2009 Nissan Maxima review and pictures

Nissan Maxima review:

The 2009 Nissan Maxima, which makes its world debut at the 2008 New York International Auto Show, marks the seventh generation of Nissan`s flagship sedan. Designed as a commanding four-door sports car, Maxima is unique in both appearance and driving feel, with renewed relevance for today`s active and ambitious sedan buyers. The all-new 2009 Maxima will be offered as two well-equipped models, Maxima 3.5 S and Maxima 3.5 SV, and is scheduled to arrive at Nissan dealers nationwide in early summer 2008.

High targets were established for the development of the new Maxima, including the goal of creating "the best performing front engine, front-wheel drive car in the world," along with the goals of class-leading acceleration, braking, handling, craftsmanship and cockpit design.

The breakthrough exterior design of the new Maxima imparts a feeling of "liquid motion," which combines an aggressive stance and powerful fender design – not unlike many exotic sports cars on the market today. Maxima`s new stance comes, in part, from a slight reduction in wheelbase and overall length, along with a wider front and rear track.

The new Maxima`s interior design team developed an interior concept of "Super Cockpit" – imparting the feeling of sports car with controls ergonomically close, yet with ample roominess and comfort for both driver and passengers. The interior includes a special driver`s sport seat, available leather-appointed seating, offset shifter lever that is closer to the driver, "Daylight Illumination" gauges and a wide range of available technology, including a premium audio system, RearView Monitor and Nissan Hard Drive Navigation system with XM NavTraffic real-time traffic information (active XM® subscription required, sold separately), Voice Recognition and 9.3GB Music Box Hard Drive.

The new Maxima offers a more powerful engine, quicker acceleration response and a performance-oriented tuned exhaust note. The 2009 Maxima again features a standard award-winning 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve VQ-series V6 engine, enhanced and refined to take driving performance to new levels. The revised engine is now rated at 290 horsepower and 261 lb-ft of torque (estimated), increases of 35 horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque over the 2008 Maxima engine. All 2009 Maximas come equipped with a revised standard Xtronic CVT™ with manual mode, tuned specifically for Maxima`s sporty driving character, and available paddle shifters. A new "Ds mode" (drive sport) is added to the CVT for 2009.

Highlights of the 2009 Nissan Maxima include:

Body
"Liquid Motion" exterior design theme, embodying the flow of its powerful and beautiful surface, like the undulation of a wave
Aggressive, powerful form and commanding stance and a premium presence
Large wraparound L-shaped headlights with "turbine" light surrounds, wide grille, large bumper opening and "catamaran-style" hood
Deeply sculpted body/fender treatment similar to that of exotic sports cars
Distinctive "Maxima-style" C-pillars and high trunk lid
1.9-inch shorter wheelbase, 1.5-inches wider, 1.4-inch/1.2-inch wider front and rear track than previous generation Maxima
Available Dual Panel Moonroof with wide opening front panel, fixed translucent rear panel with front and rear power retractable sunshades, providing the appearance of a full black glass roof; available power rear sliding sunshade
Auto on/off halogen headlights, available High Intensity Discharge (HID) Xenon headlights, available fog lights
New 12-LED L-shaped "stepped" taillights
Manual folding outside mirrors; power outside mirrors with available reverse tilt-down feature, available turn signal indicators, available heated outside mirrors, available auto-dimming feature (driver`s side)
Available rear spoiler
Dual exhaust with chrome finishers
UV reducing solar glass
0.33 coefficient of drag
Eight exterior colors: Super Black, Sterling Blue, Tuscan Sun, Winter Frost, Radiant Silver, Mystic Jade, Precision Gray and Dark Slate

Engine and Driveline
Front engine/front-wheel drive
New Nissan "D platform" with enhanced body rigidity for responsive handling with virtually no torque steer
3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 with improved air intake, combustion and exhaust efficiency, producing 290 horsepower and 261 lb-ft torque (estimated)
Engine features include electronic throttle, silent timing chain, microfinished camshaft and crankshaft surfaces, molybdenum coated pistons, resin intake collector, digital knock control system, cross flow coolant pattern and high capacity muffler
New standard quad E-VTC (addition of exhaust-side continuous valve timing control)
Platinum-tipped spark plugs with 100,000-mile maintenance intervals
New 6-point engine mounting system
Revised standard Xtronic CVT™ (Continuously Variable Transmission) with standard Ds and manual modes
Available paddle shifters
20-gallon fuel tank capacity for extended driving range

