Nissan is aiming its eighth-generation Maxima, redesigned for 2016, at younger buyers, with racier exterior styling, a floating roof, a beefier beltline, an enlarged front grille and a fastback rear design.
The improved interior features a slightly angled center stack to create a wraparound feel to the driver's seat, as well as options that include premium seat-stitching, leather trim, a heated steering wheel and a dual-panel moonroof.
Nissan will re-emphasize the Maxima's "4-door sports car" marketing tag line of years past.
"This is where we will be different," says Nissan North America product planning chief Pierre Loing. "The large segment has been an aging demographic, and sales are falling for the segment as a whole. We see the look and performance of the Maxima as a way to appeal to younger customers."
Nissan has redesigned the model's standard V-6, kicked up the power to 300 hp and reduced the friction of its Xtronic continuously variable transmission. The base model is 79 pounds lighter. The car sits on a more rigid chassis and boasts a 14 percent improvement in fuel economy.
• Powertrain: 3.5-liter double overhead cam V-6 with Xtronic CVT
• Features to notice: 8-inch display screen with Google online search functions, paired with a 7-inch instrument cluster display, with the ability to "finger-swipe" navigation directions from one screen to the other.
• Safety: Predictive forward-collision warning, intelligent cruise control, forward emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot warning
• Target: Maxima historically has delivered 50,000 to 85,000 U.S. sales a year. If Nissan stays in that range, it will be a coup because the large-car segment has been declining.
• Competitors: Toyota Avalon, Hyundai Genesis, Chevrolet Impala, Acura TLX
• Strengths: The sporty design, with its Navy fighter-jet-inspired cockpit, is slanted more toward younger, performance-leaning buyers than current large-sedan owners.
• Weaknesses: Nissan can expect at least some blowback from consumers over the new Maxima's "zero-option" marketing plan. Dealers will offer 5 clearly differentiated trim levels, but each level will offer no options beyond the factory package.
• Bottom line: With enhanced performance and new styling, the redesigned Maxima is a racy offering in a field that tends to be composed and stately.
| 2016 Nissan Maxima | 2015 Toyota Avalon | |
| Wheelbase | 109.3 in. | 110 in. |
| Length | 192.8 in. | 195.3 in. |
| Width | 73.2 in. | 72.2 in. |
| Height | 56.5 in. | 57.5 in. |
| Curb weight | 3,471 lbs. | 3,505 lbs. |
| Base engine | 3.5-liter DOHC V-6 | 3.5-liter DOHC V-6 |
| Horsepower | 300 hp @ 6,400 rpm | 268 hp @ 6,200 rpm |
| Torque, lbs.-ft. | 261 @ 4,400 rpm | 248 @ 4,700 rpm |
| EPA mpg | 22 city/30 hwy. | 21 city/31 hwy. |
| Base price* | $33,235 | $33,110 |
| *Includes shipping | ||
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