04AcuraTL

alright guys, yesterday i spent the nite at my uncles, he has a new maxima, which was ready for a service so he had asked me to take it there, so in the mean time i was runnin around doin erends with the maxima, and wow guys this car is a boat, i felt like i was driven a lincoln, the thing is huge and has horrible rear visibilty, i felt like my TL had a whole lot more head room than the max, but then again i didnt really go crazy with the seat adjustment, the amber dash lite was soo boring i felt like i was in a jetta, as far as for power, it had a whole lot of torque n really spun the tires off the line, especially that he has the 18's with 245's, but it kinda felt like a chevy, lots of lowend but not much on top end, i loved the fact that the tiptronic stood in 1st n didnt shift on it's own like my TL does but hey i'll live, the shifter was so annoyingly low and was difficult to drive in tiptronic. the radio and A/c controls had way too many buttons, but one thing i liked bout it, you can store a AM station and n FM on the same mode with out having to switch back n forth b/w AM n FM then when i was ready to drop it off, i had his wife drive it there and i fallowed with the TL so i can drive her back home, when i went down to ask where the service department was, the sales rep told me and at the end goes to me, WOW those TL's are amazing, so i replied by say how bout these maxima's you sell, he said i'll take a TL over a max any day, i couldnt agree with him more.

willz822

My friend has an 05....it's not a bad car by any means...but I'll take my TL anyday.

mickey3c

I have never had a nissan sales rep say the TL is amazing lol. They might say it is a good product is all, but not when they compete with them. I had a mazda dealer tell me that a 626 with the v6 will not come close to what you are used to driving, but then it was a 20,000 car and not 34000. Apples to oranges...

The max is a different kind of car and is not on a par with the tl.. I would say it is a fair review of the max, but they do seem to see a repair shop less often then the tl

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

Wow I have never seen somone write a sentence that long. He used no periods. Very hard to read.

iLL TL

So he used commas instead leave him alone

F23A4

commas = figurative breath catch The Swedish guy in a current Car Talk thread seperates "sentences" with several periods, as though it were a Western Union telegram.

Back on topic, the 6G Maxima is a competitor to the TL by virtue of Nissan positioning it as a FWD 'Luxury' V6 sedan in the $30-35k range (i.e.: TL & ES330). That said, I'd also take a TL over the new Maxima....no brainer there.

I believe that the Jetta/Golf has a Blue toned dashboard (i.e.: 3G TL) not Amber .

mickey3c

I would disagree with the maxima being a direct competitor with the TL. I would say it competes more with the accord and the camry. Infiniti competes with acura. Just because it is an FWD as well does not mean it is a direct competitor... If you say that, than all FWD cars are in the same arena. Back in 98 the max was the top of the heap since the nearest competition (the passat) has 150 Hp vs the 190 and much less torque since the max out out more torque than HP. This is where acura decided to target their market in 99 with the tl 225 hp and 216 Torque.. I believe that the max is trying to find its market now since the infiniti model really competes with acura and the nissan with honda, etc.

Acura seems more concerned with the feature aspect of the car and infiniti more so in the driving experience hence the different focus each has on their products. Not saying acura does not offer performance, just that the configuration each has is different. Infiniti believes that a rear driver offers more from a driving perspective. Hell until the 80s all car were rear wheelers ... not like we were not able to get around in snow...

And none of the cars are luxo models... You have to spend more to get real luxury... They are entry level at best...

EMF213

I traded my 04 Maxima for my TL....NO CONTEST.

riontegra

iTrader: (2)

Dood, talk about a run-on sentence.

I almost read the entire paragraph in one breath, but I ran out of air...

However, I wished the TL was just a little bigger around the driver. It's a little snug for me. My right knee keeps hitting the center console. It just doesn't have that airy feeling the 2nd Gen has.

The maxima is big and powerful, but that's all it's got going for it...

John

F23A4

Seems like you reading something into my post that wasnt there (oversimplification, maybe). I didnt say direct competitor, rather I said competitor. There is a difference. [An argument can even be made that the ES330 is not a competitor, given it's nature (entry level Lexus luxury) vs the TL's nature (sport w/ luxury)]

BTW, the Altima competes with the Camry/Accord.

the new Maxima moves up the market (leaving the Altima to fight the Camry and Accord). Expected competition includes the Audi A6 and some might dare say BMW's 5 series. -- Fresh Alloy

mickey3c

LOL ok... as you say.... So, you are implying as that the infiniti in the x configuration is competing with the TL on a part time basis... interesting... But then, I do not want to read anything in here... lol...

Fresh alloy is opinion remember... implying a max competing with the BMW 5 series is a laugh... But wait the 5 is not FWD so how can they say that... !!! LOL

F23A4

The purpose of my inclusion of that quote was to demonstrate the upscale nature of the new Maxima. Now I personally wouldnt compare to a 5-series or TL neither. But it's simply to illustrate that this school of thought preexists. Whether or not you agree with it is an entirely different matter. But to simply dismiss it because you dont agree with it is ______ . (insert adjective here)

Tecworld

The new Avalon looks geared to be a great competitor for the Maxima. 280hp FWD 3.5 liter V6. Still a boat. The Maxima better up its power to compete against this new Avalon.

wakattack

I agree with you. But you can equip a Maxima to have similar features to a TL,
and when you do. I think you have a close competitor. But shockingly enough.
The Maxima is priced more than a TL with Navi!!!!! Who wants that crap! $

Check this out..


