2005 Nissan Maxima

[wyvrn]

So I'm doing quite a bit of travelling lately, and getting to drive lots of crappy rental cars. Well this week National hooks me up with a new Maxima, and I must say I'm really enjoying driving this car. The suspension is suprisingly supple for a Japanese sedan, the car feels solid and doesn't float around corners, the back seats have plenty of legroom, and I absolutely love the 265hp engine. The only nitpicks I have are the torque steer and soft brakes. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. I am normally a Honda or Toyota man, but this generation of Maxima is much more refined and fun to drive, imo.

That is all

 

[BullyCanadian]

:thumbsup:

 

[Reckoner]

wow, I had no idea the maxima was pushing over 260hp, that's crazy.

 

[spidey07]

Its a very capable cruiser, just as the maxima has always been.

 

[PHiuR]

torque steer...? wow.
i do like those 3.5

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
wow, I had no idea the maxima was pushing over 260hp, that's crazy.

Not only that, but it gets 20/27 gas mileage. That's identical to my 1996 Accord with a 110hp 4-banger :Q My wife and I agree our Accord is getting long in the tooth, so I'm now trying to convince her into buying a new or 1yr old Maxima.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
wow, I had no idea the maxima was pushing over 260hp, that's crazy.

Not only that, but it gets 20/27 gas mileage. That's identical to my 1996 Accord with a 110hp 4-banger :Q My wife and I agree our Accord is getting long in the tooth, so I'm now trying to convince her into buying a new or 1yr old Maxima.

*cough*
Look at Acura TL as well.
*cough*

Also a very capable cruiser with tons of luxury.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
wow, I had no idea the maxima was pushing over 260hp, that's crazy.

Not only that, but it gets 20/27 gas mileage. That's identical to my 1996 Accord with a 110hp 4-banger :Q My wife and I agree our Accord is getting long in the tooth, so I'm now trying to convince her into buying a new or 1yr old Maxima.

*cough*
Look at Acura TL as well.
*cough*

Also a very capable cruiser with tons of luxury.

According to Edmunds, though, it starts at about $5k more than the Maxima. Not sure I want to pay the premium even though I have always liked Acuras.

 

[iversonyin]

the new Nissan is more....French....

 

[Gamingphreek]

Dont Acuras "recommend" using premium fuel though?

I dunno i love our Honda Accord EX-V6. That thing has some serious pickup.

-Kevin

 

[GoingUp]

Counting down to Skoorb in 3, 2, 1....

 

[njmodi]

Nissan rules (From a fellow Maxima owner). Nissan has had a problem with torque steer for a long time in the Maxima. The problem exists on the 4th Gen (95-99), 5th Gen, (00-03) and now even on the 6th Gen (04-present). The problem has gotten more severe as they pump more and more HP to the front wheels. Any updates to the suspension geometries to help counter the torque steer are in vain as with each generation gets more HP.

Cheers.

 

[bootymac]

Brother has a 96 Maxima SE with various mods done to it. I love it

The new models are so expensive now though :Q

 

[JulesMaximus]

A co-worker of mine has an '04 Maxima and he's had some problems with it. Mostly brake problems, he's had it in for multiple brake jobs due to vibrations. This guy puts a lot of miles on his cars, he has over 50k on it already. Mostly freeway miles but he's not hard on brakes. He's also had some problems with the Blose stereo.

I've ridden in his car and it's nice but I'm glad I bought the '03 Maxima my wife drives instead of an '04.

 

[sniperruff]

03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

 

[njmodi]

I think the 02 and 03 Maxima's are the best to date.

JulesMaximus - any problems with your HIDs getting stolen? Its a big issue out East (NJ/NY). IMHO Nissan needs to DUMP the Bose audio systems altogether. The Bose systems are horribly fragile (sound issues aside). Nissan has also had a lot off issues with warped rotors/shuddering brakes since the 5th Gen (00-present). Looks like they haven't found a way to resolve it in the newer ones yet. I wonder if its just extreme cost cutting and they are just using the cheapest rotors that meet their specs. A lot of guys just rip out the factory rotors/pads when they start to experience the shuddering and go with some quality aftermarket parts (EBC, Hawk Performance, etc.).

