Well, wanted to see if the 255 HP new Maxima was going to walk the walk. The dealer had 3 2002 Maxima's (2 SE's and 1 GLE) and surprise, surprise, Nissan does it again, the are all autos. They promise manuals, but make like 5% of them that way.
In short VERY nice car. VERY quiet, drives great. Handles well, no BMW mind you, but acceptable and surely for it's targeted audience. Everything is pretty nice and on the up and up.
Not much to fault with the car either. BUT
Does it perform like 255 HP? NO.

On the test drive it felt like mid 7's. A power braking launch might have yielded a 0-60 around 7.2 seconds. A broken in one might hit 0-60 in 7.0 flat with the auto and power braking. 4 speed auto Nissan? It's 2002 for Lord's sake. You can get a 5 speed auto with tiptronic in the $23K VW's. Which, buy the way, are every bit as nice as the Maxima inside. A $25K Passat has everything and more than this $30.5K Maxima (interior amenities/quality/etc). Heck, the $23K GTI and Jetta, for the most part have everything this Maxima has inside.

Anyway, would I own the Maxima? Yes.
Would I pay nearly $31K for it? No.

I would pay about a grand or so more and get the Acura 3.2 TL Type S way before the Maxima for that price. What would I pay for this Maxima? About $29K FULLY LOADED.

This car reminded me of the Chrysler 300M
Very nice car. The 300M claims 253 HP, and has a 0-60 around 7.7 seconds. But it's a bigger car than this Maxima. Both are very nice, both have great interiors, both are capable cars. But you can get BETTER cars for the same or slightly more. Cars that will outperform them. Drive the 260 HP Acura, then jump into this lighter 255 HP Maxima, and if you didn't know any better, you'd swear it has around 230-235 HP.
The Acura just plain out hustles it. Especially above 5000 rpm. The Maxima has pull, but the Acura has PULL. Both are butter smooth and quiet though.

Personally, if the 240 HP Altima, (which will probably perform like the 225 HP 3.2 TL) comes loaded for about $25-26K, I wouldn't see why ANYONE would pay the extra $5k for the Maxima, if the Altima is at least 85% as nice. Don't know what it is with Nissan and their power claims, but with 255 HP in a car that weighs about 3200 pounds, this car should of had a 0-60 in the mid 6's with the auto. And by no means did it feel close to that. I didn't power brake this brand new car for obvious reasons, but I'd be VERY surprised if with even that would this car be able to hit 60 in less than 7 seconds.


I think Nissan did a great job with this car and the up coming models. But, their cars don't seem to quite perform up to the power they claim, especially when compared to the competition, and especially when fitted with the automatic, which is about 90% of their cars. Drop 10% off the price of the Maxima, and list it's power as 240 HP, which would still seem optimistic and it would sell great. That of course, would mean the Altima would have to be re-rated at 220 HP (which is probably closer to what it has and how it performs) and keeps it's price. They would have a a pair of winners. As it stands, the Altima seems to be the clear choice of the two, but will of course make that conclusion once I drive the Altima.

 

THis is what i think is funny though...those wards automotive people give the VQ engine 10best for like the past couple years, but they also say that the 260hp 3.2l v6 acura engine isn't a 10best because it doesn't feel like 260hp (they compare it to steven segal, trying to be something it's not).

 

There are plenty of mistakes in the 10Best engine list in the Ward's site.....

For example, they have listed the following as a Civic EX engine:

Mistake 1 from Wards: Honda 1.8L DOHC VTEC I-4

Comment : The Honda Civic has a 1.7L SOHC VTEC I-4 engine but the HP and Torque listed are correct.

Mistake 2 from Wards: Honda/Acura 3.2L VTEC DOHC V-6
Comment: This refers to the 3.2L SOHC VTEC engine found in the Acura TL-s/CL-s....

Mistake 3 from Wards: Honda/Acura 3.5L DOHC VTEC V-6
Comment: This refers to the MDX engine which again is an SOHC VTEC V6 engine.

Making such mistakes in such a widely read publication does not give much credibility to their opinions.

Also, these fellows donot test the engines....they drive the cars and publish figures like they actually tested the engine separately from a car.......the "feel" of an engine when driving the vehicle is also dependent on the lightness of the vehicle, the gear ratios of the transmission etc....nothing at all to do with the engine alone....

But coincidentally, some manufacturers quote these fellows pretty widely....

Just some thoughts.....

 

Also, Wards has not chosen the Acura TL-s/CL-s engine because ""Numbers" don’t jibe with the "feel."" ......

Let me make a prediction....when Acura comes out with the 6-speed manual TL-s/CL-s, the "Numbers" will jibe with the "feel.".....nothing at all to do with the engine !!!! In combination with aggressive manual gearing, the broad torque band of the TL-s/CL-s will make the engine seem like a raging demon, and possibly the TL-s/CL-s engine might pop up as one of the 10 best engines of next year..... basically, the term "10 best engine" is a total misnomer...

 

I know I keep saying this, but I drove the CL-S 6 speed a few weeks ago (At Honda R & D) and it was really, really fast!!! The power was amazing and the car just launched with each gear shift. Pure enjoyment if you want to drive a stick shift all the time. I know I don't want to.

 

Your review of that 6-spd your drove a few weeks ago keeps getting better and better .. hmmm... You said before that it "pulled" in each gear, now it "launches" in each gear.


That Ward's thing .. what a joke .. many a Maxima owner (not ALL, mind you) has used Wards' review as their "red badge of courage," .. I guess that's what you get when you put a 190hp/222hp engine in a 3100lb car mated w/ a 5-spd .. a 6.6 second car that revs freely thanks to a close-ratio 5-spd! Duh. I think Car&Driver even said something like it "revs like a Ferrari..." .. LOL! Ward's automotive certainly isn't the penultimate source of automotive criticism in the market -- by no way, shape, or form are they the "last say" in the car business.

Mid-7's makes perfect sense for the 255hp Max, I didn't expect any better w/ a broadly geared 4-spd (I do, however, for the 6-spd manual). However, once the craze is over the new model is gone, you'll be able to have those Maximas at or near invoice -- so don't worry about that $29K MSRP too much. Rarer 6-spd's however, may not be acquired that easily.

I agree w/ you all about the new 6-spd in the CL-S/TL-S turning new and old heads in interest. This J32A engine was destined to be mated w/ a 6-spd, as ALL Honda VTEC engines should ultimately be blessed with (5-spd too!)

 

Nissan seems to be at it again. They need to stop playing with numbers. I still feel the TL-S is the much better buy over the Minima, err, I mean Maxima!

 

I would have loved to have been driving that CL-S....Lucky you !! I drove the Honda Accord Type-R in England a few months back......that car had absolutely phenomenal handling....no way would I have known that it was a Front wheel drive, unless I was specifically told so.

 

As stated on Nissan's website, the 6 speed will not be available until late September. Also, he said 'it feels', that has nothing to do with real world numbers. A 0-60 time of 7.0 is expected out of the car, and should be possible. As PeterUbers stated, 'I didn't expect any better w/ a broadly geared 4-spd '.