The all-new 2009 Nissan Maxima is smaller on the outside than the 2004-08 models of the previous generation. The new Maxima is shorter in wheelbase and overall length and lower to the ground, with a wider track for better handling.

Very much on purpose, the Maxima doesn't look anything like the Altima anymore.

Every exterior body panel on the car is new, with much more adventurous and modern design and shaping. The big metal plate out front that held the logo is gone. The grille, headlamps and 12-LED taillamps are larger and more egregious and figure more into the whole exterior design, and the fenders and hood have been given edges and bulges for a much more sporty appearance. The wheel arches are much more pronounced, and the door skins are pulled in from the fenders and flattened out so that the whole body has what the designers call a Coke-bottle shape, with a short nose, a short deck, a long, sloping roof and a BMW-style C-pillar curvature.

In other words, the 2009 Maxima is completely and totally different looking than the sixth-generation car it replaces.

Interior Features

The interior features of the new Maxima are all about concentration of controls and information around the driver. The new interior includes a few items right out of the Nissan parts bin that don't need reinventing, like the radio and navigation control panel on top of the center stack, backed up by newly styled lower controls with large, very readable labels and markings, daytime-lighted instruments, a hefty three-spoke steering wheel with redundant controls for the audio system, and huge paddle shifters for the CVT transmission, with very long upper and lower arms that assure you will never be out of reach of a quick shift. The floor shifter has also been moved over as far to the left as possible, for those who want quick shifts using the stick instead of the paddles).

The driver's seat is multi-adjustable, especially in the Sport package version that we drove, and very huggy and comfortable.

In the rear compartment, the seat can be ordered either as a 60/40 fold-down for cargo hauling, or as a fixed seat with a cargo pass-through in the center for occasional hauling or ski trips.

The design, materials, and execution of the interior are first-rate throughout.

© 2009 NewCarTestDrive.com