I ride in another car and can not believe how much better a car the Maxima is than most cars on the road. I drove in my buddies Passat today and I can not describe the major advantage the Maxima has in all aspects IMO!

There are very few cars on the road that can surpass the Maxima for any price. I do like my buddies BMW 540i however, but don't like the lack of its reliabilty.

BTW, I still think the 3.0 VQ is the most refined. The 3.5 VQ lost some of the 3.0s refinement/smoothness.

 

agree
disagree

 

the 3.5 is like a lexus inline 6.. you cant tell if its on or not when idling.

 

That's for sure, I just turned the key today and heard an awful sound from my starter, b/c the car was already on!

 

I am not the only one who feels this way about the 3.5

Quote from wardsauto.com:

"Although we’re convinced a noticeable portion of the original 3L engine’s supernatural smoothness and NVH has been sacrificed in the ’02-model boring and stroking to 3.5L, the VQ remains a convincing combination of power, broad torque delivery and refinement."

He guys it is still the best 6cyl engine out there period!

 

I agree the 3.5 is a little bit rougher feeling in strong acceleration than the 3.0 and the both idle quietly to me!

 

I rode in one of those
Last week I drove a 97 Tiburon. OMG the Max is so much better than this car. The 5 speed gearbox felt like a jar of peanut butter with a knife stuck in it As for the power, where's my VQ?

 

I saw one of the Tiburons and it was actually pretty cool looking. Fat tires and a body kit. But as my chick said..."The poor man's sports car".

 

the new one's are much more respectable than the gen that I drove, but still......