Packages and Options
Driver Preferred Package Incl.
Vehicle Dynamic Control and Full Size Spare $600
Elite Package $1750
Splash Guards $120
Navigation System $2000
Power Glass Sunroof $900
Accessories
Carpeted Floor & Trunk Mats $150
XM® Satellite Radio $400
Base MSRP $29,600.00
Total Packages, Options, & Accessories $5,920.00
Destination & Handling $580.00
Total Configured MSRP† $36,100.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F23A4

Yup!! I wouldnt do it but it's there in black & white.

Brewmaster

wakattack is right on the money .. I was going to look at the Max but as soon as I started pricing options to outfit it to where the TL came standard ... I didn't even take a test drive.

mickey3c

well they F-d up big time making it so overpriced... Hell you can get a G for that as well.

Probably why they got rid of the I model... They made the altima so max like they had to do something with the max and then what happened.. 36K for a max...!!

I see a lot of model madness now...lol in honor of march madness...

The max is a nissan is all and not on a par with the TL... But then the TL was initially created to take sales away from the max in 99.. I had one and went from a max to the TL.

The G is the real competition for the TL I know some say not as good .. but that is not the point. The max is being killed off.. Why would you buy a 36000 max if you could get the G35x. Sure maybe the x powertrain is a bit slower but it has more power than the max.

And by the way edmunds said the max moved up scale to take more customers away from toyota and honda... so much for FA23..lol

So the v6 HP wars from a japanese marketing perspective is as follows for under 40K...

G35 298/280
Avalon 280
TL 270
Max 265
Altima SE-R 260 (about 30k+)
330 225
Camry 225
Mazda 626 220

Of course there could be more this is just off the top of my head.

But if you are looking at comparable HP numbers to the TL you have a variety of rides to choose from.. Confused yet...


Sure it is hard to squeeze any more power out and try to get impressive track numbers... a tenth here and there or even a 1/4 second does not mean much unless you are racing for money... etc..

The TL is shod with 45 series 17 inch tires which means it is pushing the max on the handling aspect. The G has 55 series 17,18 the max 17/18 The rest who knows... the bigger you go and the lower they are the better you can corner for the most part. The more $$$ and quicker tread wear as well .. And you feel those pot holes...

hell used to be easy...

supra/Z

accord/camry

ah yea let's not forget the germans etc etc...

F23A4

(golf clap)

matelot

werd. That's what happened when you focused on cars instead of schooling in HS.

04AcuraTL

sorry bout the no periods, i mean by all means, this is only a thread, not my SAT's. it was late, i came home from a snowy day from picking up my mother who totaled her civic on the taconic state pkwy so i wasnt all there. when i said that it reminded me of the jetta i meant the older jetta's that had the amber in em, like the 96's

F23A4

good comeback.

SnappyPappy

Who's his English teacher?? HaHa . . .

SnappyPappy

Ahhh, now you're talking! This is like the Redskins and Dallas used to be. Or the Vikings and Greenbay. Direct competition! I would agree Maxima and Acura not in the same ball park. Maxima and BJW - pssssst give me a break. Only problem I have with the TL is USA built. So quality may be suffering. So far my '05 (7,000) is doing fine. But my '02 RL never had a single prolbem, solid as a rock, (sorry 'like a rock' Chevy.)

midas69

Frankly, if I hadn't bought the TL I probably would have bought the Max over the G35x. The G35x seemed much more cramped inside than the Max. I also thought the dash on the Max looked better. I really wanted the AWD but I just couldn't spend that much money on such an ugly and cramped interior.

JackSprat01

Direct or not, if people cross-shop it regularly, it's a competitor. There are a shit load of people on this forum that have cross-shopped or driven the Maxima. I had an 04 Max myself. I liked it very much, but like my TL better.

KJSmitty

I also owned an 04 Max..
If you’re comparing price/options to the TL, remove the splash guards and Elite Package... The Elite package only effects the back seats(heated/buckets etc./rear sunshade, neither of which the TL have. So now you’re down to ~ $34K. Actual negotiated price was $32.5K.... So in all reality an equipped Max was less than the TL. Sure it doesn't have 5.1 sound or hands free, but it does come with 18 inch wheels, power telescoping/tilt wheel, power folding mirrors and a few other nice amenities.
Why all the fuss over the comparison?? Both the TL and Max are nice cars. I don’t find either one that “superior” over the other. Driving experience other than engine power/torque band as well as vehicle size “feel” wasn’t of significant difference either..

I will admit the interior in the TL is nicer than the Max. I also believe the overall structural engineering is better in the Acura. That’s why I chose to spend the extra and get a TL. I won’t comment much on the service of either, other than they both stink…. But service is always based on “location”.. Some are definitely better than others..

clay8898

I think the max looks good until you get to the front. I can't get over the oldsmobil front grill. The car can have all the opitions in the world but if the car doesn't look appealing to the eye people won't buy it. As far as looks, the TL has the max beat hands down. I think if they redesign the nose of the max it could be one of the best looking cars out there.

Twenties

I bought this car for my mother. i drive it a few days a month.

Pros: Very large & comfortable inside (bigger than TL); Torque monster in every gear of the automatic (feels stronger than TL in low RPMs); Fully equipped w/similar options as TL (except bluetooth & 5.1) for less money (few thousand--sells at invoice +$1000 rebate)

Cons: Torque steer (a lot); feels strained at high RPMs (and sounds loud), unlike TL which revs freely and nicely in Vtech range; steering feels vague (compared to TL which feels tighter---makes TL feel like a BMW); car feels unstable/tail wags out at highway speeds.

Conclusion: Great design inside & out; Great size; Good power; but handling is below average; Grade: C.