Having trouble picking either one..both look aesthetically pleasing..which has better performance/handling/bang..same 3.5 engine..2 diff trannies..and diff interior...what to pick and why?

 

you mean "6spd" V6 Maxima...the only 5spd is the Auto for the 04 Max...but if I were you go for the Maxima..much better interior IMO...

 

Yah i meant 6 spd maxima, all the 5's and 6's...etc...interior, what about performance/suspension?

 

once again..04 Maxima!!

 

but i was comparing a 2003 maxima...and a 2003 altima ..same engines..not 6th gen maxima

 

go for the MAX~!

 

Performance-wise, they're about equal. Handling goes slightly towards the Altima. Interior, i'd say Maxima. Overall package - Maxima.

 

Like I said the Maxima

 

Get the Maxima

 

Get the Maxima... Better build, better interior/exterior. Faster Car

 

Maxima all the way

 

I don't know if this is ture...
But my buddy is looking into getting a new Alti...and he said with a y-pipe and exhaust he can get 13.7 in the quarter mile.
Is that true?????????

 

The Alty actually has a slight advantage in the 1/4 mile due to gearing. The closer 6spd on the Maxima requires a shift to 4th whereas the Altima's wider 5 gears can pull across the line still in 3rd. Weight is equal, and power is identical (the "extra" 10-15 HP in the Maxima never existed )

 

Get the altima if you want your car looking more current and up to date with the times. But as people stated, if interior is your thing, then the maxima wins.

 

I chose it for this reason...I love the new style-look. If I were to do it over again..I would skip both cars and go for the G35. I would take a good look at the 04 Max too.

Altima..definately lacks some interior refinement..it is on par with the cheapest of economy cars..with a premium price. Altima has more room inside for front and rear occupants (Another reason I chose it)

Every test I ever read..has the altima with the performance edge..and better times.

Altima 3.5 has a very harsh ride.....I do not like it..But most of you would..I prefer a bit of cloudy-floaty feel over rough pavement. I don't race or push it..so that does not matter.

Fully loaded....Altima stickers at 30K....it is NOT 30K quality. You can get a rather well equiped G for that price..and have some resale value.

Do I like the car? Very much!

 

go with the max...

I went out to test drive a 5spd v6 alti one day with a friend who was considering it and man was i dissappointed in its passing power in 4th and 5th gears at 70 mph to 80 mph. When I tried to punch it in 5th going 75 mph, it seem to behave like an autotragic hesitating to get going and seem to choke after hitting 80 mph. This is with four people in the car.

With the max, and 5 people in the car, it will still pull effortlessly in 5th at 75mph on up to 90 mph with smoothness and no hesitation. Dropping it to 4th gives it even more acceleration effect.

It may just be that the max probably has at least of hidden or undisclosed 265 lb-ft of torque like past threads has mentioned.

I am so glad I chose the max over the alti when i did the purchase.

heck in fresno california, i could get a 6spd g35 sedan for 31k where has the v6 altima down the street was priced at a whopping 30k after a $4500 dealer markup.

 

Here's my opinion..

I went through this TWICE already when buying my 2k2, and 2k3..

Altima PROS:
Interior room is actually larger than maxima, especially rear seats
Handling is 10x better than maxima (i had a rental 2k3 altima for a while)
Apparently people like the looks of the altima over the max.. not me
More parts

Altima CONS:
Interior is really ugly, and everything feels cheap, and poorly built
Really poor build quality - look at the alignment of the dash
Price is almost same as maxima
Altima is such a wide range between 2.5S and 3.5 SE that even if you got the top addition, nobody really knows you paid that much for an Alty

Maxima pros:
Much nicer interior, better build
Lots of features - HID's, heating steering, etc
DEEP discounting
Helical cut limited slip diff

Maxima Cons:
VERY bad handling in stock form
6 speed shifter is a piece of $hit, from both my experiences with my 2k2/2k3
HID theft

I based my decision on this and the primary thing was the bang for the buck.. Maxima WON hands down..


Plus maxima is a higher level car.

ED

 

I am not sure where you find altima's for 30k. The fully loaded ones here go for 26-27K new. And I'd really like to know where you get well equipped G35's for 30K.

