2009 Nissan Maxima

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i like it, ok i guess kinda funny looking but it would be a nice daily

Headlights look like teeth, taillights ripped from BMW. Looks like an Infiniti, I guess they're trying to make it more upscale since the Altima cannibalized it.

I loved the small light (starting under 3000 pounds) sporty 95-99 generation Maxima... I even had one. The next gen was still OK... got just a little bigger but gained enough in power to more than offset that. It did get a bit cheaper in quality though. The design after that (the model this new one is replacing) was an absolute abomination, though, IMO.

I love the fact that this new one seems to have gotten smaller, lighter, and higher in quality.

Looks kinda fugly to me. :shrug:

I like it, but the Altima is MUCH better looking.

Not my cup of tea. Seems like the design dept. has run out of ideas to make it look different than the last gen while keeping the family heritage intact. The lines don't flow and some parts of the car look like a last minute add on. I can see Nissan changing the headlights in model years down the road like BMW did with the 7 Series.

I loved the small light (starting under 3000 pounds) sporty 95-99 generation Maxima... I even had one.

I had the generation prior to that (a 1991), and to this day I still think it's one of the most handsome 4-door sedans built by anyone in the last few decades. Whenever I see one in traffic I pause to appreciate just how perfect almost every line is. After that generation (and including yours, sorry), the styling started to get weird and ungainly. This new generation follows that trend. It's like Nissan's trying too hard to be different, but it's not being different in a good way.

I was looking at these pics. last week from the NYIAS, and still haven't made up my mind if I like it or not, I need to wait and see it in person. I think the rear looks good, I also like the hood. But the grill and headlights don't work very well together, the grill seems to square, given the soft curves in the hood, and the headlights seem too over done. It does look more Infinity than Nissan, and the interior has a more upscale look to it. It will be interesting to see how the Maxima faithfully will recieve this new Maxima.

I have 2 co-workers that drive the current Maxima SE models, I'd like to see what they think. They also both use to have Pontiac Grand Prix GTPs, but went to Nissan Maximas when GM dropped the ball with the Grand Prix (styling wise) in 2004, and I think that happened a lot across the country.

I had the generation prior to that (a 1991), and to this day I still think it's one of the most handsome 4-door sedans built by anyone in the last few decades. Whenever I see one in traffic I pause to appreciate just how perfect almost every line is. After that generation (and including yours, sorry), the styling started to get weird and ungainly. This new generation follows that trend. It's like Nissan's trying too hard to be different, but it's not being different in a good way.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/mikecastillo/HPIM1092.jpg?

Hmmm... I don't mind the prior gen of Maxima as basic transportation. It's not ugly. The problem is it looks exactly like almost every other car made in that era.

I can hardly tell a Camry apart from a Maxima of that era... yet I can tell a Taurus from that same generation away from a half mile.

That's why having some unique styling attributes is important, IMO. I don't want my car to look like every other car on the road

the back end looks awesome, the front kinda looks like a constipated robot

Usually I like Nissans, but dang those lamps look stupid. :(

Unacceptable. No voltage gauge :D

Ouch. What happened here? The wheels look tiny because of those saucer sized wells, and those headlights...my oh my.

The Maxima is one of my favorite cars, so I'm hoping this styling grows on me, but this looks terrible to my eyes. Surprising too, since I usually love Nissan styling.

Nice hood fit. Is this production? If so, is it made in China?

Seriously--yeah, another too-many-themes monstrosity, though less offensive than the coin-slot version in some ways.

In these pictures, the car looks like a mess. It has a great number of differing design elements all thrown together, not unlike a Hyundai and recent Toyotas.

Nice hood fit. Is this production? If so, is it made in China?

Seriously--yeah, another too-many-themes monstrosity, though less offensive than the coin-slot version in some ways.

The hood fit doesn't look bad to me once I view the images in native resolution. It does when the board compresses them without resampling.

I can hardly tell a Camry apart from a Maxima of that era... yet I can tell a Taurus from that same generation away from a half mile.

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lol

Altima is much better. I don't care for the corner of those head lights.

(pics of imported sedans)

I dunno, I don't have any trouble telling them apart (although the Mazda and Toyota are indeed close). Perhaps it's the generation you're brought up with ... older folks like to say all of today's cars look the same but I can easily differentiate them. On the other hand, show me cars from the 50s and then I'm the one saying they all look alike.

