Posted 01.22.2009

Jeff Rundles’ Executive Wheels: 2009 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV

By Jeff Rundles

A giant leap, but the noise…

Nissan has always been an interesting automaker, as it has always played third fiddle to its Japanese counterparts, Toyota and Honda. It always seems to be a little behind the curve, with some notable exceptions.

2009 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV

The Nissan company has been offering automobiles in the United States since the late 1950s, like Toyota, but its history gets clouded with fits and starts. First, for many years the line here wasn’t even called Nissan – it was Datsun that all of us saw. The line really made its name, and cut its American teeth, with the introduction, in the early 1970s, of the now famous Datsun 240Z sports car – still made today as the 350Z, with some notable interruptions in between – and all of the “Z” models still draw oohs and aahs from sports car enthusiasts. They finally switched to the Nissan nameplate in 1984 – with the cars carrying both the Datsun and Nissan name the first year, with Datsun falling away thereafter.

The other trouble for the line, it seems to me, was the introduction, in 1990, of its luxury line, Infiniti. While there have been many fine cars in the Infiniti line, it too has always taken a back seat – make that a third row seat – behind Toyota’s Lexus and Honda’s Acura lines of luxury automobiles. I’m not a big fan as to how the Acura line has progressed over the years, but Lexus has been a star, and Infiniti only later, say in the early 2000s, began to find its way.

I bring up Infiniti in a Maxima review for a reason. While many of the luxury lines of all the Japanese makers share platforms with some of the cars in the regular line, it has always been my impression that Nissan’s Maxima – arguably the flagship of the line – suffered the most at the hand of its luxury cousin – the Infiniti I35. Essentially the same car, I used to describe the I35 as a Maxima with a tuxedo. Nissan did all the cool stuff in the I35 and kept the Maxima rather pedestrian as a result for several model years, I suppose in order to justify the cost premium they were asking for the I35. While the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry shared a lot with their luxury cousins, the Acura Legend and Lexus es300, respectively, in those days, it didn’t seem as though Honda and Toyota were holding back as much as Nissan in bringing innovation and upgrades to the flagships of their standard lines.

Well, that has changed now. This newly redesigned 2009 Maxima is through being held back and is finally the kind of car a flagship ought to be. This 7th generation Maxima is larger – it used to be a mid-sized sedan; now it’s classified as full size – and gets some solid styling and luxury appointments that were scrimped on before.

I like to do some historical research on cars, especially venerable models that have graced showrooms for many years, and I was surprised by the background of the Maxima. Datsun in the mid-1970s had a car it called the Bluebird, or the 810, and the Maxima debuted in 1977 as an upgraded version of the Bluebird; in other words, the first Maxima wasn’t really its own car, but rather a trim offered on another. Nissan/Datsun changed that in 1981 with the introduction of the Maxima as its own brand, and for the most part it has stood the test of time as the flagship sedan in the Nissan line. One of the things that is important to me as a car observer is to see basically the same car come back year after year with incremental improvements; it’s a sign of commitment and an assurance to buyers that the kinks were figured out long ago. It’s no mistake that such popular cars as  BMW 3s, out since the early 1970s, and Mercedes “Es”, made since the ‘70s, and VW Jettas, since the ‘70s, as well as many Hondas and Toyotas – are all still recognizable in their newer versions almost all the way back. The Maxima is like that, and that’s a good thing. (Watch out for names, however; there is nothing venerable or historic about a newer Chevy Malibu, for instance.) 

I make it a habit of not checking out car sites or magazines on cars until after my test drive, so when I heard I was getting the Maxima I suppose I just assumed that it would be another held-back edition. I was very pleasantly surprised when it arrived and I did the first look around and drive. The 2009 Maxima is recognizably all Maxima – I knew what it was from across the parking lot – but also recognizably much larger and more beautiful than any Maxima I have ever seen. This is, to paraphrase Neil Armstrong, one giant leap for car-kind. The styling details – the new, longer, sloped headlights, for instance, the bolder trunk and hood lines, the sleeker appearance – show both a nod to the nearly 30-year history and an attention to very modern times.

