. Old habits are hard to change.

#2 - Yes, Nissan could add AWD to the Maxima, but there is some engineering involved, plus starting from scratch with getting the AWD version certified by the proper government agencies.

#3 - With the many (and growing) variations and versions of so many different vehicles, most Nissan dealers are space-strapped in lot space, and adding an AWD version of the Maxima would mean more space would be needed. and this space would probably come from having less variations/colors/etc of the current five levels of the Maxima available for sale on the lot, and most Maxima sales are made from cars on the dealer's lot.

4 - Adding AWD to the Maxima would not be terribly expensive, but the Maxima is already pushing the upper limit of practicality if it is to remain affordable to the masses.

5 - The Maxima is not a high volume selling vehicle, with Nissan's target on Maxima sales being around 70K. By contrast, Nissan tries to sell over 300K Altimas. Even what may seem to be fairly inexpensive changes to a low-volume vehicle are looked at far more closely on a low-volume vehicle than on a high-volume vehicle.

6 - Nissan knows that the AWD option would not be a big seller in the south. Yes, a few southerners would bite, but most southerners are like me, and would have zero interest in an AWD Maxima. I have owned nothing but FWD vehicles since October 1984, and love the way they handle. With the weight of the engine over the front wheels, I find I can negotiate snowy icy roads in my Maxima far better than in my wife's RWD truck.

Having said all that, Nissan has surprised me before, and I would not be totally surprised if Nissan decided to have SIX levels of the Maxima with the 9th gen intro in say 2023, with the 6th level being a Nismo high output AWD version available in the famous Datsun Z burnt orange. I don't like AWD, but would still buy such a vehicle.

 

The likelihood of an awd maxima us slim, understood, and everyone always says look to Infiniti is an option, but even if I wanted to spend Infiniti money the fact us I much prefer maxima's exterior and interior styling to anything Infiniti currently offers. That is why I hope for a Nissan solution, and why I've considered seeing about custom modifications. I'd rather spend my money on a custom awd max than settle for something i don't like.

 

Dealership employees as a general rule know less about cars than the average consumer.

Tell them you are not going to buy the Morano and will wait for the AWD Maxima and watch them do a double take.

 

..

 

All good points. As much as I would love to see this too.... there is another factor that I dont think was mentioned. Yes of course Nissan could do it. But it wouldnt be strategically in their favor.

Yes, THERE ARE A TON OF PEOPLE that want it. But they would say, our sales wont truly suffer.

Why offer that option in a Max when we do offer it in our Infinity line up. They have to keep a few things separated from that luxury line or people would truly pay less to get the same options in a less expensive car. Some of you already said... heck ya Ill pay 33K for a Max as opposed to 45k for an Infinity model.

You know what... I would too!!!!

The Max already has a hard time comfortably fitting in with most people opting for the Altima. I dont think they will comprise their Infinity sales to give that Max a major bump like that. Unless they have a special upgrade for the Infinity.

Trust me, I would jump at AWD myself. But like a few folks said earlier... this is nothing new. Could it change at some point if the squeaky wheel gets louder and more people complain? hmmmm maybe... but it has been a number of years with noise and Nissan hasnt budged.

 

Hmm, this article seems to suggest the 2019 Altima may get AWD..

If this is the case, AWD in the Maxima wouldn't be out of the question.

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/201...ima-spied-news

 

I would wait 2-3 years when/if the AWD Maxima comes out. Go find a 3.5SL AWD at around 22-25k, extra $1200 for 7Y/100K CPO Wrap and call it a day.

I know Nissan is hooked on their CVT units .. but DSG Maxima AWD would be nice.

 

Remember that this is talking 2019 Altima. Even if Nissan gave an AWD option in the 2019 Altima (a very high volume selling vehicle), it would almost surely not appear in the Maxima before the next Maxima generation, which would be around 2023, and in my opinion (for a combination of the reasons listed earlier in this thread), AWD would be unlikely on the Maxima.

I feel an AWD Maxima would have some resemblance to the manual Maxima, which drivers wanted, and Nissan produced, but which dealers HATED because nobody would buy them. Nissan lost a lot of money between the late 1990s and 2006 before finally understanding that manual Maximas were simply wasting dealer lot space.