I still maintain that that Maxima, especially in person, is a much more striking automobile than the other cars pictured.

I agree the early 90s Maxima was one of the most attractive sedans from that generation.

IMO the design was much more coherent and more masculine than the other soapbars. Of course cars back then were all pretty boring and boxy, so it doesn't stand out much today.

I like it, I think its a nice change for the last style.

I don't see the current Maxima as being that much different than a v6 Altima. FWD, VQ power, 4 doors, and the pricing even overlaps with the higher Altima trims like 3.5 SL. Only difference is the maxima is slightly larger and gets worse gas mileage.

Ever since the rwd g35 came out, i thought the next Maxima should have been based off the sedan version. That would have differentiated it from the Altima. At the least, give it an AWD and/or v8 option. Right now, i see no compelling reason to even look at the maxima. It's not as good looking as the altima, it's not quicker/faster or more powerful, it doesn't get better fuel economy, it's not cheaper, and it doesn't really offer that much luxury over a well optioned Altima. I don't even know why people continue to buy it. The pre-02 Altima's and Maximas were very different cars, the last gen not so much.

WTF is up with the headlights?

The rear end looks like it was taken directly off of a Honda Civic coupe.

The overall shape is better-looking, but some of the design cues make you question the designers at Nissan.

Maybe some of the people who designed the look for the '06+ Subaru Impreza went to Nissan.

Compare front to GTR. Seems to me that they are extending the GTR styling to other models.

[QUOTE=Gold_Rush;5267900]I don't see the current Maxima as being that much different than a v6 Altima. FWD, VQ power, 4 doors, and the pricing even overlaps with the higher Altima trims like 3.5 SL. Only difference is the maxima is slightly larger and gets worse gas mileage. QUOTE]

To really notice the differences in the current generation, you have to look at them side by side. The Maxima has a much roomier back seat with AC vents, Much better sound insulation throughout the car(the trunk area is most obvoious) A little more horsepower (at least in 06) a bigger more usable trunk (hinge design) and the SE came with 18" wheels standard. We went to the dealer looking for a V6 Altima but found that we could get a better equiped Maxima for the same money after the incentives... We bought the Maxima.

It's a small market segment, and one that will likely dissappear. Maxima, Avalon, etc... Full size FWD cars from non luxury nameplates... Unless the Camry/Altima/Malibu/etc... start getting smaller, then the Avalon/Maxima/Impala/etc... will see their markets continue to be canibalized...

I never liked the current Nissan buck toothed grille, so the next gen looks like an improvement to me...

To me, the grille area looks like a Volvo, the top of the hood looks like an Infinity, the profile resembles a Mitsubishi, and the rear looks like a cross between a Nissan and BMW.
When will Nissan give up that fat, droopy butt look? At least this Maxima doesn't have that excessively-tall-over-the-front-doors-and-dropping-back-to-nothing look (ala 350Z, Sentra, Altima).

Looks kinda fugly to me. :shrug:

Exactly. I saw this on AutoWeek last week and was going to post about it. It would have been too much effort for this much ugly.

In these pictures, the car looks like a mess. It has a great number of differing design elements all thrown together, not unlike a Hyundai and recent Toyotas.

Don't forget Honda and its new Accord.

Looks like a down syndrome kid with a giant forehead and eyes set far apart.

I have 2 co-workers that drive the current Maxima SE models, I'd like to see what they think. They also both use to have Pontiac Grand Prix GTPs, but went to Nissan Maximas when GM dropped the ball with the Grand Prix (styling wise) in 2004, and I think that happened a lot across the country.

Yeah, I'm one of the few that went from gen to gen without skipping to a different model. My fiancee likes our Comp G more than the previous gen, but I sure don't. I loved my '01 GT coupe...its style was timeless, IMO. I'd venture a guess that someday, '97-'03 GTPs will be somewhat sought after even.

If I changed jobs and needed a DD, and didn't feel like spending the $$ on a Cobalt SS, base Camaro or Astra XR, my next choice would be to try and find a low mileage '02 GTP coupe (last year for coupe)...nothing else has caught my eye the way those cars still do, 11 years after their intro.