I want to hear from people who have upgraded from a 4th gen 5 speed to a 5th gen 5 or 6 speed. I am considereing buying a 5th gen, but really like the styling of the 4th gen which i currently have. I want to know what you liked better about the 5th gen that you noticed right away...please no auto to manual comparisons...I only want to hear from those who owned both 4th and 5th gens with manual trannys

 

Well never owned a 4th gen but have driven many in my time, the obvious one to me is the VQ35 in the 5th gen with the 6 speed is so much more fun to drive and obviously more powerful. Other than that I think the rest is all personal opinion and should be up to you, I prefer the styling of the 5th gen out of all generations of Maxima's although 4th gen would definitely be my second choice. 5th Gen interiors to me are much more impressive and nicely appointed (heated seats, auto climate, heated steering wheel, etc.).

 

I had a '99 5-spd and now have an '03 6-spd. Overall, i think the '99 had a better feel to the stick itself. The '03 felt a little notchy to me at first, but almost a year later I dont notice it anymore. I guess I just got used to it.

Like drax89 said, the 6-spd is more fun to drive because of the extra power and also, at 2500 rpm in top gear, you are going 80mph instead of 65mph. Thats pretty sweet.

 

I had my 96 SE 5speed, for 3.5 years, GREAT car! very reliable and fun to drive.
I dont know if it was just my car, but the tranny felt very notchy and it was very hard to make smooth shifts. I really loved that car, owned it from 130K miles to 230k!!



I traded it in for my 2001 Anniversary edition 5speed, fully loaded, black leather, heated seats, lsd...

This car feels much bigger, somewhat heavier, more luxurious.
The suspension is much better also, it could be that im comparing a 230K car to a 90K car with brand new tokico's that i just installed, but its just so smooth.
The car is alittle quieter than my 4th get, and the transmission shifts like butter, its so easy to make smooth shifts on this car.
my only gripe is the extra weight, which makes the extra 37HP over the 4th gen seems like they are not there, and a slightly lower gas economy. my 4th gen would get 24-25mph on long trips and this one gets 22-23mpg.

 

Thanks guys...the only thing that concerns me about the 5.5 gens is the oil burning thing that alot talk about on here..which has me leaning towards an 00-01 as my 3rd and 4th gen burn no oil whatsoever ....Ive driven an 00-01 auto and it seemed like a heavier more substantial car...didnt like the dashboard layout as much as my 4th gen , but the car seemed more solid and had a better ride....anyone else?