General Maxima DiscussionThis a general area for Maxima discussions for all years. For more specific questions, visit one of the generation-specific forums.
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I already voted, but I just thought how awesome the 7th generation would be with a five or six speed! It certainly has a refreshingly eye-catching look. I'm surprised the second generations are in last place; they're not immensely powerful, but they were so fun to drive.
I already voted, but I just thought how awesome the 7th generation would be with a five or six speed! It certainly has a refreshingly eye-catching look. I'm surprised the second generations are in last place; they're not immensely powerful, but they were so fun to drive.
aint that the truth i remember tooling around in my cousin's 87 that thing was super fun to drive and comfortable to my vote is for the 3rd though cant beat those classic body lines.and ya gotta admitt all the 4,5,6,7 owners when you see a clean 3rd gen ya got no choice but give props
5th (DE-K/5MT and the 3.5/6MT)
4th (Light weight)
3rd (IRS)
1st/2nd (RWD)
That is exactly my list. I think the 5th gen already was starting to get a bit big and heavy, but they did a good job with the 3.5/6mt.
The 4th is very light, but being the owner of one I have to say, the steering sucks. It is way too over boosted.
6th and 7th are just too big and heavy. Hell, the 7th gen has 290 hp and honestly it isn't really that fast for that amount of power due to all of the weight. Throw 290hp in a 3rd or 4th gen .
Plus, I testdrove a 2004 SE the other day and was very unimpressed. It got up and went, was very comfortable, and I loved the looks inside and out, was very smooth, but the steering just didn't feel like a 4dr sports car's steering should, and it didn't handle all that well. My 1996 Taurus felt more solid in the twisties. Then again, this 04 Max SE was beat to **** with 130,000 miles on it and looked like it was hastilly demodded.
Still, I think my vote goes to the 3rd, 4th, and 5.5.
My idea of sportiness is judged by looks, sporty options and what it can be compared to at its time. I would say 3rd gen hands down. Stock vs stock, no other gen looked sportier out the lot. Needed least amount of drop, came in manual, had sporty features that were considered ahead of its time. I like 5.5 gen the most but it was high and aside from having very good power at its time, it had a lot of luxury features and looked like a boat stock. 4th gens I think have the most capability of looking sportiest with mods but stock its in the same situation as 5th, 6th, and 7th gen.
__________________ ///M3CCANOBLE 03 Steel Grey 6MT VMR v710's| Dynaudio 362 Comps & MW190 IB sub| Tru STEEL S44/S500/SSLD6| Many other goodies
R.I.P. 04 Mystic Blue w/ Cinnamon SMG (STOCK) PREVIOUS CARS:
01 Maxima SE 5 speed (sold) 97 Maxima SE 5 speed BOOSTED (sold)
95 Maxima GLE 5 speed (RIP)
my vote is for the 3rd generation. If it weren't for that car, I wouldn't have been in love with Nissan ever since. That model and design fell in love with me when I was a kid. I always wanted one, and know I finally own one along with my daily 03 Altima V6 3.5 SE auto...
I think the 3rd gen is the sportiest! That was the first Max I ever drove. It was a friends car and I was pretty impressed with performance and gear shifting. MANUAL, OF COURSE!
But right now, I do like the 6th gen with 6MT. The 7th gen is fully auto! Any auto car cannot standout to be sporty no matter its looks. I am talking about the feeling in the "cockpit"!
The 6th gen has a curvy and smooth appeal to it and low enough. for great speeds at corners. It is agile too and it does get up and go. I am talking about stock, no mod.
Trying for a purely objective POV, I agree that the 3rd and 7th Gen Maxima are the the sportiest looking Maximas. The 3rd gen was very clean, and the 7th gen design is downright sexy.
However, the 5.5 Gen 6MT was the best for value and performance.
And none of the first 6 models handle as well as the 7th Gen. Gotta give credit where it's due.
