She Isn't Everything, But She's Special - A Look at My Maxima

I'll never forget the day I set my eyes on her - she was beautiful, fast, and well-equipped - I'm of course talking about the day I decided that the Maxima was the one I would be taking home. Now, contrary to all the ranting I did about the Maxima in my previous post, It's not like this car was something I settled on - oh no. In fact, I think that this was an amazing choice given what I was getting for the money. Let's start with the basics:

When I saw it on the lot originally, the Maxima was a nice looking car to begin with. It's "Ocean Gray" paintjob glimmered and the panoramic sunroof was just begging to be opened for an evening drive through the hills. The spoiler added a sporty touch, which I was glad to see, given that without the spoiler on the back, the 7th generation Maxima looked kind of boring. Add to the fact that it was the top of the range model - with ALL the good toys (paddle shifters, navigation, heated / cooled seats, the panoramic sunroof, and a neat little rear windscreen sun visor, among many other features) and that it sat at a cool 21 grand for the lot, and I really believed that I'd stumbled upon quite a steal. But there were a few drawbacks upon further investigation.

First, the mileage - at the time, in Fall of 2012, this particular model was a mere 2 years old - but it had already done a staggering 75,000 miles - that's just over 37,000 miles a year. Take into account the fact that the average daily driver racks up between 10 and 12,000 miles yearly, and you really understand just how much driving the previous owner had done. Second, there was the color, which originally I was not a fan of. The "Ocean Gray" was more of a blue-ish color, and while it did eventually grow on me, I wasn't entirely sold on it at first. Then we get to performance. Sure, it had 300 horsepower from Nissan's faithful V-6 plant, and it did have quite a bit of pickup, but the responsibility of all of that power was given to a traditional front wheel drive setup, which meant that you had a good chance of falling victim to torque steer if you were too frivolous with the throttle, which meant you might end up buried in a tree if you weren't careful. Then, there was the DREADDED CVT Transmission - AKA any car enthusiast's worst nightmare. In automatic mode, the noise it makes is not pretty - it groans and pouts, like it doesn't want you to have any fun at all, as it is much too busy sifting through the gears to find the one that will save the most fuel. Give it the beans, and the CVT quickly steps in to kill any chance of you being able to experience any sort of thrill that should come from a 300 horsepower engine accelerating. In manual mode, the paddle shifters are lacking in terms of thrill factor as well. It's as if they deceive you into thinking that by shifting yourself, you'll have more fun - but this isn't the case. At all. In fact, while they peak out from behind my steering wheel, it's not like they're egging me on to use them; in fact I don't even feel motivated to use them. As far as I'm concerned, they're really just there for some nice decoration.

Okay so there were more than "some" drawbacks. In fact you're probably wondering why the hell I even went forward with signing the dotted line that gave me the keys to such an apparent monstrosity of a car. Before you do though, allow me to explain the positive points that made me love the Maxima.

Firstly, it was comfortable; and coming out of a low sitting sports car with stiff suspension and a bad case of clutch foot, you could say that this was double true for me. The leather seats were supple, and there was more room in the cabin than the Oregon skies. The seating position was lovely thanks to a 4 way adjustable steering wheel and a 10-way adjustable seat that let me adjust every inch of my driving position to fit perfectly. Next, we move to the in car entertainment. Now, for those that know me,  I'm a guy that loves his music, so when I found out this car had 5 different ways I could listen to my favorite tunes (Bluetooth, Aux, USB, CD and a massive in-car HDD system), I was more than pleased. The seats were heated and cooled, so that I wouldn't have to worry about sweating up a nice suit on a hot day, or dealing with the nightmare of frozen leather on a cold Milwaukee winter morning. It also has a rear-view camera, which made parallel parking in Milwaukee a much easier task (and for those of us who lived or still live in Milwaukee, we already are very aware of how much of a headache street parking is to begin with).

It's also worth mentioning that I am that friend - that friend who always has a car, that is. And, being that me and my friends to love to travel, I was actually a little selfless in considering my next car as well, because the leg room and rear seating accommodations were phenomenal. From the rear sun shade to the center arm rest with climate controls and radio controls, we would all be shuttled in luxury. That's the other thing too; this car is GREAT for long drives. In fact in the first year I had the Maxima, she would see 2 road trips to the Dells, and countless trips to and from Chicago. And thanks to its decent fuel economy (26 mpg) - I was spending half as much on gas as I was with the RX-8(15 mpg - on a good day) though like the Mazda, the Maxima requires 93 octane fuel.

So, big mistake, or blessing in disguise? Well, I've had it for going on 3 years this October, and while it may not be the most exciting car I've ever owned, the Maxima has certainly proven to be both the most comfortable and most reliable car I've ever owned. It has loads of space, it has some element of fun to it, and it is definitely a head turner, and, well, I love the sun roof, and how nice it is to have it open on a summer drive along the Lake Michigan coastline. I have to say that overall, I don't think I would have picked another car, because for what I was getting, I didn't see another car that came anywhere near the Maxima in terms of value for money, what with all the fancy electronics and all. But that being said, it's not like It's been bathed in luxury either. Over the past 3 years, she's sustained her fair share of dings and dents - I even had a bit of a run in with a cow one evening, which is how it earned its nickname - "The Tank" - but all in all, I love my Maxima, and while it may be a bit of a sad moment when I part ways with her, it will be nice to get back into my preferred swing of things with a new sports car, though I haven't figured out what that is just yet.