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

Um, the 05 still has the VQ. What are you talking about?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A co-worker of mine has an '04 Maxima and he's had some problems with it. Mostly brake problems, he's had it in for multiple brake jobs due to vibrations. This guy puts a lot of miles on his cars, he has over 50k on it already. Mostly freeway miles but he's not hard on brakes. He's also had some problems with the Blose stereo.

I've ridden in his car and it's nice but I'm glad I bought the '03 Maxima my wife drives instead of an '04.

I'm surprised a dealer would warranty any brake work over about 15K miles. (Warped front rotors were a common problem with 03 Accords, most dealers warrantied them up until about 15-18K, after that it's considered normal wear and tear.

 

[njmodi]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A co-worker of mine has an '04 Maxima and he's had some problems with it. Mostly brake problems, he's had it in for multiple brake jobs due to vibrations. This guy puts a lot of miles on his cars, he has over 50k on it already. Mostly freeway miles but he's not hard on brakes. He's also had some problems with the Blose stereo.

I've ridden in his car and it's nice but I'm glad I bought the '03 Maxima my wife drives instead of an '04.

I'm surprised a dealer would warranty any brake work over about 15K miles. (Warped front rotors were a common problem with 03 Accords, most dealers warrantied them up until about 15-18K, after that it's considered normal wear and tear.

I don't see anywhere in JulesMaximus' post where it says the dealer fixed the brakes under warranty...

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: sniperruff
03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

Um, the 05 still has the VQ. What are you talking about?

it either looks like a giant loaf of bread or a mutated VW bug.

i say the 01'-03' models look better than the current ones. but then the 3rd gen looks better than the 4th gen.

personal taste i guess. in this case, sacrificing 10 horses to make the car look less like ass is well worth it.

 

[njmodi]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: sniperruff
03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

Um, the 05 still has the VQ. What are you talking about?

I think he is suggesting that if you like that engine (3.5 VQ) then the you can get a better styled car (Altima) with it.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: njmodi

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
A co-worker of mine has an '04 Maxima and he's had some problems with it. Mostly brake problems, he's had it in for multiple brake jobs due to vibrations. This guy puts a lot of miles on his cars, he has over 50k on it already. Mostly freeway miles but he's not hard on brakes. He's also had some problems with the Blose stereo.

I've ridden in his car and it's nice but I'm glad I bought the '03 Maxima my wife drives instead of an '04.

I'm surprised a dealer would warranty any brake work over about 15K miles. (Warped front rotors were a common problem with 03 Accords, most dealers warrantied them up until about 15-18K, after that it's considered normal wear and tear.

I don't see anywhere in JulesMaximus' post where it says the dealer fixed the brakes under warranty...

It makes it sound like it when he says "he's had it in for multiple brake jobs due to vibrations". Normally you'd say "he's had the brakes replaced multiple times"

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: njmodi

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: sniperruff
03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

Um, the 05 still has the VQ. What are you talking about?

I think he is suggesting that if you like that engine (3.5 VQ) then the you can get a better styled car (Altima) with it.

nah he was saying the 03' and the 05' has the same engine in it. google image turns out that the 2003 maxima is the 4th gen and the 2003.5 is the current gen.

2003

2003.5 or whatever you call it

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: sniperruff

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: sniperruff
03' > current maxima. it has the 3.5 pushing 255 horses.

if you like the 3.5, the altima 3.5SE is better styled.

Um, the 05 still has the VQ. What are you talking about?

it either looks like a giant loaf of bread or a mutated VW bug.

i say the 01'-03' models look better than the current ones. but then the 3rd gen looks better than the 4th gen.

personal taste i guess. in this case, sacrificing 10 horses to make the car look less like ass is well worth it.

Ahh, I thought you meant the current didn't have the VQ. I'd take the Maxima over the Altima IMO. I wasn't too impressed with the 05 Altima I had as a rental last year. (Only had <500 miles on there, so I was one of the first few to drive it)

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Ahh, I thought you meant the current didn't have the VQ. I'd take the Maxima over the Altima IMO. I wasn't too impressed with the 05 Altima I had as a rental last year. (Only had <500 miles on there, so I was one of the first few to drive it)

yeah i hitched a ride in one. the interior was reasonable and the ride was comfortable

but, when i tried to shut the door... i really had to slam it, or it'd pop right back out, unlike other japanese cars like a corolla or the accord. even my co-worker's focus LX has better doors.