Yes, an AWD Maxima would outsell a manual Maxima, but still gives yet another variation of the Maxima when most dealers do not have the space to keep a full assortment of the existing five Maxima models. But who can be sure what the future holds? With cars inevitably headed to autonomous driving, and the driver gradually becoming removed from the driving, some current options will gradually become meaningless.

Truth be known, I would much rather have a fully power adjustable front passenger seat than an AWD Maxima. But that is probably my wife speaking.

 

Remember, however, the Maxima is only in its second model year AND is based on Nissan's D-platform, which is shared with the Murano, so adapting it to AWD would be possible and reasonable given that many of its competitors offer it as an option.

An AWD Altima would certainly cannibalize sales from the Maxima.

Not that Nissan would add AWD to the Maxima, however.. but it is a possibility and noteworthy given that they are increasingly aggressive with their mid-cycle refreshes (Altima/Pathfinder/etc..)

 

I don't know where you guys live that a fully adjustable power front passenger seat would take precedence over AWD, but in NYC and the northern states, if AWD were an option, the majority of Maximas on the road would be AWD

 

Agree. If I lived where it regularly snowed, I would either want an AWD Maxima, or, more likely, be looking at Subarus (far better ground clearance than the Maxima), etc.

But here in snowless and blistering hot middle Georgia, AWD does not give significant advantages for vehicles that never leave the pavement, and can sometimes complicate tire repair and/or replacement (some AWD vehicles recommend having similar tread depth on all four tires). In my situation, AWD is just something else that can give mechanical problems.

The primary reason AWD Maximas would NOT SELL in the deep south is because most families down here (especially in rural areas) already have a truck or SUV with either 4 wheel drive or AWD for off-road or inclimate weather use.

And the reason I chose an adjustable front passenger seat as preferable for me is that, like many others here on the org, my wife and grandchildren cannot see out of the very low and totally unadjustable front passenger seat in the 8th gen Maxima. And when I let my wife drive so she can see, then I find even I have trouble seeing clearly from that low seat.

In other words, an adjustable passenger seat gives me something I NEED, while AWD does not.

 

agreed

 

Different platform.

 

Two recently discontinued AWD models are the Honda Accord Crosstour and Toyota Venza.

Actually I have a vehicle with the Borg Warner FWD/AWD drive system. Basically all 4 wheels pull until about 15 MPH then the rear wheels drop out and it becomes FWD. In the case of extremely wet streets, snow, or ice the traction control system determines when to engage the rear wheels. Its ok and provides an added level of stability when I'm partially hydroplaning along a water covered roadway.





It turns out my favorite all around vehicle for snow or wet streets is a (possibly one of a kind) 98 Maxima GLE with VLSD. It grows on you. I like it.



It does well in the snow with both wheels pulling. You can see my track on the left where I had driven up the hill a few minutes earlier in the picture below.

 

False.

https://www.cars.com/articles/nissan...1420680875402/

"All-wheel drive is possible. Nissan sells a lot of cars in snowy-weather states, and the Maxima rides the automaker's D-platform. That platform also underpins the Murano SUV, so all-wheel-drive is "absolutely something we would be hoping to do" on the Maxima, Drongowski said. "We can do it. We've [just] got to prove a business case."

 

Of course! I completely forgot the Murano and Maxima were on the same platform! Thanks! There's hope yet.

 

👍👍

 

Not false. New Altima is on a new platform.

Either way, we've been over this already. Too many modifications = too much $$$$ on a low volume car. Not going to happen with this generation.

 

What are people expecting with the AWD in the Maxima? If its for traction in inclement weather , then IMHO winter tires make much more of a difference than AWD and if you have AWD you still would need winter tires. I'm putting Michelin X-Ice 3's on mine for the upcoming MN winter and feel perfectly fine not having AWD. This is all coming from first hand experience.

I think the only thing AWD in the Maxima would be needed for was to add more power as the HP output is becoming too much for the front wheels. If they were to add performance related AWD to the Maxima, I'm not sure the AWD system that Nissan employ's in the Murano would fit the bill for that. All it would do is add weight and might actually hurt performance.