So many people say all Maxima's are "family cars". However, to me they all look way too sporty to be a family car. Why do they consider it a family car..I wouldn't consider a car with a (take my car for example) 3.5 liter V6 making 265 HP good for a 6 second 0 to 60, 18" Wheels, Sporty Front & Back, and Quad Chrome Exhaust Tips to be a family car....so why is it that they say that?

What do you consider it..

Sports Car
Family Car

My vote is for sports car/sedan.

 

6th gen = family car

3-5 gen = sporty family car

i dont know what to qualify the 1st and 2nd gens as

 

Who are all these people that you speak of?

 

It's a sporty car for the time you don't have the money & time for a second car.

So yes... family car...

 

It's Sporty, It's a Sedan and it carries around my Family.

 

on the other hand, it's not what the car was meant to be, it's the way you mod it and the way you use it...

 

lol....some of you have VERY misconstrued ideas of a sports car.

911 turbo = sports car
lotus elise = sports car
300zx = sports car

maxima = family sedan

 

I say a sporty family sedan, but my friends call it a grandma car, but their cars are older than their grandmas

 

Family sedan with some sporty features but its far from a sports car.

 

its a 4door family sedan yeah but think about it this way, it takes preludes, rsx's etc. at my auto mech school, all my buddies own 2 door "sports cars" . there's an integra, a v6(KLZE) probe, a mk4 gti vr6 and an mk2 gti and of course a 4th gen "family sedan"..... I can still take everyone. I see it as a sporty family sedan.

 

It's a family sedan, but a quick family sedan. Sports cars a Corvettes, Ferraris, and Porsches.

 

I think its a family car just because its a 4 door sedan, unless u mod it up, then its a sports car, but with what it comes as the style and everything points towards a family car

 

While the Max has some "sporting features" like a smooth revving motor, option for a manual (pre 6.5gen) it still is a family sedan at the end of the day.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. 3rd Gen was and was the only Max that was ever truely the 4DSC. 4th gens, 5th gens can't match it. 3rd Gen has good looks and had the true sport suspension. It's ashame that Nissan finally brought back the independent rear with the bigger 6th gen that tried to hang onto its sport, but just never quite got it.

4th gen had the right size for a sport sedan, but everything underneath to make the car corner was blah. And IMO the only thing that made the 5th gen somewhat sporty was the 5.5gen with the 3.5. The suspension in that car is like a Cadillac, very floaty.

For a sedan to be considered truely a sports sedan really has to be RWD. BMW 3 series case in point, G35, etc etc.

We Max owners have family cars with a great motor to back it up. But right off the showroom floor..........no it is not a sports sedan, IMHO.

 

It wasn't called the 4DFC. Although unfortunately I think that it is definitely going in that direction, particularly with the 6th gen and certainly with the 6.5 dropping the MT.

It'll be RWD, (or maybe time to give AWD a try), impracticality, and tons-of-fun with my next car since I still (probably) won't have to worry about a family and all that good stuff. And for now...4DSC ftw!

 

The Max keeps getting bigger and going up in price. If it is becomes RWD or even AWD that cuts into G35 sales and I dont think Renault/Nissan/Infiniti wants that.

I see Nissan making the Maxima a more "base model" like Infiniti M35, but a FWD version. M35 starts at $41K. If Nissan could make the Maxima a more luxury scaled car for the Nissan line the Maxima would still have a place. Right now the Max just keeps getting plumper and pushed away from what it use to be. Now the Altima has taken its spot.

Nissan needs to do something to seperate the Max from the Altima and keep it from touching Infiniti sales. The Teana isn't what they should be doing.

 

I voted sports sedan but I agree, it's a sporty family sedan. With suspension and wheel/tire upgrades it's more of a sports sedan though.

 

I've always considered a Nissan Maxima to be more of a luxury car. In Australia, the Maxima has always been marketed as a luxury car, especially since their prices start at around AUD$40k. When someone mentions "family car" I usually think of a run-of-the-mill four door sedan that here would sell for around AUD$25k, like a base model 4-cylinder Toyota Camry.

