The Nissan Maxima has a long history having made its first appearance over 40 years ago with a Datsun badge on it. Now in its eighth generation, the 2019 Nissan Maxima has never been more appealing. The Maxima was awarded the best full size sedan of 2018 by the Car Guide and what makes it worthy of such an award? Basically, it appeals to such a large audience ranging from drivers looking for some sporty fun in their lives, to those who need a practical car for both family use and commuting.
SPORTY EXTERIOR
The exterior of the 2019 Nissan Maxima is quite striking at first glance and the more you examine the exterior design the greater your appreciation will grow for it. The front end has been completely redesigned giving it a sharp, modern, aggressive look with all the right points and angles in the correct places. New LED headlights are fitted and from the side, new colour contrasting accents give the Maxima a ‘floating roof’ feel.
The refreshed rear end of the 2019 Maxima showcases a quad exhaust finished in chrome, a chrome strip spanning the width of the trunk and wide LED tail lights. The side view really showcases the sleekness of the design, with the black and chrome trims and the flowing accent lines.
There’s little to dislike about the exterior design of the 2019 Nissan Maxima and it certainly makes you want to jump into the driver’s seat to find out what it offers on the road.
LUXURIOUS INTERIOR
Most drivers will be surprised when they first step into the 2019 Nissan Maxima. You are instantly faced with quite a luxurious interior compared with a lot of other vehicles in this price range. Top notch materials, cross-stitched leather and a sleek design come together with a high quality build to deliver an elegant and luxurious space.
Contoured, well designed seats with stunning quilted stitching are extremely comfortable all round. Focused more on comfort than on performance, the seats provide just enough side support but don’t leave passengers feeling cramped. The cockpit features a wide and chunky, flat-bottomed steering wheel that’s easy to grip and analogue gauges with a large digital display in between for driver options, safety features and navigation.
A redesigned 8 inch touch screen display sits in the middle of the dash and showcases Nissan’s next generation of infotainment. At first it may seem complicated with the many physical and digital buttons, but rest assured the controls and navigation are just as efficient and intuitive as previous generations.
Rear seats are soft, supple and very comfortable, the feel can be described as sitting ‘in’ them rather than ‘on’ them. While three passengers fit, the rear is ideally designed for two rear passengers to sit comfortably with all the necessities like a huge amount of legroom, USB ports, rear vents and cup holders in the armrest.
POWERFUL PERFORMANCE
The 2019 Nissan Maxima comes equipped with their well known 3.5L V6 engine producing a lively 300hp. Paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and delivering the power through the front wheels, the Maxima is truly a performance machine. With this much power, you may think the 2019 Maxima would be a handful to control, but the impressive traction control and CVT gearbox both handle the power well and deliver an exhilarating drive.
As expected, the downside to the power and performance is that the fuel economy suffers, however the CVT does a great job at reigning in the power until it’s needed. This helps keep the fuel economy to a respectable 11.6 L/100km in the city and 7.6 L/100km on the highway.
The driving position in the 2019 Maxima has the driver sitting quite low, making you look over a contoured bonnet, giving the impression of a sportier feel. However, the Maxima excels as a cruiser being able to deliver a smooth and quiet ride thanks again to the CVT.
Take things up a notch and put the Maxima into sport mode for an adrenaline filled experience. Sport mode keeps the engine revving high so the immense power is always instantly at hand. Be careful driving in this mode!
Thankfully, the precision handling will help to guide you back to smooth and relaxed cruising speeds. The solid, planted drive will reassure passengers through the bumps and turns, while the quiet cabin makes for a relaxed atmosphere.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s no doubt the new 2019 Nissan Maxima is an all-round fantastic car to look at, sit in and also drive spiritedly. A starting price of $40,790 for the base SL model up to $45,650 for the range topping Platinum version, makes the 2019 Maxima well-priced when compared with other full sized sedans. Great value also exists with the many standard features and included equipment and technology. Nissan has done a great job in making the Maxima stand out in a crowd it is a truly worthy of its recent awards.
