Nissan Maxima vs. Toyota Camry
I am trying to decide between the 2006-07 Nissan Maxima or the 2007 Toyota Camry XLE.
The car I choose will be equiped with all the bells and whistles.
What are your recommendations, should I go for the Camry or the Maxima?
The car I choose will be equiped with all the bells and whistles.
What are your recommendations, should I go for the Camry or the Maxima?
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Both will be very nice vehicles. In the end, only you can decide which one is best for you.
That said, the two vehicles will drive quite differently. Drive them both and see which appeals to you. Is the turning radius on the Camry that much different?
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
the problems and solutions section of Edmunds
forums on the Maxima is that most of the
questions relate to Maxima's that are almost
ten years old, with a few exceptions. I
don't know. To me, that's a pretty good
indication of some good reliability. I mean,
things are bound to happen on a car that's
over 7 years old. Even the 2004 to current
Maxima's don't seem to have a whole lot of
problems, except for the recurrent vibration
issues. And the 2004 to current Maxima is
made in the USA. So, I'm trying to still
keep an open mind about the new Maxima and
even the new Altima, due to my positive
experience with my 2002 Maxima.
I would like to wait and see if any issues
come up with the new CVT trannie in the 2007
Maxima. Just my two cents!
what year was your Maxima?
The rotors were replaced at 19k miles, the Oxygen sensor died at 25k (killing a trip to a friends surprise birthday party). I had to limp back home on the highway for two hours at about 25mph. One ignition coil went - so all six had to be replaced at about 40k miles. The drivers outside mirror worked some of the time from about 40k miles until I got rid of it. The drivers power window would go up, then bounce halfway back down when closed w/ the auto up feature for the last two years. The leather on the drivers seat started wearing through at about 12k miles - Nissan called it normal wear & tear. If a bug, sap or bird droppings sat on the paint for more than six hours, it killed the paint (black car).
One rear rotor locked up at about 75k miles. Nissan wanted over $1,000 to replace the pads, rotors and calipers - A local independent did it for a mere $650.
I'm sure there was more - I just can't bear the memories. Yes - the car looked good (black w/ beige heated leather, SE pkg, Bose, Moonroof, etc. It was fun to drive - except for the awful turning radius - always took two manuvers to get into a parking spot (Camry & Odyssey are way, way better with tighter turning radius).
I know it comes down to personal choice but any comments would be appreciated. Thank you.
to remember to check the "Recent Messages"
and even when I do that, it takes me back
to the top of where I was on the "so-called"
page before and I have to scroll all the way
down again. Usually, what happens is if I
don't see any recent replies near the bottom,
I assume there is no recent posts. But I'll
remember the "30-minute" edit rule.
Thanks again.
Maxima
Camry
Note that the prior generation Camry with side airbags is superior to the 2004-06 Maxima. For '07, side airbags are standard in the Camry, and the car do at least as well.
I rented a Maxima for a few days, and now I drive a 2007 Camry. I'm sure I would have gotten used to it SOME but I found the Maxima VERY difficult to live with. The turning circle was ridiculous---I suppose once you are aware of it, you adjust, but I had to pull a u-turn that would have been easy in any other car I had driven and I nearly got killed because the Maxima didn't make it. There is a lot of room in the back seat and it has some neat features.
But I think the feel of the controls and layout design are better in the 2007 Camry, and I think you'll find it quite a bit more nimble. Mine is a hybrid so obviously the Maxima is much faster, but the V6 Camry is pretty quick also.
This is ridiculous. The Maxima is one of the most reliable cars you can buy, bar none! SUre, there is the occasional "my headlights were stolen" or "My 1991 Max won't start", but for crying out loud. Cars are machines, they aren't meant to last the owner's lifetime*!
*unless they're Buicks :P
I hope you have it for a long time without any major problems.
been perusing these forums on the Maxima problems and solutions reading back two or three years, and it seems that most of the questions involve Maximas that are anywhere from 5 to 11 years old. You're bound to have some things occur on a car that's over five
years old. Yes, there are some newer Maximas
from the last couple of years that have had a
few problems, but it still doesn't add up to
anything more scary than the well-known problem
with the 2007 V6 Camrys with the transmission issues.
