Take it to the Max

CAMERON BURNELL

American beauty: The Nissan Maxima has got an American look - but it works.

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I've got an admission to make - recently I wasn't quite sure which car I was driving.

The vehicle felt different, you see. It was supposed to be the latest Nissan Maxima with the smaller 2.5-litre engine, but it didn't exactly feel like it.

As I drove down the road I began to suspect that maybe my Maxima was actually a larger-engined 3.5-litre version. Certainly at first glance it was impossible to tell between the two, because their specification is identical - even right down to the leather seats. Thanks to all of that, it felt all solid and powerful, too.

So I stopped the car to check. And there, on the rego sticker, was proof that the car was indeed the new Maxima 250-L with the smaller 2.5-litre V6 engine.

Now as far as I'm concerned, this speaks volumes about the quality of the smaller-engined version of the new J32 Nissan Maxima.

It really does drive well and is instantly a strong contender in that segment of the new vehicle market that features such product as the Mazda6, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord Euro and Ford Mondeo - despite the fact the car's dimensions are bigger than all of those, and that it has a V6 instead of a four- cylinder engine.

Of course Nissan isn't the first company to use a single body style to compete in the medium and large segments of the new car market. Toyota does it with the Camry and the Aurion for instance, and Hyundai does it with the Sonata.

But what is a little different with the Maxima is that Nissan has installed the smaller-capacity engine into its large sedan, while the others have fitted larger-capacity engines into its medium sedans.

With that in mind, one would expect that the Maxima 250-L would have to work harder than the larger 350-L to get decent performance.

Not so. The 250-L's 2.5-litre engine generates 134kW of power and the top torque is 228Nm, and that's sufficient for the sedan to offer a sound drive.

The engine is a development of the highly-regarded VQ series V6 that in 3.5-litre form powers the 350-L, and which produces 185kW of power and 326Nm of torque.

Just like the 3.5-litre unit it produces 80 per cent of its torque at 1600 rpm which means it is flexible, and just like the bigger unit the engine sits on six- point engine mounts to reduce torque- induced vibration.

Quite obviously if the two Maximas were compared head-to-head it would be the 350-L that would emerge the clear leader in terms of power and performance capability. But under normal motoring circumstances I don't think the 250-L will ever be criticised for lacking in anything.

And what helps in no small way is a new X-Tronic continuously variable automatic transmission. It's a beauty that works well with the engine, and it also features a six-speed electronically controlled manual mode.

All of that contributes to a very good fuel consumption figure of 9.5 litres per 100 kilometres for this model.

This new Maxima is built on the same D platform as the new-generation Murano SUV that has also been released in New Zealand this year, and the dimensions that are about the same as the previous J31 Maxima.

It's a good-looking sedan that at first glance is similar in appearance to the previous model, but which in fact has a host of exterior design improvements. The front is bold in its design, and the rear features sculpted combination tail- lights that project slightly out from the body.

I suppose you could say that it all looks a bit American, but the look works.

The interior is very comfortable, and a strong feature is seating that features a vibration-absorbing urethane cushion material that is shaped so the occupant's entire body is uniformly supported.

Equipment level is high, with standard specification including keyless entry and push-button start, leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control air conditioning, six-stacker CD stereo, and eight-way power seat adjustability for the driver.

The only things the 250-L doesn't have that the 350-L has are a rear boot spoiler, tilt and slide sunroof, and heated front seats - and even then my test car had the heated seats thanks to some quirk of specification in what was obviously a pre-release model.

Mind you, the 250-L should have that level of specification, because its asking price of $43,495 is only $3000 off the price for the 350-L. But Nissan New Zealand is happy with that pricing, claiming it places the car smack in the middle of the medium-large sedan market.

Maxima's drive leans towards luxury.

There have been numerous changes to the suspension including a high caster front strut layout and revisions to the multi-link setup at the rear, and while this all contributes to nicely secure handling characteristics, the ride remains fairly soft.

But really, I think that's how it should be with this new large sedan from Nissan. It's an appealing combination of spacious interior room and excellent comfort, and comfortable driving characteristics.

The only potential downside with the 250-L version is that smaller engine - but as far as I'm concerned that's not an issue at all.

It's a very good car, and that explains why Nissan NZ has quickly run out of stock from the first shipment to this country.