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NWP phenolic intake spacers, Cattman y-pipe, Cattman 2.5" cat-back, Frankencar short-ram intake, Apexi pop charger, UR crank pulley, ES motor-mount and sub-mount bushings, Racingline FSTB, Progress RSB, STS mod w/ES bushings, Brembo blanks, Hawk ceramic pads, Goodyear Eagle F1's -- 54,000 original owner miles
I have to go with 2nd gen, light, IRS, pulls 30mpg, talked, 3rd comes in a close 2nd but was starting to get to big for me. anything without IRS doesn't count except 1st for the RWD
__________________ Butthurtness at it's best, is when someone's feelings get hurt over something said on an internet message board and they type in big letters.
I agree here. I love the looks and capabilities of the 3rd gen. The 7th looks awesome, even though it is CVT. I think that CVTs get a bad rap because of their association with hybrids, under-powered cars, etc. The CVT in the 7th is quite a piece of engineering. Of course, a manual would make it more "sporty", but it would also decrease efficiency and performance.
As a previous owner of several gen Maxima's I would say that the 5.5 gen SE is the sportiest and prior to the 7th gen sportiest looking out of the box. They came with nice looking rims stock, side sills, nice seats, nice looking interior and all you had to do was put a nice tint on it if you wanted to. The rest is history.
7th gen: Very sporty looking and really looks great SV spoiler with the stock 19 incher's, 18 inchers look to small on it. drives great, good sterering feel, handles good for a car of its size, nice looking interior, CVT is a matter of personal preference.....
6.5 Gen: Improvements make it look better/Sportier than the 6th gen (love the seats), drives like a big car. CVT is a matter of personal preference....
6th Gen: Looks bloated, drives like a big car, many complaints of cheap interior materials. Dash board was odd on this car
5.5: see above
5th: Sporty looking in SE form, for some reason it handles better than the 5.5 (not as softly sprung). Nice sport gauges with blue rim, 5th SE rims look better than 5.5 SE rims as the spokes where thicker and center piece instead of exposed lugs is a plus). Has good steering feel. Nice water fall dash.
4th/4.5: In SE form looks sporty (97-99 much sportier looking), handled decent, firm ride, those 5 spoke rims (97-99 SE) at that time were nice stockers, looks great with kits. Great acceleration for the power auto or manual, steering felt light at times)
3.5 SE: Now this was a great Maxima, sporty looking inside and out, handled good and with the 5spd was a rocket for its time even putting down quicker times than the standard 300ZX.
3rd/3.5 GXE: Very nice inside and out, handled like a boat in GXE form and floated like a Caddy over bumps, SE was better (introduced the sporty white faced gauges we all love). Loaded GXE's (89-90, 91-94 dropped electronic package, 91 didn't offer auto climate control) had so much electronics including a head up display, full Digital dash, sonar suspension) Climate etc. Very comparable to Luxury car's of the day. Still turns my head when I see a clean 1 with that timeless design!
2nd: Now this gen is what really put the Maxima on the map as a sporty car! The 2nd gen SE was sporty looking, had sporty seats, packed with features (remember volt and oil pressure gauge) and had a nice 5spd manual that made this car quick, it handled ok. GXE/GL was softly sprung and handled bumps like a Caddy, had tons of features and was well loved.
1st gen never Driven
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Wifes 05 G35S auto 14.31@98.90 mph (11/4/06) stock
Monte 03SE auto 14.60 @96.71 mph (11/4/06) stock
Monte 09 370Z Sport package auto (have not tracked yet)
All auto's[Twilight Blue, Glacier Pearl and Pearl White ]
I guess people overlook the 2nd gen because it's old, and they probably never driven one. The 3rd gen got it's handling from the 2nd gen, as it's a carbon copy (with the exception of the struts). If you were one of the people that got an SE version, you got the 3-way adjustable suspension. Set that sucker to firm and you're hanging with the BMW's. The VG has all it's power in the mid range, so it's great for auto-x. Not so good for straight line performance. It's unfortunate that Nissan went away from that setup. However I guess that is what a company has to do when they were bleeding money at the time.
KountZ430
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Butthurtness at it's best, is when someone's feelings get hurt over something said on an internet message board and they type in big letters.
RIP 95 Maxi...Gone but never forgotten.
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