This poll is a bit coincidental for me since a couple of weeks back someone in the office commented that my car was a "family car". I tried to argue with him by and have a bit of fun by saying that his car, a Subaru WRX STi, could also be considered a family car since it has four doors and can carry a family with reasonable comfort!

I definately think the U.S. Maxima's are a lot more sportier then the ones they sell in Oz. Maybe a Maxima should be classified as Luxury-Sports Family Sedan!

 

If it was not FWD....then we might be able to talk about at least making it into a sports car.

 

Probably wouldn't call the Max a sports car.. I wouldn't refer to it as a "family car" either.. I think we need to use a new term which encompasses what the Max really is.

 

I dont consider it a sports car, nor a family sedan...Its a sports sedan. Family car makes me think of 4 cyl versions of the camry, the taurus, the fusion, saturns, etc...You don't need 265 hp and a stiff riding suspention on 18" wheels in a family sedan. I think the emphasis is more on sports and luxury then just people moving.
The 6th gen SL is an entry level luxury sedan and the SE is an entry level sports sedan.

I think some cars like the current camry cancome in a base trim and be considered strictly family car, and hotter versions like the SE and be considered a sport sedan.
Its like the 525xi and 530i vs. the 545i or M5, same car, different categories of performance, one for family the others are clearly sports sedans.

 

preludes, rsx's, etc. are not "sports cars", they are college-boy econobox's with too much money spent on them.

 

no FWD car is a sports car.

 

Check out which car finished first at the last NY SCCA autocross event.

Raw Time Results
Results from: '09092006.REG' Total entrants 85
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1m SM 81 Chris ***** Honda Civic 45.565
2m SS 95 GJ **** Chev CorvetteZ06 45.807
3m SM2 56 Richard ***** Miata BoostBuggy 46.499
4m SM2 82 Edward **** Toyota Starlet 46.577
5m AS 124 Christopher **** Winning Wht STi 46.820
6m SM2 156 Aaron **** Thanks Rich!! 47.323
7m SM2 187 Joon **** Red BMW M Coupe 47.535
8m CSP 13 Matt **** Toyota MR2 47.815
9m AS 50 Fitzgerald ***** Blue Honda S2000 47.875
10m DP 69 Mike ***** Fiat X19 47.895

 

sports car
n.
An automobile equipped for racing, especially an aerodynamically shaped one-passenger or two-passenger vehicle having a low center of gravity and steering and suspension designed for precise control at high speeds.

I don't care how you all call the maxima..I call it MY CAR.

 

doesn't mean that it's a sports car, it just means that Chris is a good driver with a good builder under his belt. if a corolla had won, would you tell me that a corolla is now a sports car?

 

when the car was designed, it had to have some racing inspiration in it to be a sports car...the 5th gen maxima came with baby carseat thingies...i mean, c'mon.

 

4-5 gens: are family sedans with enough power to get them to the job on time, but have potential to be sporty.

6 gens: definately not a sports car. They need the 3.5 L 265 horse power in order to get them to move. Nissan just added the exhaust and wheels so people could tell it was a car and not a boat. JK It has quite a bit of pep to it, but it would have been a lot better if it was smaller and weighed less.
(I have a 4th gen. and my mother has a 6th gen.)

 

Its a sports sedan, not a sports car.

Wikipedia:
A sports sedan is a type of sedan or saloon automobile that is designed to look and feel "sporty".

The term was originally introduced in the 1930s and applied to lighter, more streamlined closed body coachwork fitted by car makers. Rover, for example, had Sports Saloon versions of several of their models.

It was later applied by manufacturers to special versions of their vehicles that allowed them to enter production cars in motor races with extra modifications not normally permitted by the regulations. Such regulations required cars to be homologated typically by selling them in minimum numbers to the public. Some of the earlier examples were the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Lotus Cortina. The term is also used for flagship cars even when they are not required for homologation. They are also known in the United States as halo cars.

