The 2016 Maxima is finally arriving! The new 4DSC is one of Nissan’s biggest launches for 2015 — and the company is going all-out to rev up excitement among loyalists.
Nissan just revealed its sport styling parts, and they are right up our alley. Gloss-black 19-inch wheels with matching black diffuser and trunk spoiler are deeply cool. The side sills are a contrast metallic grey and really help deliver some concept-car stance to the sportiest Maximas.
Pricing from $32k to around $39k is detailed in the animated configurator mid-way down the page, along with colors and tech specs.
2016 Nissan MAXIMA SR Black Pack Parts
TRACK TEST
Embedding a new AMCI track test video of the Maxima at Buttonwillow raceway. Dynamically and at speed, the Maxima is quite cool and fresh. It looks exceptionally long, low and wide at speed, with a butch jawline and full-frame grille making a handsome statement.
The video here is a bit like the 5th Gear track laps where you can see two cars around the same corner. A ghost trace on the BMW 328i competitor for the new Maxima is informative and interesting, with a bit of full-throttle engine note to enjoy as well.
The car is not quite as sexy in the official press photos. Its lines are challenging but marked out by interesting panel surfacing, Audi-like nose and tail LED quality (delivered in all-new shapes), plus a chic floating roof and hidden pillars. The black glasshouse will look stunning with some tinted glass, matching the gloss-black bumper and A-pillar in visual aggression.
As big of a departure and update lives inside the new Max. Nissan is premiering a variety of all-new tech and connectivity features, as well as performance drive settings. This makes the laid-back and roomy Maxima driving position look even more enticing. Three cool gear-knobs are available in the parts pack — even one with embossed 4DSC letters up its spine.
Best of all might be the fantastic new steering wheel paired with the low-slung dashboard. It recalls the incredibly good first-gen G35 in feel, but updated with luxury tech and materials. Quilted leathers for the heated and cooled seats look particularly cool with their Bentley-esque shape.
Damn. This cabin really is outstanding.
We might even go look for one at a Nissan dealer this weekend, come to think of it…. =]
Buttonwillow AMCI Maxima Track Testing vs BMW 328i
Maxima Sport Styling Parts
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Premium Spoiler – Various Part Number: T99J14RP Quantity: 1 |
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Sport Spoiler – Various Part Number: T99J14RS Quantity: 1 |
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Rocker Panel Molding – Various Part Number: T99G24RA Quantity: 1 |
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Shift Knob Part Number: T99N64RA Wood Grain appearance – Platinum Grade Carbon Fiber appearance – All Brushed Satin w/4DSC embossed (white stitching) – All with white interior stitching Brushed Satin w/4DSC embossed (blue stitching) – All with blue interior stitchingQuantity: 1 |
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Illuminated Kick Plates Part Number: T99G64RA0A 4 piece set Front and Rear Front illumination onlyQuantity: 4 |
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Rear Bumper Diffuser Part Number: T99J34RA0A Quantity: 1 |
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2016 Nissan MAXIMA
Latest Photos
2016 Nissan MAXIMA
Interior Photos
PREVIOUS
The all-new Nissan Maxima made its global debut this morning at the NY auto show with a standard 300-horsepower V6, premium cabin design and details, and a special offer for first adopters!
Almost as important — it looks phenomenal inside and out! From the pure nose and tail views, the Maxima just shot to the top of the full-size sedan desirability charts with its low, wide stance and memorable details.
How does the nose look so cool? Let’s look at the DRL’s at night and as an X-ray, via some photoshop.
What do you get out of that? We see a totally unique and aggressive face, with some hints of RS6 Audi in some places. Not a bad benchmark.
4DSC
Nissan itself is calling it a 4-Door Sports Car again, which is fantastic and shows that they are serious about Maxima loyalists. In profile, the Maxima is not as much of an instant hit as those other angles, but the dramatically lower roof and sleeker glasshouse does make clear that this is a big car for those with a heavy throttle foot!
You can tell Nissan has been as impatient to get this Maxima into dealers as we have. How? The full configurator is live already, and pricing is all finalized from $32k for the base S trim to a base of $39,900 for the Platinum spec.
SR is the new SE
So, which trim level might slide into the place of the old “SE” — the one to have in my town growing up. That would be the SR trim level for 2016. This offers the very-cool Camel leather and sport-wrapped, flat-bottom steering wheel.
This comes with a sport-tuned suspension and three cool and all-new sporty features selected via Integrated Dynamics-control Module.’
These are dubbed Active Ride Control, Active Trace Control, Active Engine Brake.
These are promising additions to the SR and Platinum trim levels. They join the paddle-shifted X-tronic gen-3 automatic transmission with 31-mpg highway as the Maxima’s main sport chassis elements. The 3.5-liter V6 is massively redone for 2016 with a big jump in power, smoothness near the redline and lower-down torque delivery for more urgent launches.
PERFORMANCE CHOPS
The new Xtronic is the much-maligned CVT variety, which some Maxima devotees might see as a dealbreaker. But this newest version of the Nissan Xtronic is actually really fantastic — it delivers effortless rolling refinement, near-silent town cruising and great efficiency, all while being much lighter. This nose lightness along with the Maxima SR’s active chassis tech will help the Maxima to be as pointy and fun as the glory days of the 4DSC.
The Xtronic has new functionality with its paddle shifters, and also is able to deliver more engine power for straight-line sprints than any previous CVT. Overall, to the CVT haters — we’d say, drive this new Maxima SR or Platinum before you decide. After all, even when the Maxima 4DSC was five-speed stick or 4-speed automatic, more than three-quarters of buyers got the four-cog slushbox. The new Xtronix is far superior to a four-speed auto, we can say without a doubt, especially with its new D-step upshifts on full throttle that mimic a DCT.
It really is a good transmission. Try it out, haters.
COLORS
PRICING
We’ve mapped out the trim levels below in animated steps, plus a tallpaper to see them all in one graphic.
Nissan is offering three years of free scheduled maintenance to people who reserve their Maxima before June 2, 2016 and complete the sale by the end of calendar 2016, which is a cool perk that is worth about two grand overall.
http://www.nissanusa.com/cars/2016-maxima/reserve/
The car is set to arrive in showrooms by July of 2015 as a 2016 model-year.
No word yet on possible “4DSC” stickers for the rear quarter windows, but watch this space! =]
2016 Nissan MAXIMA Trim Levels
2016 Nissan MAXIMA S
Starting at $32,410*
Includes:
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300hp 3.5-L 24-valve V6 engine
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NissanConnect℠ with Navigation*
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Remote Engine Start*
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Sport Mode Selector
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RearView Monitor*
View More
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.