2009 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV interior

Then inside, they have done the same thing: all Maxima, yet notably more luxurious, comfortable. It’s like getting into, well, an Infiniti. For instance, one of the things that Maxima retained for years, but was dropped on the Infiniti I35, was a manual transmission. No more. If you’re going to have a luxury, or near-luxury, sedan be your flagship, automatic is the way to go (Maximas, of course, always had the automatic option). And now they haven’t scrimped on the other things either. Here is fine leather-appointed seats (quite comfortable), and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob; an 8-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support (the front passenger seat is 4-way power); nice satin chrome finishes on the knobs, controls, shift bracket and steering wheel control switches.

There are two trims available on the Maxima, the S and the SV, and I drove the SV; all I can imagine that is different (the S is some $2,600 less expensive on the MSRP), is that in this SV model there are more standards. Things like the Intelligent Key fob (keyless entry and locking) coupled with push-button ignition, dual zone auto temperature control with rear a/c vents, auxiliary audio input, and speed-sensitive volume control on the sound system. Speaking of the sound system, here it is also standard, and wonderful: a Bose system with a 6-CD in-dash changer and MPE/WMA playback capability; nine speakers make the sound perfect from any seat. Of course, you have power windows, door locks, outside mirrors, cruise control, the built-in garage-door opener; this stuff is nearly ubiquitous in cars these days, and a given in a car of this stature.

I liked everything about the interior of the Maxima SV, except one giant thing, and this is something that has bugged me about both Nissans and Infinitis for several model years now: For such a nice, luxurious car, the road noise inside the Maxima once you get up to speed, and especially on the highway, is surprisingly loud. So much so, in fact, that several people who road with me over the course of my test drive commented on it. I first noticed this Nissan Noise Effect in an Infiniti I reviewed a couple of years ago; my wife and son and I were tooling up I-70 in the mountains and all three of us, in unison, said, “Geez, this car is loud.” Now it’s still here, even in a completely redesigned 2009 Maxima. It seems to me that dampening interior road noise is really just a matter of relatively inexpensive adjustments, things like different windows and some added insulation. On the road noise comparison, the Maxima doesn’t stack up to the competition, or even to competitors’ cars costing much less, and needs to be addressed.

The driving, however, is a plus. While this car is pegged as a full-size sedan, what with its sleekness it has the feel of a smaller vehicle, and maneuvers with ease. It corners beautifully, has a wonderful suspension that takes the bumps with only the slightest notice, and it has a great driver’s feel overall.

What makes it all the more smooth is the powertrain. First and foremost, you have an excellent 3.5-liter V6, putting out some 290 hp. You will never want for power in any situation. This is coupled with a continuously variable transmission, meaning there are no distinct gears, and the transmission transition, as it were, is seamless. I have driven several cars with CVT and have found it wanting when the engine has limited power, but here the 290 hp felt like even more than that and the CVT performed admirably. On the economical scale, this Maxima is rated at 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway, with a combined fuel economy of 22 mpg. That’s pretty good for a car of this size with a stout V6 engine.

The Infiniti that comes close to the Maxima in size and appeal is the 2009 G37 sedan, and perhaps my observation on holding back on Maxima is still a bit true. The G37 comes in four trims, ranging in MSRP from $33,250 to $36,750, and they all have a slightly larger engine: a 3.7-liter V6 with 328 hp. One of those trims is the xAWD, an all-wheel-drive model. In this day and age with safety a chief automobile concern, AWD sedans have risen in demand and availability. People visiting Nissan showrooms should have one.

The base price on the 2009 Nissan Maxima SV, including all the nice stuff as standard I mentioned earlier, is $31,990 on my sticker, although several car web sites I consulted listed the SV base at $32,860. On my sticker they added $400 for the Cold Package – heated fronts seats, steering wheel and outside mirrors—$300 for a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, $180 for floor mats and trunk mat, and $370 for a rear spoiler. Another $660 in destination charges brought the bottom line to $33,900.

This Maxima is a beautiful car, beautifully appointed, with a great powerplant and accessories. I liked everything about it – except the noise. At this price point there is a ton of competition, and I really think that people taking the time to test drive – not just around the block – a few different cars are going to notice. Then the question becomes, Can I overlook one nagging issue on an otherwise great car – a car probably on balance better for the money with all you get than the competition? It could be a deal breaker.

RATING: Three wheels (out of four).

Last updated on Nov 10, 2009 at 10:02 AM