First Drive: 2016 Nissan Maxima [Review] - LeftLane News
Nissan's range-topping sedan enters its seventh generation for 2016, making it the longest continuously-running nameplate in Nissan's U. S. showrooms (the Z would hold this title if it weren't for the Japanese sports car exodus of the 1990s).... By conventional wisdom, it's a large sedan, slotted against the Ford Tauruses and Chevy Impalas of the world, but in practical terms it's really just an over-developed midsizer. To put it in German terms, the Maxima is really sort of an Altima "L. ". The Maxima's size positioning may seem a little unconventional, but its formula has been consistent through seven generations (and nearly three million units sold in the U.... Maxima's bloat peaked with the fifth-generation car and has subsided since. Under the hood, you'll find a 300-horsepower, 3. 5L V6 engine packing 261lb-ft of torque. The Maxima remains front-wheel-drive and power still goes to the ground via a continuously-variable transmission. When questioned, Maxima engineers acknowledge that there is a business case for offering the Maxima in all-wheel drive, but there's simply not a large enough projected take rate to make it happen. While it's based on the tried-and-true VQ architecture (and in fact carries the same VQ35DE nameplate as other 3. 5L engines in the line), it has been thoroughly revised. Source: www.leftlanenews.com
