2005 Nissan Maxima Review

The Nissan Maxima is a quick and stylish premium mid-size sedan. It coddles its driver with refinement and dazzles with luxury gadgets.

Now that the Nissan Altima has assumed the role of a roomy mid-size sedan, the Maxima has moved up-market to a premium position. The Maxima has become a more specialized product and makes no apologies for what it can't do: It's not ideal for families, it looks weird from some angles, and it's not significantly quicker than the Altima. And that's just fine by us.

We like the Maxima's unique, highly styled personality, and we like its focus on performance. The sporty Maxima SE rides smoothly and quietly, while the more luxurious Maxima SL rides more softly. Cruising on the highway is effortless. Nissan's 265-horsepower V6 delivers responsive performance for quick passes.

Maxima's interior is innovative and comfortable with seats that are supportive and luxurious. The interesting Skyview roof, a glass panel running lengthwise over the front and rear seats, is the sort of feature associated with futuristic concept cars. Also interesting are the available rear bucket seats. Together, these features make back-seat riders feel like full-fledged adult passengers.

Safety has been enhanced for 2005. Front-seat passengers benefit from Nissan's Advanced Air Bag System as standard equipment. An advanced Traction Control System (TCS) is also standard.

Nissan Maxima has a chiseled, muscular shape with pronounced character lines. It's aerodynamic and modern and yet architecturally Art Deco, like some Flash Gordon fantasy of yesterday's tomorrow.

This is especially true at the front end, where a rounded-rectangle texture (anyone remember the '58 Buick?) fills in the twin nostrils in Nissan's signature grille, split by a dark chrome medallion at the center. The aerodynamically integrated headlight clusters wrap over the top and around at the sides.

Big, round fender openings accented by flattened wheel lips pay homage to enormous alloy wheels: 18-inch, six-spoke units on the SE, with 17-inch, seven-spoke wheels on the SL. The relatively open wheel design shows off the brake calipers nicely, so for 2005 they are painted black.

The Maxima's rear roof slopes into the trunk lid with buttresses; and two large triangular taillight clusters, like the headlights, wrap around to the sides of the car.

Maxima's bold design innovations include the Skyview roof, a glass panel running lengthwise over the front and rear seats.