2011 Nissan Maxima Review

For 2011, the Nissan Maxima sees only a handful of minor changes. Among them, the exhaust tips are different and the available Sport package gets smoked headlights, a dark chrome grille and gray stitching for the upholstery.

The 2011 Nissan Maxima serves as an appealing alternative to many entry-level luxury sedans thanks to its engaging driving dynamics and high-quality construction.

The 2011 Nissan Maxima has a difficult task, as it's meant to be a premium luxury sedan at the same time that it offers affordable family-sedan utility. It's no wonder that this car is a good-news, not-much-bad-news proposition.

First the good news. This is a very nice car with powerful, refined performance, a well-trimmed cabin and plenty of high-tech luxury features. Sporting nearly 300 horsepower, the Maxima can show its taillights to pricier, entry-level luxury cars while its well-developed chassis offers a nice balance between sporty handling and a nice ride.

Within the cabin, you'll find a well-designed interior with excellent materials. The optional, easily mastered navigation system is virtually identical to what you'll find within various models offered by Nissan's upscale Infiniti division, and the iPod integration is one of the best ones out there. With pricing in the mid-$30,000 range for a fairly loaded example, the Maxima gets you a lot of car -- in some cases, more than you'd get from luxury sedans costing thousands more.

The semi-bad news? You're not going to get the prestige that some people want when they're spending $30-40K on a car, even if it's just a base model of a premium brand nameplate. Other choices you might want to consider include the 2011 Acura TSX and TL, 2011 Hyundai Genesis and 2011 Volkswagen CC, which are all in the Maxima's price range. Like the Maxima, they have nice interiors and a good value proposition, yet they mostly lack the Maxima's fun-to-drive nature. And of course you could also look at base versions of models like the 2011 Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G37 and 2011 Lexus IS 350. They deliver the performance and prestige expected, yet lack the Maxima's long list of features.

Powering every 2011 Nissan Maxima is a 3.5-liter V6 producing 290 hp and 261 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) that can be overridden by six simulated "gear" ratios selected via shift paddles on the steering wheel (if optioned on SV models).

In testing, the Maxima SV accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, which is in line with the acceleration times of many entry-level luxury cars. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 19 mpg city/26 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined.

Standard safety equipment for every 2011 Nissan Maxima includes antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, front-seat side airbags, side curtain airbags and front active head restraints. A rearview camera is optional on SV models. In Edmunds brake testing, Maximas with both the Premium and Sport packages came to a stop from 60 mph in 128 feet -- a bit longer than average for this price range.

In government crash tests, the Maxima scored a perfect five out of five stars sweep for frontal- and side-impact protection for all occupants. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the Maxima its highest score of "Good" for frontal-offset and side crash protection, but got the second-best rating of "Acceptable" in the roof strength test.

Nissan calls the 2011 Maxima a "four-door sports car," but no one is going to mistake this large sedan for a 370Z. Yet it's still a very good sport sedan and it should please the vast majority of drivers. The Maxima's steering is exceptionally nice, boasting light effort, plenty of communication and spot-on precision. For the money, though, we would forgo the optional Sport package, which stiffens the compliant ride without any appreciable performance gains.

It used to be that when we'd encounter a vehicle fitted with a CVT, we were filled with a combination of dread and loathing. But that's not the case with the 2011 Nissan Maxima, as its CVT is well-suited to the strong V6.

The 2011 Maxima's interior is as upscale as you'll find in the Nissan lineup. The cabin is understated and surrounds passengers with high-quality materials worthy of the sedan's luxury-car price tag. When combined with the Premium or Sport packages, the cabin is on even footing with its pricier Infiniti G37 cousin. We're especially fond of the Maxima's optional iPod interface, which is one of the best.

Within the ample, adult-size cabin, the front seats blend support and soft cushioning. The executive-style rear bucket seats are comfortable and stylish just like those in the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Volkswagen CC, but the small center position is understandably all but unusable. The standard 60/40-split rear seats can fold down for bulkier items, but the optional bucket rear seats offer just a center pass-through for longer objects.