Suspension, Steering and Braking
Independent subframe-mounted strut/coil spring front suspension with extensive use of lightweight aluminum parts
X-type upper cowl structure helps establish front body rigidity for suspension mounting
Independent multi-link double wishbone rear suspension
Rear shock absorbers and springs separated for minimized friction; shocks are in line with the center of the rear wheels, providing excellent damping and minimal harshness
Front and rear stabilizer bars
4-wheel power-assisted vented disc brakes, standard 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA)
New vented rear disc brakes with larger rear rotors (versus the previous generation Maxima), variable ratio linkage, increased brake pedal stroke rigidity and smoothness
New Twin Orifice Power Steering (TOPS) vehicle-speed-sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering system
10-spoke, 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with P245/45R18 all-season tires
Available split-5-spoke, 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with P245/40R19 tires; available 19-inch high-performance summer tires

Interior Features
Warm, inviting "Super Cockpit" interior with flagship craftsmanship
Tailored, refined interior styling, use of premium materials including available metallic-link trim and Eucalyptus wood-tone trim
Five-passenger seating with luxury cloth or leather-appointed seats with available sport stitching
Premium leather-appointed seats available with Premium and Sport Packages
Sporty driver`s seat with available manual thigh extension and climate control (heating and cooling)
Standard 8-way power-adjustable driver`s seat with manual lumbar support with available 2-driver automatic entry/exit memory feature
Standard 4-way power-adjustable passenger seat
Available heated front seats
New slim, sculpted design for front seatbacks, provides additional rear passenger knee room
Rear 60/40 split fold-down rear seat or fixed rear seat with armrest pass-through
Available large rear-seat fold-down armrest with HVAC and audio controls
New leather-wrapped steering wheel with illuminated steering wheel switches; unique "parallel" stitch pattern on Sport and Premium Package models
Available heated steering wheel
Revised shifter placement and raised center console
Use of soft-touch materials and padding
"Daytime Illumination" electroluminescent meters, with a special tilting of the tachometer so engine redline is placed at 12 o`clock
Chrome surrounds for the gauges, vent rings, vent knobs and audio switches
Power door locks, power windows with driver and passenger auto-up/down feature; rear window auto-up/down feature on Premium Package models
Two 12-volt power points
Driver and passenger door bottle holders
Dual overhead map lights, dual rear reading lights
Available 7.0-inch color monitor
Available RearView Monitor
Standard audio system with 8 speakers and AM/FM/6CD/MP3 with auxiliary audio input jack and steering wheel-mounted controls
Available Bose® premium audio system with 9 speakers, AM/FM/CD6 in-dash CD changer and RDS radio function
Available Interface System for iPod®
Available XM® Satellite Radio (active XM® subscription required, sold separately)
Available Nissan Hard Drive Navigation system with XM NavTraffic® with Real-Time Traffic Information (active XM® subscription required, sold separately), Voice Recognition, 9.3GB Music Box Hard Drive, and 7.0-inch touch-screen color display
Dual zone air conditioning with automatic temperature control and rear vents
Available Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System
Available HomeLink® Universal Transceiver

Safety and Security
Standard Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage air bags, seat belt sensors and occupant classification system
Front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags and roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags
Front-seat Active Head Restraints
3-point ALR/ELR seat belts (driver`s seat ELR only) including rear center position
Front seat belts with adjustable upper anchors, pretensioners, and load limiters LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system
Zone Body construction with front and rear crumple zones
Standard Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) with Traction Control System (TCS)
Emergency inside trunk-release
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

Models and Manufacturing
Offered as two well-equipped models: Maxima 3.5 S and 3.5 SV
Assembled by Nissan North America Manufacturing Smyrna & Decherd Tennessee Plants