Unfortunately, my 2002 Maxima was involved in
a wreck Monday evening, so my car my be totaled
out. It's been a fantastic car! The 2007
Maxima will still be at the top of my list to
consider when I get ready to shop for my next
car.
Hope everything goes well with the insurance companies.
It's very possible that the 06 Avalon has the same GPS system as the 07 Camry, but unless you know that for sure, you probably want to get that confirmed. And if I were you, I'd also ask the folks hanging out in the Toyota Camry: Navigation discussion what their experiences have been.
Keep us posted on your research and decisions.
something to consider...
im a nissan nut, had a 92 max that i loved loved loved!!! if i had the money when i bought a new car 3 years ago, it would have been a max, but being fresh out of college, i went for a sentra ser spec v (which has a larger turning radius than the regular sentra due to the sport suspension) but i deal, i'll take a bad turning radius for the sporty feel!
-thene
I guess the one thing that I don't like is if I leave the car in the driveway for a awhile (5 days) rust starts to form on the discs (front and rear) and sometimes that rust feels like the discs are warped. I was "lucky" the dealer replaced the front discs before the 12000 miles limit. Front tires had to be replaced because of mis-alignment on the dealer part. (those 18 inch tires are very expensive.)
I have a Jeep Wrangler that I store in the winter in my backyard for the past 7 years. I never had to worry about rust on discs.
I now have had the 07 SE Black again with/the elite pkg. since 7/4/06. A week later I drove to N.C. & I coulndn't wait to drive everyday. The turning radias in very much improved, torgue steering is all most none existant, also they smotthed out the ride without sacrificing handling. The navigation system has been updated not that I had a problem with the 04. If I put in the correct address I get to my destination. New on this model is back-up sensors & tire pressure display. The front buckets and power seat settings are numerous. As you can tell I love my Maximas'.
The car I choose will be equiped with all the bells and whistles.
What are your recommendations, should I go for the Camry or the Maxima?
Very difficult, no? lol.. it hard to compare the two since they aren't true rivals as many have already mentioned. The Maxima is a fine car... I've always been a fan, but got the SE myself and have been loving it. The Maxima was just getting to big for what I wanted for my everyday car. Infact, the Camry was pushing it too, but am not regretting it. Feature-wise... the maxima has more, but the new maxima is only a year and and half away.. so...
As others have said, Nissan's rival for the Camry would be more in the lines of the Altima. Just a suggestion, since you're willing to spend more, take a look at the new Lexus ES350. It's more than just a camry dipped in gold, it's more like platinum!
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/04/business/recall.php
http://www.gembapantarei.com/2006/08/when_did_toyota_get_to_be_a_company_like_th- is.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06214/710304-185.stm
Let's leave this discussion to comparing the Maxima and the Camry to each other.
Thanks!
I also looked at 06 and 07 Camry. While the specs on paper look good, I learned from Avalon posters that they have a lot of problem with the navi. Presuming that the Camry uses the Avalon navi, it does not bode well for me, one who loves to travel and would likely get lost without a good navi.
So, even though I owned 3 Maximas (3rd, 4th and 5th gens) and the 6th gen may be a bit cheaper price wise, I recently bought a TL with navi, which drives well and is full of techno gadgets. Prospective Max buyers should give TL a comparison test drive.
That and the fact that they're showing him driving maybe 35 mph and the engine is roaring and the tach is reading somewhere around 4,000 rpms....I find that a little odd.
I will grant you better mileage in the Toyota, but quickness?
I think you are probably going by the maximum horsepower rating of the respective engines, which is only a very rough indicator of actual performance characteristics (you have to have a lot of other things equal or comparable to even say that).
The 07 Max engine generates its 255 max horsepower rating at 6000 rpm, versus the 07 Camry V6 which peaks its 268 hp at 6200.
