Last night i drove my inlaws 08 ford fusion v6..they bought it brand new it has 48k miles driven by 70 yr old, well maintained etc. before i drove off i was curious on how it was gonna drive...well all i can say is, its one of the most underpowered tin can riding Peice Of S.... ive ever driven...when i say 0 to 60 in 14 seconds..i mean it! all i have been driving lately is my 98 gle with 112k on it so i thought the fusion had to be semi comparable...boy was i wrong! i dont think enough can be said about the 4th gen vq!. driving highway speeds this thing did nothing but downshift, upshift on the littlest hills...i was never a fan of american junk but i gave it the benefit of the doubt...my gle is 15 yrs old and has double the miles(although well maintained)it just shocked me at how little progress the american cars have made!back in 94 i had a civic dx 1.8 , the cheapest one you could buy, and it would whip this ford v6, and thats sad!
sorry if i posted this in the wrong section, i just wanted to vent a little, i dont drive in many american cars at all, but if this is any indication on the rest of them....Ill keep my 98 max anyday!
I mean if they offered to trade cars, even tho its not near as new with age and miles etc. I wouldnt even think about it!!

 

To be completely fair and unbiased, the 4th gens were pretty groundbreaking when they first came out. To my knowledge they were among if not the fastest 4 door midsize sedan in america back in the day, so comparing a vanilla bland point A - point B car to the VQs is a little slanted lol.

All that said i agree, i love how such an aged car still can outperform more modern and advanced cars in its class. Im no Nissan junkie but you gotta hand it to them for inventing the VQ when they did, pretty amazing engine all around.

 

Yea, i drove one too and i was underwhelmed. Sad too, cuz i DO like the fusions. Their transmissions suck tho.

For american cars, i like the chevy cruze. Peppy lil thing. And the 2013 ford focus had some ballz too, believe or not.

of course they aint no 4th gen =)

 

new cars are more bulkier, which i highly hate... and that causes the weight to be much heavier I dont know about u but I have a feeling if they continue this "BULKY" car thing its just going to get bigger and bigger.. I like the "sleeek" look.., so while 4th gen looks very good on exterior, while at the same time weight is quite low/engine/performance is good for a 4 door.

 

I thought it was just me, but who the he77 designed those pitiful transmissions?...they should be fired!alot of people on this forum say the auto trannys are a weak point in the 4th geners...but theres definately no comparing my 112k transmission to the 50k ford tranny....they arent bad to look at but they are all around pieces of craaaaaaaaaap!
Unfortunately for them i dont see the tranny lasting that many miles, with all the downshift upshift downshift upshift...on the smallest of hills at 74 mph!

 

Long term fuel trims probably have something to do with this. We all know how old people drive.

 

I agree! I rented a Chevy Cruze last week and although the car had fancier gizmos and a quieter ride. Going straight at high speed, I kept having this side to side motion, it felt like I was driving a boat.

My 97 no matter how fast I go, is stable and there is no side to side motion unless I am the one causing it.

Every time I drive a newer, more advanced car, I always think back to our 4th gens and I am very impressed that they perform better or as good as these newer cars and these things were made 17 years ago!

 

^ proves that somtimes older cars can be better. When I Drove a 2009 honda accord.. It does feel a bit heavier.. alot different.. When i get behind the wheel of these 4th gen maxima.. Oh I love how it handles, the ride feels much better.

Just cant complain how well 4th gens were built, yet some people dont tend to think that. And im not making this up.. All from experience, I just tend not to like the new cars they built today.. YES theres more safety to it.. but heck if the car crashes it crashes.. Can all be Fixed.. Ive seen some 4th gens in some Crazy crashes Yet the person is Still alive and injured a little Somtimes even no injury. Does it really need any more safety than that?

I Prefer 4th gen than just buying a new car, I rather Fix the things that break on my 4th gen for many long miles.. Much better than having a $500 payment a month for a new car.

 

Exactly this proves that older cars are better built newer cars. Some people think that just because they go out and buy a 2006 or newer model car and because they see me in a 1995, that their new car will be problem free and trouble free lol. they are sadly mistaken, and its not fun paying a car payment and having maintenence issues with no warranty.Had95 a friend who had a 06 honda accord, low miles, my max is paid for and has 250,000 miles, they lost all 4 brakes, rotors, and 2 calipers, could not afford to fix it and let the car get repoed, while my 95 is still rolling strong.