Well, I did some actual pricing and I can get a TL-S for about $3k CAD more than the 2002 Maxima SE. I think that the TL-S is definately worth the difference. The difference is small because the latter have just arrived and dealers aren't going to discount them until they've cleared the back log of 01's on their lots. That may change in a few weeks.

That being said, if I went for a 2001 I30t I'd save about $3500 CAD and if I bought a 2001 SE I'd save about $8000 CAD.

(I'm sure the 2001 TL non type S would be cheap too but the suspension is too soft for my taste)

I guess it comes down to whether I can live with 227 hp vs 260 in order to save some $$$.

As much as I love cars they are essentially a big waste of money

ARgh... decisions...I'll keep you posted.

 

1. Not having the service manual (anymore) for the 92 (or ever having the Z manual) I'll take your word for it -- if I ever see the service guy that insisted that, I'll ask for some service books from the service area…

2. Either they changed the gearing, or we drove different cars -- the 1st gear was about 50 MPH, so at 25 MPH it was "off cam" and with no VTECH I really could NOT safely pass on my local canyon roads. There is an analogy here to tracks -- on some of them the gearing is just perfect for a given car (without swapping gear sets) and at others it is misery... AS I said, the car was great on the freeway (as was the later model), but I didn't have the punch for safe low-speed passing.

3. The car [Max SE] was much better balanced (even though its handling limits were nowhere close to the CLS with 235/45 Toyos vs. the Max SE with RE-71s. The Max was tossible, the CLS will only get the rear out on water, gravel, sand, etc.

4 -- YOU mentioned one of the key issues when I looked at the 2000 Maxima (among others) before buying the CLS (I probably would have bought a TLS if it was out at the time) -- THOSE REAR Tail lights!!!!! My sister went to an A4 for similar reasons (SS, not ugly rear lights, etc)

5 -- the 92 (mine) had the independent suspension -- when they removed that it hurt...

So -- we were all loyal Maxima buyers and we are now all driving Acuras, Bimmers, and Audis now… (Well, my wife still has a great 95 Altima)

(I'll look again when delivered car looks like some of the excellent prototype/pre-production artwork -- witness the Altima/Meltima)

 

VG has a different bore/stroke/compression than the VE. There are different cams, intake plenum, exhaust headers, and fuel system. And that's just stuff off the top of my head. When I bought my 96 the dealer swore up and down that it was the same engine in the 300ZX that year too. He was full of it. Dealers that aren't car guys (don't know how they could not be) see two cars from the same company that have the same liters and assume it's the same engine. It happens a lot.


I drive almost exclusively on residential streets with constant stop and go traffic. Terrible for gas milage, but what can I do. When I take off nice and easy it shifts almost immeadiately to 2nd. When I feel like passing somebody when it goes to two lanes in spots, I just push the throttle down 1/2-3/4 of the way and whoosh, I'm past them. Can't speak from experience on the 1992 though. Besides, if you really push a VTEC auto hard a lot, you're liable to fry your tranny. That massive shift in power at high speeds/rpm isn't exactly a walk in the park for an auto tranny. I've heard a lot of Honda auto trannys aren't coping too well with it but I don't know anything about the Acura tranny.

Yup.

A4 is a nice car. Did she get the turbo?

Yup.In all honesty, I'm dissappointed with this years Maxima as well. I've never been a big fan of half a$$ing anything, especially cars. Now they introduced the new engine in the old body style, with an uglier grill and didn't correct any of the problems people have with the car (FWD, 4 speed auto, Rear beam, bad style) but added flashier features and bumped up its price (costs the same for standard or auto SE, what the hell?) while at the same time offering a bigger, cheaper car with the same engine slightly detuned. It's a bad year for the Max. I really think it should be turned in the Nissan Gloria because THAT's an awesome car.

 

Having driven 3 successive 5-speed Maxima SE's before my TL-S ('91, '95, '98), I can safely say that the car isn't underpowered. However, when I was looking at the TL-S, I drove the 2001 automatic SE to compare apples to apples (automatics). I was totally unimpressed with the automatic. Much slower than my '98 5-speed, even though the 2001 was sporting 30 more HP. Also, that back end on the 2001 was horrible. Looks like the design guy went out to lunch, and when he came back, the janitor had finished the job for him!

I really loved driving my Maximas during that 10 year run. I would be willing to give the new 3.5 a look when it's time to replace the TL-S. I'm at least going to go down and drive one to see what it's all about.