Even more significantly, the Max VQ engine peaks at 252 foot pounds at 4400 rpm, versus the Toyota which peaks at only 161 foot/lbs at 4000 rpm
Thus, the engines are very close in peak HP but the Max engine produces far more torque at most rpm levels in real world conditions, and also achieves its own maximum horsepower at relatively lower rpm. Both of these translate into much quicker "feel" (response to pedal in real accelleration, e.g. going from 50 to 80, etc. Engines with relatively low torque rely much more heavily on gearing (downshifting) to rev high enough to generate their HP.
So, theoretically, if you floor the Toyota on every pass AND the car is geared "sporty" enough to jump to 6000+ rpm (which I doubt) you might accellerate quicker than the Maxima.
But more likely you will not begin to pick up the actual accelleration of the Maxima unless or until you floor it (which means a very UNresponsive pedal) and if you do floor it, you will likely take a awhile to "catch up" to the torque being produced by the Maxima until your engine gets to the redline (objectively slower car).
One of the reasons why the VQ engine continues to win Wards 10 best engine awards year in and out is the broad power band, not just at "sewing machine" levels of rpm, but throughout the band of driving conditions. I confess that I haven't driven the 07 Camry, which in many respects looks to be a fine car, and also improved over 06. But even on paper, it doesn't seem to be nearly as "quick" as the Maxima under most accellerating conditions, and probably not as quick under very aggressive accelleration either, until both cars went through the 3000s, 4000s and 5000s in rpms.
Then, we haven't even gone into transmissions, in which the Maxima new CVT with Tiptronic would also, in my opinion, give a distinct edge over traditional automatics with or without Tiptronic.
There is much more to power, "quickness" etc than the maximum HP figure on the sticker.
LOL! Yeah... that's be 'significant' if it were true. The Toyota 3.5L V6 actually produces 248 lb.ft. of torque at 4700 rpm.
Oh... and since you seem to appreciate the dynamics of what creates a fast car.... The Maxima has an coefficient drag of 0.30 versus the extremely lower coefficient drag of the Camry at 0.28.
Also, the Maxima runs a 0 to 60 time of 6.5 seconds (Road & Track) to a 7.1 seconds (consumer reports) versus a 0 to 60 run in the V6 Camry in 6.1 (Road & Track) seconds to 6.2 seconds (consumer reports).
So urbancar, forget about 'theoretically', because literally, the 2007 Camry 3.5L is faster than the Maxima objectively, subjectively and in reality.
In that context, I thought that the prior comment was the classic HP = performance characteristics, and tried to illustrate the differences.
Indeed, the 07 Camry has a new and impressive engine. The peak HP weight ratio is better (268/3461 (LE version, per Yahoo) =0.77) vs. 255/3579 (SL version, per Yahoo) = 0.071). This is about a 9.2% difference in peak HP/wt. ratio between the two.
The Maxima engine still produces a slightly greater amount of peak torque (252 ft pounds vs. 248). These are substantially equivalent figures.
However, the Maxima's characteristics are still different, in which peak torque is produced at 4400 vs. 4700 rpms, and peak HP for Maxima at 6000 rpms vs. 6200 for Camry. Without driving the two side by side, it is still an open question which of the two cars would be quicker in a given midrange of accelleration, e.g. executing a pass at highway speed.
The coefficient of drag factor is interesting, but tends to come more into play at higher speeds.
The drive train loss factor may favor the Maxima over an automatic version of the Camry (my general understanding, without having this quantified) is that the current Maxima CVT produces less loss at any given point, and executes shifts with less loss at those times.
I would not dispute an expert reviewer/magazine figure for 0-60, in which a slight edge goes to the Camry (likely mostly a function of about 100lbs greater curb weight for the Maxima).
All in all, in terms of pure speed/accelleration, the two engines/drivetrains seem very comparable, with the Toyota having the edge off the line, and at a very long distance, and my semi educated bet (without having driven the two side by side) of the Max still having an edge in midrange accelleration.
None of this affects the great ugliness advantage of the Camry. However, I do have to admit having made a serious wrong assumption on the specs. My apologies.