I had a '96 SE 5spd years ago, and it was one of the best put together cars I've owned. Drove it for years, then sold it to my brother who drove it a couple more years. The interior and black exterior still looked new after 10 years, not an easy feat for a CA car. It was also very solid, but light for it's size. I miss that car.
I had a 91 Sentra SE-R which in my opinion was just a home run. Light, simple, fast, well put together. One of the all time greats. Those too got fat, heavy and slower through the years.
I don't know nuthin' about maximas but I had one of these with a great little 4 banger and a 5 speed with rubber interior you could hose out. It was awesome. It worked way above it's pay grade. I do not understand the Nissan hate prevalent in this thread.
Because you can buy the 3.5-liter V6 in a similar-sized sedan body for $10,000 less when you buy an Altima?
The best Maximas, and the only ones I'd ever consider, were made in the late '80's and early 90's.
Came across this ad for the "new" Maxima on Youtube and thought of this thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1meY3ROaeSA
Looks like a guy just cruising through some city streets with dramatic camera work and some poor sound engineer inserting loud engine noises to make it look "sporty." There is even a disclaimer "engine sound enhanced!" The driver even cuts off someone-- I guess that makes the car more BMW-like.
Hard to beat a 4th gen (95-99) for a quick, reliable, well-made fwd sedan. Available with a manual, way quicker than it should have been, with the first generation of Nissan's famous (or infamous) VQ V6. My '95 will be at the challenge with a later model 3.5 in it. Should surprise a couple people, hopefully.
Loved my 3G 94 SE 5 Speed. It was a great car. I really enjoyed it. The current comparable car is not the maxima any more. The true 4 door sports car in the line up is the G37/Q40. I just bought a G37 and the first thing I thought was it's the best DD I've owned since my Maxima.
The new maxima is a dud. I had one as a rental a few times and I didn't like it at all.
I really liked our 96 SE. And it had an automatic.
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