New Car Test - Nissan Maxima Ti

26 March, 2002

Competent - but the competition is fierce

By Julian Edgar

To be honest, when we first picked up the Maxima Ti from Nissan Australia and drove it a good few kilometres, we were very disappointed. The car jumped from bump to bump, pattering around on bouncy corners and having a ride harshness quite out of keeping with the market at which the car is aimed. But then we discovered that the car had been supplied with no less than 43 psi in the 55-series Michelin tyres - a huge leap over the recommended 33 psi...

Dropping the tyre pressures back to standard made an enormous difference to the car, elevating the ride/handling compromise from the bottom of class to at least, well, the middle.

With a Maxima pricing range that extends from $36,990 for the Maxima S through to the Maxima ST at $40,290 and the $47,990 of the Maxima Ti, there's a variety of trim levels to suit buyers stepping up the bare-bones mid-size family sixes. Last year in Australia 2,535 Maximas were sold, compared with 1,880 V6 Honda Accords and 2,103 V6 Vectras. However, putting the numbers for the V6 Camry (8,437) and Magna (21,720) into the field gives it some relativity.

After the tyre pressures had been sorted, first impressions of the Maxima were generally favourable. Inside the top-of-the-line Ti you'll find leather, a tilt/slide glass sunroof, in-dash CD stacker radio, trip computer, four airbags - basically all the usual fruit of a current mid-sized premium model. However, the TV of the previous car has been dropped - instead there's a lidded compartment on top of the dash where (we assume) a TV lives in the home-market model.

But with the exception of electric front seat warmers(!), while the equipment level is good, there's not really anything that stands out to lift the interior above par for the course... and there are a few aspects that definitely let the side down.

The handbrake loudly ratchets upwards with a long-travel cheap feel; the night-time illumination of the dash isn't uniform in colour (it's grey for the radio LCD and green for the climate control!); the radio volume control is on the wrong (left-hand) side of the unit - and is a v-e-r-y long stretch away; the trip computer display is very small and its information is presented a bit obscurely; on the test car the centre console box lid had come loose on its hinge; there are no rear passenger ventilation outlets; and the boot carpet is laid straight over the spare tyre, giving an uneven floor.

Sure, these are minor points. But when you've just shelled out an on-road fifty grand for a car, you don't expect these cost-cutting cheap and nasties to be showing through. In fact it's almost as if two different teams were responsible for the interior and exterior quality - in contrast, the bodywork looks very well put together, with good door closures and excellent paint.

The engine is a much more positive story. The VQ30DE under the bonnet is an all-alloy 3-litre DOHC V6, with a substantial 157kW at 6400 rpm and 291Nm at 3600 rpm.

It is a good engine, with strong torque right through the rev range and an endearing 'coming on the cam' that occurs at about 3500 rpm. It also works well with the 4-speed auto and delivers quite good economy - about 10.0 litres/100km on test. Punchy off the line (this model develops more peak torque at lower rpm than the previous model's engine), it allows the Maxima to sprint to 100 in a very respectable 8.8 seconds. The variable intake manifold V6 remains smooth and sweet right up to its 6600 rpm redline, but it still has enough bottom-end grunt available that hard revving is usually not required.

Nissan in their advertising make much of the fact that a US publication called this engine "what may be the best V6 engine ever - in cars priced for normal mortals" but we wouldn't go that far. The Honda Odyssey's VTEC V6 is much better - as (we're told) is the engine in the similarly priced Honda Accord. And despite its performance, don't dare peer under the bonnet of the Maxima - there it looks a complete mess, with numerous fuel and vacuum hoses and assorted bits of wiring and intake plumbing sprouting everywhere. The engine cover now universally used by other manufactures certainly wouldn't be out of place here.

With the correct tyre pressures, the handling is competent, inclining towards understeer. No traction control is available, so in wet conditions wheelspin is fairly easy to provoke. However, unless the car is under major duress, this doesn't translate to power understeer. The rear suspension - a multi-link beam - feels to have a high unsprung weight and bumps not noticed by the front strut suspension can occasionally be felt to thump through into the cabin as the rear tyres pass over them. The steering is quite heavily weighted for a luxury car in this class, but the feel and feedback are both fine.

The interior equipment generally works well. The glass sunroof is well integrated and easy to use (its slide control is particularly simple); the cruise control surges a little but has ergonomic steering wheel controls (that, unfortunately, are unlit at night); and there is plenty of practical storage space, including a sunglasses holder in the roof. The sound system incorporates a 6-CD stacker inside the dash, and gives good listening levels and quality. Particularly impressive is the bass output, achieved through only four door-mount speakers. Also quite effective is the stereo expander function, which gives the effect of a wider sound stage.

The boot is huge and the rear seats 60/40 split-fold down to make it even bigger. However, the actual opening through into the cabin is quite small - fine for carrying long, narrow and flat objects, but not for bulky ones. Cabin room is generous in both the front and the back, with rear headroom being the only tight dimension. The rear doors open especially wide, but adults getting out will need to duck their heads under the quickly descending roofline. Interestingly, an exposed child restraint anchorage is built into the back of the third brake light, allowing the quick and easy installation of a child seat. Two other - conventional - child restraint anchorages are also provided.

The front electric seats (8-way adjustable for the driver and 4-way for the passenger) are equipped with active head restraints that mechanically move upwards and forwards in the event of a rear-end collision, and this safety is aided by the four airbags.

As a package, the Maxima is a conventional, restrained car. Some aspects are these days a little old-fashioned - for example the use of an overdrive button on the auto trans selector and the fact that the remote unlock buttons come on a separate fob rather than being integrated into the key - but apart from some cabin design and quality issues, there is little to find fault with.

But unfortunately, with the exception of that delightful engine, there is also little to heavily praise - this is a competent middle of the road car.