2016 Nissan Maxima Road Test | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.com

The all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima may not live up to its four-door sports car marketing hype, but it is more entertaining to drive than many of its rivals. The midsize-to-large-sedan segment isn't known for excitement, but this latest Maxima may change that.

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cjasis

One man's opinion but that thing was beat with the ugly stick. God awful. And another bloody CVT? 4 door performance car is long dead and gone.

marcos9

Dat grille - ugh. Et tu, Maxima? Pretty sad for the company who branded "4DSC". This seems as sporty as the Honda Accord Sport...

qristofer

Delete that chrome/silver piece on the grille and see the transformation. I think without the piece the front end might end up looking like a Mitsubishi Lancer and that's why Nissan added that piece.

dfelix70

This reminds me of that really naturally attractive and sexy girl who feels the need to put create cat eyes with her eye liner, create a smokey-eye look with her shadow, put tons of blush, use hideous fake eyelashes, apply bright red lipstick, wear platform stilettos, and skin tight clothes (yeah, like a hooker) to get attention. If Nissan had even just made a clean line with upper part of the headlights and given it cleaner taillights it would have made a world of difference. I can live with that audacious grille.

truckjunkie

When I saw the pics I thought it was another Sonata or Optima - sad....

prelude83

I had a 1989 Maxima, which was the first time Nissan marketed the 4DSC logo. At the time, it was comparable to sports cars and even shared an engine with the Z car. That was the greatest Maxima there ever was and would take it over this new beast any day. It looked much better, with clean lines on the outside and a very modern interior. I see this new car and I amazes me how automakers can lose their way. This reminds me of the GM low period, when marketing trumped product.

prelude83

One more comment--Edmunds--you need to be more critical of new cars rather than telling us all about how good they are. Where's the critique?

bayoubaer

Am i the only one who sees Mada6 in that grille

suydam

For the Maxima it's not about how it looks but how it drives. It was always kind of a sleeper car. My '01 was the best driving, most comfortable car I ever owned, and it's still on the road with over 150,000 miles. The problem was Nissan kept upgrading the Altima until you could hardly tell the difference. This doesn't look like the Altima which is key. If the new one drives beautifully it should be a good seller.

gofortheneck

This design is a mess.

gofortheneck

This Maxima is a mess.

alan_s

I dropped by my local Nissan dealer last night and they had only one 2016 - a white base model S. I was blown away by the interior quality compared with my 2012 Maxima SV Premium which I still consider excellent. The cloth interior was very nice, although I prefer ivory leather. The car is even better looking in real life than the pictures. I can't wait to see the SV and SL with leather interior. A couple of disappointing things though. The back of the speakers in the trunk in the rear parcel shelf are no longer covered like my 2012. The speakers and wires are exposed which really looks cheap, and a regular moonroof is no longer available on any model. I have the panoramic roof, and while it looks great, it is largely unusable because of excessive windnoise. I'd prefer the option of a regular moonroof.
I'm looking forward to seeing an SV and an SL when they come in. I don't really want to part with my 2012 though...

darthbimmer

The Maxima used to be an excellent 4 door sports car, the kind of car a person who liked the BMW 5-series but couldn't afford it (or didn't want to spend the money) would buy. A big part of that success was its understated yet strong styling. Over the past several years Nissan has struggled to position the Maxima as it's made the Altima larger and more powerful. Unfortunately now they've decided the way to create market differentiation is with garish styling: those exaggerated, swoopy curves, contrasting colors, and that attention-seeking grill. I believe most people who are buying cars in this segment do not want "WOOHOO! LOOK AT ME!" styling common to the $15k subcompact class.

zoomzoomn

I'm trying to like this car, but its simply poorly balanced and overstyled.

schmu

I guess I am in the minority. I love the design. I miss a manual transmission and cannot fathom purchasing a car without it. Pickings are slim, but they are still out there......... Otherwise, I would love to have this.

alan_s

Perhaps I’m biased because I’ve had excellent experiences with my numerous Maximas (Maximae?) and I still love my 2012.

I find the new exterior extremely attractive with more than a passing resemblance to a Jag XF. The interior design and quality is astounding and one would be hard pressed to find a nicer interior at any price, and certainly nothing in the $40K to $50K range comes even close. The ergonomics are excellent and there is a zero technology learning curve unlike other manufacturers. The controls are straightforward and intuitive and doesn’t require taking eyes off the road to use the equipment.

I drove a Platinum model and was very impressed with the ride quality, the dynamics and the general substantial feeling of the chassis. The Maxima drives much nicer than the Altima 3.5SL and imparts a much more expensive, buttoned-down feel. The Max has abundant power which is delivered extremely smoothly, and has huge reserves even at higher speeds.

I have no idea why the CVT is criticized by almost every automotive writer. When driven in sport mode, it behaves exactly like a conventional stepped transmission and is very eager and responsive. Acceleration and ratio changes are immediate, and there is no hunting as in other multi-speed conventional automatics (who needs 8 or 9 speeds), or clunking like DSG’s. So what if it is a CVT - and doesn’t feel like one?

I’m a little surprised at this less than positive review from Edmunds because the 2016 Maxima is one of the nicest cars I’ve driven, including some highly priced Lexus, BMW and Mercedes models.

My suggestion to anyone in the market is to ignore the negative comments and go and drive one.

My only decision is whether I should get the Brilliant Silver or Pearl White…. with Cashmere interior of course.

ab348

Just a very poorly styled car, yet another in a continuing series from Nissan. Look for big incentives on these when they start stacking up on dealer lots.

fintail

One word to sum up the design - "bulbous". And as it is Japanese, overstyling is there. Mazda is maybe the tamest one these days.

camrydriver69

The car looks much better in person. I give credit to Nissan for being adventurous with the styling and not producing the same boring sedan everyone else does.

breeze10

I for one Like the new 2016 Maxima styling. I was going to buy an Kia Optima 2012-2015. Now I want a 2016 Maxima S with a spiller add on.Most people who hate it don't want this new design. They are previous Maxima owners. I'm new to Maxima. I didn't like the previous designs. I liked Lexus ES, Kia Optima, BMW 5 ,Mercedes e class 2010-2012.I like the 2016 Maxima now. Call me crazy if you want.

breeze10

I for one like the styling of the 2016 Maxima. I don't already own a maxima. I think it may appeal to the new generation buyers like me. I notice many hate the new design and think it's over styled who already own one and want it to stay the same.If Nissan would've left it the same I would be still looking at the Kia Optima. There's a lot of Optimas on the road. I haven't seen any 2016 Maximas yet in Southern Cali.

high_altitudes

As a four time Maxima owner (93,97,03,12), I can certainly state that this car is a failure. Had Nissan stuck to the concept they rolled out almost 3 years ago, they'd have me buying a 5th. All the stupid rumors Nissan floated about AWD, manual electronic shift were just fluff to keep the interest alive. Now the egg has hatched and it's an ugly duckling. While I don't mind the CVT in my 12, the 16 should have stepped back and offered a true performance transmission. Nissan has a great working AWD platform that could have been used in the Maxima and the $40K+ sticker would be justified for AWD & manual e shift. As I drive by my local Nissan dealer, I see the current inventory of Max's gathering great piles of dust while Altimas roll off the lot. Why not? For 10K less, you can get one with everything that will keep up with that $40K Max. People aren't stupid Nissan, they KNOW you're selling a bloated Altima. I'll be buying another car soon but it will not be Nissan, unless GT-R's suddenly experience a 50% price drop.