 

Come to Lithia Nissan of fresno, california and you will see your altima questions answered (They markup there cars anywhere from 3k to 5k depending on model and trim)....

as for the g35 sedan, you can get a 6spd with aero kit for 30k...maybe not well equipped but, at least you get rwd, better interior, and the possibility to add forced induction that will actually fit (e.g., the stillen supercharger) longitudinally mounted engines (rwd platform) found in the g35 coupe and 350z...

 

Got to edmunds or KBB and price them out. I got my 02 in Oct of 01. My sitcker was 29,088.00
My car does not have Cold weather package or Side sills....I'd say that is 30 K..How about you. I saw them on the lot here in PA and in VA .with no dealer mark up..30K.


You want a well equiped G35 for that price..Go to VA

 

Yeah Altimas sell for pretty much invoice now and not over. Infinitis sell for around MSRP - they might discount a little bit.

 

Depends on where you are located...My dealer in town wanted sticker in 01 for my 02..I went to VA and got it for 300 over invoice.

Infinity....depending where you are again...Down by my sis house in VA invoice is easy to do on one of them now. They are always in the paper for invoice too

Location..Location , Location.

I remember guys out in Calif on .net that paid mid 30 for their Altima....that was crazy..The dealer and the customer should be shot

 

Really?? Too bad I'm broke saving for a wedding.

 

Congrats...! Little advice..it's one day of your life that no one will really remember anything except "If the food was bad" DON'T GO OVERBOARD!

It's not worth it!!!!!

 

My answer to you would depend on answers to a couple of questions:

• Which Maxima were you looking at? 03 or 04?
• When were you going to buy?

If you're looking at an 04 Maxima, then all those build quality advantages of the Maxima wouldn't exist, and the handling differences would be minimal. The 04 Maxima is built on the same platform as the Altima, in the very same plant. The 03 Maxima is built in Japan and probably has better build quality, but is also fixed axle rear-suspension and handling will be more or less inferior.

Furthermore, if you're planning on an 04 Maxima anytime soon, I'd wait a bit and give them a couple more months assemblyline time to get the bugs worked out.

Now, with those qualifications out of the way, the Altima interior is ugly but functional. I don't have the alignment and other build quality issues that others do, but I do have a couple of nitpicks:

• I have to apply vaseline to the back of the sunroof seal every week to get rid of the primary noisemaker in the car. The sunroof seal squeaks against the sheet metal of the roof
• The flexible center console sucks :-)

All in all, I'm happy with my Altima, and it feels significantly tighter than my 97 Maxima SE I used to have. I will echo what someone else said earlier though; take a good look at the G35.

 

You can parse technical stuff all you want, and read as many articles as you want, and get as many opinions as you want, but what it boils down to is that a car purchase and driving preference is a personal, visceral thing. Does it inspire you to look at it? Do you like how feel when you're cruising down the road? Does it give you a rush when you jump on the gas?

For me, the answer to all the above is yes for Maximas.

 

I think I need to go to virginia to buy my next car.

 

Unfortunately..I did

 

That would be the rationalist perspective, which I share with you. Unfortunately, she has a different view.

 

Don't they always........

 

The extra shift really doesn't hurt the times for most of us. But it is true that the shorter low end gearing isn't an advantage because of the broad torque curve and hobbled horsepower peak. If the VQ35 in the Maxima had a hp curve that resembled the 350Z the gearing would show up more in the lower speeds. However the 3rd and 4th Maxima 6 speed gears are where the car really shines. That is where I manage to outrun Turbo Eclipses, other VQ35 Auto Maximas and slightly modded Foxbody Mustangs.

 

If you had an auto you would not have to worry about shifting.

 

If I had an Auto then none of the autos would have good excuses to lose to me.

 

for that reason we should also have an edge over them from a roll with a better gear selection... i was messing with a 3.5 altima on the highway with 3 other decent sized people in my car, and i pulled on him each time.. it was probably an auto, but either way with 4 people in the car i shouldnt be putting a few car lengths on him

 

That 0.5-1.0 sec difference that the 6speed has over an auto is the
difference between walkin' a Stang GT/TL-S and being by one!

 

Yep but I dont think that they have a 1 sec advantage anymore to 60 that gap has been closed to more like 0.4-0.7( thats if you can really drive that manual on the street 7 times out of 10 most drivers cant drive it to its potential and the auto will win) that would be true with 95-01's although.