This is What the 2016 Nissan Maxima is Bringing to the Fight Against the Chevrolet Impala
Last week, I got the chance to take a short drive around Dallas in the all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima, a vehicle which the product manager for the car, Vishnu Jayamohan, said competes against cars like the Chevrolet Impala. I have yet to drive the Impala, but I thought I’d tell you Chevy fans what Nissan is offering in the large sedan segment.
Several of my colleagues in the Texas Auto Writers Association and I took off from the front of the Hotel ZaZa in Dallas’ Uptown region. Given that Nissan markets the Maxima as the “4-Door Sports Car,” my driving partner and I made sure to snag a Bordeaux Black SR model, the sportiest variant of the five offered for 2016. It starts at $37,670. The other four grades are the entry-level S ($32,410), SV ($34,390), SL ($36,890), and Platinum ($39,860). All Maximas come with a 300-horsepower/261-lb-ft 3.5-liter V6, an Xtronic continuously variable transmission, and navigation.
Once my fellow writer, Jayamohan, and I got our sugar fixes at a local bakery, I hopped behind the wheel of a Deep Blue Pearl SR. The other two guys joined me for the drive back to the hotel. The Maxima’s flat-bottom steering wheel was an unexpected high-end touch that reminded me of the ones found in more expensive performance cars. So did the diamond-quilted Alcantara seat inserts and the genuine fabric (as opposed to molded-in) stitches on the instrument panel, doors, and center console. I found the eight-inch central touchscreen, which is angled seven degrees toward the driver, and the buttons surrounding it to be easy to reach at speed.
The Sport mode button, positioned in front of the gear shifter, was even closer to my fingertips. According to Nissan, “In Sport mode, the engine throttle response increases, the Xtronic transmission programming changes for more aggressive shifting under braking and gear holding, the steering weight increases and the Active Sound Enhancement system further amplifies the engine note in the cabin.”
Acceleration in either Sport or Normal mode was brisk. The Maxima’s engine features more than 60 percent new parts, including combustion chamber-cooling sodium-filled valves a la the GT-R. All that new hardware adds up to a 10-horsepower increase over a last-generation Maxima’s output in a car that’s 82 pounds lighter and 25 percent more rigid than its predecessor.
However, the Xtronic stole the show. It’s only one of two CVTs I’ve used that didn’t make an annoying groaning noise. My ears couldn’t tell it was there. Power from the VQ35 V6 was processed smoothly. I wanted a little more drama and urgency when I jammed my right foot down, though. To Nissan’s credit, the Xtronic features D-Step shifting logic for pseudo gear changes when the throttle is opened up wide. The fact that Nissan is aware most people are used to the fixed ratios of traditional automatics and incorporates that element from them shows a pleasing lack of arrogance. It also shows a willingness to make customers comfortable with a technology they might have never before tried by giving them a familiar experience.
I myself had an experience in the 2016 Nissan Maxima SR that I’d never before had: tires on a car with an ounce of sportiness that didn’t make a ton of noise. My tester’s Maxima-specific 245/40R19 all-season tires were surprisingly soft-spoken. Laminated glass for the windshield and the front windows also helped keep the cabin quiet. I didn’t open my mouth to complain about the ride quality from the SR’s sport-tuned suspension, even when running over the roughly paved streets of the business park I eventually found myself in the middle of. At highway speeds on the way back to Hotel ZaZa, the SR felt planted and gave me confidence when I took curves.
If you’d like to find out for yourself how the 2016 Nissan Maxima drives, you can. It’s on sale as of today.
* Prices exclude tax, title, license, and destination charges. Destination and handling are $825.
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