Great article you may all enjoy.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...maxima-ranked/

 

1 and 2 seem right on
3-5 is a close race, i thought the 4gen should maybe get more love
i would have switched 6 and 7

 

I agree 100%.

 

I also agree for the switch on 6 and 7.

Reading all of the notes on market comparisons in the article, I just don't understand how this car, even with the latest gen that JUST came out, still has no adopted AWD. Just falling so many years behind. Apparently advanced traction features and comfort in drive is left exclusively for Infiniti labeled cars, even though they call the Maxima a luxury car.

 

I'm surprised at badly ranked the 4th gen is, especially when the well ranked 5th gen is essentially a bigger 4th gen. I guess expectations were very high after the 3rd gen, and the 4th gen got much better looking in the 97 model year.

 

I love my 5 gen, I have always wanted a 3rd Gen when I was in H.S and now I have occasionally looked in the classified to find a 3rd Gen SE with manual to buy as a project car but I could never find one, either they are junked or wrecked

 

+1, no way is gen 6 better than gen 7

 

Last year went from a 6th gen manual to a 7th gen. The 7th gen is definitely a better ride then the 6th. I also don't understand what all the criticism is regarding the CVT, I quite like it. Though my 7th gen is the first automatic I have owned in 35 years of driving.

 

The 5th gen Maxima is my favorite. I might be biased since I own one but it's simply the best looking and the best perfoming

 

I would like to see LOTH take on this. He could've written a better article than this guy.

 

Gen 6 should be last place

1-2 are perfect

 

Didn't care enough to read, but happy with the results. Surprised there was no mention of the 3rd gen being the only Maxima compared to a 3 series. The 5th gen was one a heck of a revival, but the 3rd gen really stood out for it's time.

 

Of the 3 generations that I have owned, I rank them (high to low) 3rd gen, 5th gen, 4th gen.

 

Makes me miss my 5.5 gen. I knew I would not buy a newer Maxima once the 6th gens were shown.

 

Funny article. I will admit the 3rd gen is what got me hooked on the Maxima. It deserves to be ranked #1.

 

agreed!

 

Agreed with this. 6th gen shouldve been 7th. Would rate the 4th gen higher than the 1st gen.

 

Imo...if nissan wasn't flat broke when they developed the 4th gen it could've been something really great....but unfortunately they had to cut so many corners to keep the company running that it was such a let down after the 3rd gen.

He described the 3rd gen correctly. It was hitting the market perfectly and during that time the maxima was a name that people associate with a sporty sedan, truly a 4DSC. Now nissan is just making the maxima so it can still be relevant in the market. I miss when nissan produced "game changers". Now all the love goes to Infiniti.

 

The gen 3 Maxima was truly an amazing car. Blew anything from Toyota and Honda out of the water at the time. I also like the gen 4; may not have been as handsome as the gen 3 but was probably the last Nissan built that epitomized legendary Japanese reliability. Everything about the gen 6 makes me want to vomit.

 

There and gone again, IMO. 2015 was the last year for a proper manual transmission from Infiniti. I genuinely could care less about having a 400hp TT engine if I can't row my own gears.

• The 3rd Gen embodied my idea of the perfect Maxima.
• The 5.5 Gen 6MT was the best bang-for-your-buck Maxima.
• The 7th Gen was the best looking Maxima.
• The 8th Gen is a design abortion. Worst Maxima, hands down.

 

^
What is your opinion of the gen 4?

You sold the G37s!??? That car is RARE

 

I bought a 4th Gen 1999 Maxima SE 5MT brand new 17 years ago... loved that car. The size, performance, luxury and practicality was fantastic for 1999. The car was nimble, responsive, and yet upscale with a full-size feeling. However, as much as I enjoyed the car, I knew even then that the styling was somewhat generic and unremarkable. And that the performance, while excellent for that time, was also lacking in what I really wanted.

The 2003 Maxima SE 6MT made up for all that, and then some. The only compromise in that car was a ridiculously poor turning radius. Seriously... that was messed up.

The 2011 Infiniti G37S Sedan 6MT took all those automotive values and brought it to a whole new level that the Maxima just couldn't achieve. Smaller, more solid and balanced, with high-tech luxury, 330hp, RWD with LSD, BBK, a proper shifter linkage, etc. It's just a better platform, all the way around. A genuine Sports Sedan, more fitting to Nissan's 4DSC marketing. Well... the top-end 6MT Sedan model, at least.

Absolutely I still own the G. Thanks for asking. Four years later... only 28k miles, and lightly but very noticeably modified. As long as I don't crack it up, I expect to have it for another five years, with continued mod plans for the car year over year. It's been a great hobby, and a rewarding car to have as a daily driver. I'm just lucky that I don't really need a car every day of the week.

http://www.myg37.com/forums/build-th...r-s-new-g.html

 

I think a lot of the autojourno hate for the Maxima's CVT stems from two areas:

1) They apparently will never forgive Nissan for taking away the option to get a Maxima with a manual (you can see right there in the linked article that is the only reason for the author rating the 6th gen higher than the 7th). That means that they're going to dislike any non-manual transmission on this car, CVT or otherwise.

2) They were first introduced to the Nissan CVT in a car where it was mated to a 4-cyl, such as a Rogue or a Sentra or a 2.5 Altima, where it really is awful. The hatred that developed carried over to other cars where the CVT actually works reasonably well, like the 7th gen. I've owned a Rogue and I've driven a 2.5 Altima, and because of those cars I too was a CVT-hater until I drove the Maxima. It's fine in this car, especially if you put it into D-S mode and let it pretend to be a traditional automatic.

 

No, that's an inaccurate generalization. In North America, Nissan's first CVT was the 2003 Murano. Later, when they put it in the 6.5 Gen Maxima, it was absolutely horrible. I'm sure Nissan lost a large chunk of once loyal Maxima owners, and not just because they ditched the 6MT. I very distinctly remember test-driving a new 2007 Maxima and thinking Nissan was dead to me. Fortunately, with the 7.0 Gen in 2009, it got much, much better. I actually test-drove the 7th Gen a number of times, and appreciated how well the CVT matched up with that car. Not enough to actually buy one without a proper manual transmission, but enough to stop dumping on the car.

To your point, it's still very unpleasant... just better than it used to be, is all.

 

Thanks for providing the additional insight, Rochester. I'm new to this world but very much enjoying learning more about the history of these cars. I've never actually driven a 6th gen. so I have no opinion on the CVT in that car. My main basis for comparison was to the 4-cylinder, CVT-equipped cars I have driven, namely a Rogue, a 2.5 Altima and a Versa. The CVT is so, so bad in those cars. Discovering that it actually worked ok in the 7th gen. Maxima was a happy surprise for me.

 

I don't have a huge history... go find a member named LightOnTheHill. He's purchased a new generation Maxima every time the model rolled over, and recently purchased an 8th Gen. He's got a LOT of insights, he's older than most of the crew here, and he's very well-spoken.

Personally... let's see...

• When I was younger, my friend's parents had a brand new, fully loaded 2nd Gen Maxima Wagon.
• When I was in my 30's, another friend purchased a new 1991 Maxima SE 5MT.
• In 1999, I bought a new Maxima SE 5MT.
• In 2003, I bought a new Maxima SE 6MT.
• Since then, just test-drives.

 

This is pretty lame, clearly the 4th gen is by far the best and I think most ahead of its time. A black 5.5 SE is delicious though.

 

yay i owned the "top 2 ranked" gens =)