Traditionally sports sedans have a manual transmission and tachometer in order to provide that "sports look and feel" and are rear wheel drive, have good handling characteristics, and adequate power. Because of the move to automatic transmission and front wheel drive these types are now also to be found in the sport sedan category. Examples are the Alfa Romeo 159, Audi S4/RS4, BMW 3 Series, Cadillac CTS, Chrysler 300C SRT8, Acura TL, Infiniti G35, Mazdaspeed 6, Saab 9-3, and the Volkswagen Jetta.

The Mazdaspeed 6 is FWD, I agree if it were RWD the Maxima would be a more bonafide sports sedan, but it still is in this category.

 

With this mindset, a Ford Taurus can be considered a "sports car."

I guess I can consider my car as a "Family Car" because I occassionally transport wailing babies in it and also a "Sport Sedan/Car" because of what I've done to it. So in general, I guess it's a Family Sport Sedan? 4DSS?

 

AutoX really isn't about the car, its the driver. Sure the Civic has some mods to beat able to compete at the top, but at the end of the day it is all driver skill.

Local AutoX guy has a '00 Mustang GT with, exhaust, and the rest is suspension upgrades. He spanks the Corvettes, Porsches repeatedly.

But in any event even if the Civic wins an autoX event it is by no means classified as a sports car just because it beats sports car.

A TRUE sports sedan is RWD. The Max can be thrown in there, but the way Nissan has always had the suspension setup (floaty, don't feel connected to the road feel) has always made the Maxima more of a family sedan that can move pretty well, but forget about the corners.

If your ever on a road trip the Maximas always seem to be in the left lane doing 80-90MPH.

 

OK IM MAD!,, all those haters of the 6th gen, really need to get in one, or at least have the priviledge to ride in one, to change their minds about them, if a porsche had a hard time keeping up with my car, then i would say, that my car is pretty fast. , and stop hating on the 6th gen.
(i cant recall what kind of porsche was it cause it never pased me, not until i made a right turn )
and yes i had the 20s allready on the car.

 

they are not family sedans. they are 4DSC's

 

You want a sports car get a toyota prius

 

Must have been a Boxster, because a 911 would have said bye bye.

I am one of the few who likes the 6th Gen. It takes a while to grow on ya, but I think it looks pretty good now. And the '07 design should have been the '04s design. The '07 looks even better now. It's just ashame they took away the 6-Spd option.

 

I Dont know if it was a boxter, if it was, it was a hella loud boxter, cause that thing was roaring right behind me. .
and i aint bs sing it happend, i also dont know if he was really trying or not, but like i said, that thing was roaring all the way, so it makes me think that he was trying.

 

Sure, with immitation leather and a noisy cockpit.
The Maxima is a sporty family sedan.
It sure isn't a sprots car and it's a far cry from a luxury vehicle.
It is a well made sedan.

 

They are sporty sedans, but many including M/T and C/D have called the SE verison a Sports sedan. M/T even called it once a "poor mans 5 series" which is considered a sports sedan. I think since 02 in GLE and SL form its more of a luxury car with the features those cars have (memory seats, heated steering wheel etc). What ever they want to call it I have always loved Maximas since 85 as they were the 4 door cars that put "sport" into Japenese offerings here in N.America, since others have followed!

 

face it -its a quick family car.

 

that really doesnt mean anything. i beat a boxster S off the line for an 1/8th mile before he caught me (i know he was racing and i was ahead and it was 1/8th mile because i have the timeslip) with a y-pipe only in my 2k2 AUTO.

 

Sports car is a car that can go around the course fast. And trust me, that Civic is fast, very fast. (the Z06 that came in second is actually in a slower class, so it's not only about the driver, at least in this case.)

It's one thing that you guys will not be satisfied with a FWD sports car, just like me BTW, but the fact of the matter is, a fast car IS a sports car... so a fast FWD car is also a sports car.