That girl that took me out was telling me what she liked in cars. It was totally the "look" and how the car drives. She knew nothing about 0-60, 1/4 mile, HP, torque, GVWR, etc. To quote her, she said her car "hugs the curves" and you really feel where it's gonna go even at 90. Her car is a 2k2 325Ci, and before that she said she had a VR6. Before that she said she had an Accord and that it did not have the feel of the 2 German cars, however, her ex had an Integra and it did kinda have that feel. She also was honest and said the Audi TT looks way better than her 325, but she thought she was on her way to kids so she didn't get a sports car at the time.

I think Nissan should be made aware of what drivers think about their cars. I think the look of the Altima was a good move, but they always chintz out in the fit/finish, and have no road feel. The steering is so dead and light. The pedals are so soft it's not good. I know, I know, for most people on this forum the purchase of a German car may be the only way to get that road feel or soul into the car. But I don't see why Nissan can't build a car with a sporting nature. my .02

 

Looks like this lady knows something about the teutonic feel of a German.

Oh and Nissan has built a car with a sporting nature. Go to an Infiniti dealer and test drive a G35.

 

I think nissan is aware of all that they need to be aware of to make conscious decisions in an attempt to make the most money out of the market as possible. I don't think everybody in the company is sitting in a board meeting right now saying "Well guys....how can we once and for all quench the thirst of the 100% raw sportscar driver?"
Especially over here in the US. How many drivers are avid performance-oriented drivers? Now how many of those still want plushness, style, reliability, and yet, all-out-performance?

I think most people that buy maximas or altimas aren't in them for the performance aspect as their primary reason. Sure, maybe here in the world of the .org, but I see a bazillion maximas on the road everyday and have talked to...1? .orger near my city.
The majority of the typical drivers of these cars dont want ultra-tight & responsive steering, dont want to be plastered to the road in a purely performance-oriented suspension, don't want hyper-responsive stiffer pedals/grabbier clutches/harder shifting ATs, etc, etc, etc.

Granted, nissan is upping hte performance on their lines of cars, but they're not changing them into pure performance-oriented cars. The max/alty wouldn't be such a value price-wise if they did that. Seems the closest nissan is producing to performers now are the Z, the G35, and on the low end, the Spec V (now if only they can iron out some of the probs with the V's for 03).

 

my GF's teg does have a better steering feel.

 

My GF's old '98 Integra had more feel and less assist.

But its nowhere as nice as the way her Golf's steering feels. The Germans really got that whole "driver connected to the car" thing down pat.

 

For the record, I really enjoyed the tight steering in my old integra, combined with the glued-to-the-road suspension.

They were both things I expected to give up going to a mid-sized sedan. How's the steering on, say, VW Passats? Never driven one.

 

That is easy want more steering feel. Install polyurethane bushings in the entire front/rear suspension. Of course you get more NVH but you get alot of steering feel.

 

nissan doesn't make the maxima or sell the maxima as a sports car. it's a 4 door sedan with a bit of grunt but let's face it... it's no sports car. it is what it is and it does that well. nissan has the 350z as its sports car.

you're also comparing totally different price classes. to make the maxima have tighter steering and an overall nicer suspension it would cost money. as it is you guys ***** about how expensive the maxima is. does the average maxima buyer care about if the car "hugs the curves" or how the steering response is? NO. if you want that you step up the g35 - but you also step up in price.

 

Somehow, VW/Audi and BMW have found a way to tighten up steering, give good on-center feel, better road feel, and response, but still offer low NVH levels.

Integras do have a tighter feeling steering systems, but iffered very little road feel and didn't give me the feeling that I was connected to the car...not like the Golf.

 

You are correct and Honda has as well, the 97up Prelude feels great nad has tight steering.

 

You are correct and Honda has as well, the 97 and up Prelude feels great and has a tight steering and it is/was priced close to the Altima. Also the Accord has a tight feel as well!

 

I absolutely hate the steering feel on the Maxima. It's way overboosted. My wife's Subaru Legacy GT wagon has steering that's FAR heavier and much better centered on the highway. She's noted how much different my car's steering feels over her's. She says that even though my car grips far harder than her GT, my car feels "tippy" and "darty". I couldn't agree more. WHY Nissan believes they should overboost their steering is beyond me. Out of all the cars I driven, owned, and rented, Nissans are always the most overboosted. It's sad that Grand Caravan's have better weight and center than my Maxima.

I just want someone to make an underdrive pulley for the powersteering pump. That would help somewhat.


Dave

 

If the pump would make the difference, I'm surprised there's no aftermarket part. I was thinking that it'd take a new rack. Because the first time you drive a Max for an extended period, I think a person might think the rack has play. But sure enough, it does not.

I just think that with so many trim levels, and I think this goes for all Nissans, there's a GXE, SE, and GLE. You could put a different rack/PS pump into the SE and leave the other two. But I find Nissan is just taking the same thing, putting different wheels and interior items, and selling it. Like a marketing ploy if you will. If they could be convinced there's no cost, and I don't think there is, maybe they would do it?

 

I enjoy the feel of the 2k2 SE steering wheel, imo its exactly how it should be. My 97 is quite overboosted though. If anyone has driven a lincon ls or a mercades e class wagon then you know what too much steering assistance is.

 

tight steering and sharp turn response is the not what normal people look for in the car. consider the best selling car for stright couple years (4 years? )- toyota camry, has the softest/worst steering in any family car I've driven. heard it has two steering hydrolic, but I don't know it is true or not. To be honest, I like the idea of soft steering when go to a nice relax road trip (except when I'm tired. the carmy steering is so soft that I fell asleep couple times )