We last left you stunned and in awe by announcing that we picked a 2002 Maxima GLE as our long-term test car. Well okay, so it wasn’t as big of a deal as our inflated heads sometimes picture it to be. But picking a Maxima over an Altima or G35 was sure to ruffle a few feathers. Really, why pick the two year old beam-axle Maxima over the new Altima or RWD Infiniti G35? As in many cases, it came down to price and content. With over $2,000 in rebates, the Maxima came in much lower than the other Altimas at the lot. It also had more features like HIDs and that trick memory seat. As much as we’d of loved to have gotten a G35, it was just a bit out of our comfort zone. Maybe next time... And about picking a GLE over an SE, the GLE simply had the features we wanted while all SEs on the lot weren’t loaded.
Honestly, we’re not in the least regretful about picking our sparkling metallic white GLE. Perhaps it’s just that giddy feeling that comes with getting a new car. Whatever it is, our Max has proven to be all we expected and more. Originally, we went into this thinking that the Altima 3.5SE was the vehicle of choice. And after testing it, we were thoroughly enthralled by its performance. We also didn’t have any qualms with its interior. Then, we jumped into the Maxima. Instantly we understood why people pick on the Altima’s interior.
The Maxima just seemed to us as being the obvious upper-class vehicle in Nissan’s lineup. The materials were all quite good, that neat driver’s seat that moved back to get out of your way had us playing with it the way a child oogles at a remote control airplane. Most importantly, there seemed to be no egregious trim misalignments as in the Altima we sampled. A lot of this is just simply personal taste, biased by our own points of view and past experiences; but we just had a feeling of being encapsulated in higher quality when inside the Maxima than in the Altima.
Most of our time spent with the Max so far has been under the break-in period. And boy was that ever a tough period. It’s as if we had the chicken pox and couldn’t scratch but wanted to so bad. But we were good boys, for the most part. That evil break-in period allowed us time to familiarize ourselves with, and truly admire, this car’s ability to just glide down the road as if ignorant to the ways of friction. The smooth VQ also seems to share in that ignorance, transmitting an infinitesimal amount of vibrations into the cabin. The downside is that the steering feel seemed a bit numb, but we haven’t had the chance to drive very aggressively yet. Hey, this is Palm Springs, the land of 100+ golf courses and SAND, not winding roads. As we said, the ride is smooth, but even in the GLE trim, its not floaty. Perhaps it’s just because our testers came from a Pathfinder, but the Maxima seems fairly buttoned down in comparison.
In other aspects, the Maxima has proven itself worthy. Legroom, especially in the back, is downright outstanding. But headroom does seem to be a bit tight upfront and out back. Though perhaps it’s our giant head syndrome we spoke of earlier that’s the cause of this. The optional moonroof, we’re sure, doesn’t help either. The BOSE system downright rocks, though it took some getting used to. The sound seemed a bit muddled at first, but once we got acclimated to it, we’ve come to truly enjoy this system. From the downright loudness of artists like Linkin Park, to the smooth acoustics of Fleetwood Mac or John Mayer, this system sounds great. Now if only that sluggish in-dash 6-disc CD changer would hurry its ass up. The effort it takes to just put a CD in is surely a hazard. We’d also wish for separate controls for the subwoofer as we’d like to turn it down without turning down the bass to the rest of the system. The sub can become a bit overbearing at times, causing annoying vibrations from the rear shelf. Also, even at low volume the inside rear-view mirror will vibrate and blur slightly with the bass of this system. Overall, these are just nit-picks, we assure you.
The most annoying problem we’ve encountered with our Maxima is its incessant ability to get dirty. We picked Glacier Pear in an effort to avoid the signs of our ability to be lazy when it comes to washing our cars. But our Max, at least, has an ulterior motive. Take this car for a quick five minute drive after washing it and it’ll look as if it needs to be washed all over again. Splash guards are a MUST with the Maxima, and we plan on getting them very soon. We’ve already tinted the windows to legal spec (damn those annoyingly strict CHPs!), and we must say that it has truly upgraded the car’s already classy appearance. After the splash guards, we plan on adding the rear spoiler to complete the look.
We’ll keep you updated, and report more in-depth on this car’s performance soon as we’ve only just recently completed that “cruel and unusual punishment” of a break-in period.
Configuration:
Four door mid-size sedan
Front wheel drive
Engine:
3.5L V-6 (255 bhp)
Model trim:
GLE (includes: Automatic transmission, Leather seats, Automatic climate control, Simulated wood trim, Bose AM/FM/CD/cassette audio system with 7 speakers, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and tires, keyless entry, and power seats)
As tested pricing:
$28,935.00
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