1998 Nissan Maxima GXE review from North America

Tires replaced @66k miles.

GXE Hubcaps replaced @66k miles (major curb rash)

New PIAA headlight bulbs sometime last year since old stockers were dull.

Rear brake pads and rotors replaced @ around 73k miles.

Knock sensor replaced around 82k miles.

Clutch replaced around 82k miles.

Right rear e-brake cable replaced at same time.

Otherwise just preventative maintenance done:

Iridium spark plugs, K&N air filter, AMSOIL oil and filter, radiator flush, 300zx fuel filter (bigger than Maxima filter), new EverStart battery.

This car is a real cruiser. It sounds and drives like a police cruiser and never runs out of power. I sometimes have to look at the tachometer to make sure the engine is running. I have the 5 speed manual which can be driven like Grandpa's Grand Marquis or Sgt. Pepper's Crown Vic. The brakes are good and handling is extraordinary for a midsized family sedan. One review refers to the Maxima as a sportscar in a Tux. That about sums up the Maxima. Many people underestimate the 3 litre hiding under the hood of this car. It puts out 190 horses and 205 lb. ft. and this in a sub-3000 lb. car. 0-60 is under 7 seconds and it has done the quarter mile in 15 seconds. These numbers are impressive for even today's family sedans, not to mention those from the 90's. The pull comes on around 2k rpms and it doesn't run out of air until around 6k rpms. With peak torque around 4k rpms and close gear ratios (in the manual), you can imagine why this car is so quick. I haven't driven an automatic Maxima, but I've heard the gear ratios are much higher and spread apart, which explains the embarrassing difference in 0-60 and quarter mile times.

The only time the auto might top the manual, besides maybe in heavy city traffic, is on the highway. It seems the auto's final drive ratio is higher than the manual's, so it might pull off slightly better gas mileage on the highway. Around town, though, the manual is said to get better mileage. If you flog it, though, gas mileage will quickly go down, unlike in Hondas where you can somehow pull off 30 mpg with the pedal to the ground the whole time. I can get 30 mpg on the highway, 25 mpg in mainly city driving, and 27 or so mixed, and I don't have the lightest foot.

As for comfort, I find the seats up front a bit uncomfortable. As a disclaimer, I am 6 foot and weigh in at over 350 lbs, so lighter folken will probably be much more comfortable than me in most any car. Compared to my 94 Civic, it is about the same comfortwise, maybe a little better. My 93 Accord's front seats were better, though, despite the Maxima's lumbar support and height/pitch adjustments.

The Maxima GXE is the lowend Maxima, below the SE and GLE trim levels, but it is also the value edition. This means that it has all the basic power features, similar to Honda's LX trim level and Toyota's LE trim. The GXE has power windows, locks, mirrors, steering, brakes, cruise control and map lights. You can lock and unlock all doors or just one from both the driver and passenger door. What I like about the GXE is that it doesn't have the heavier rims and sunroof of the SE and GLE.

Also, it doesn't have the BOSE stereo. Many will consider this a disadvantage since the Bose stereo is much better than the GXE stereo, but, if you are an audiophile like me, you will want more from your stereo system than the BOSE system can deliver, and it is harder to upgrade or replace the Bose system than to replace the lowend GXE stereo and speakers. I had no trouble swapping in a pair of Kenwood 3 way speakers in the back and a Kenwood Excelon deck up front, along with an Infinity Basslink sub, and the Bose stereo would have a hard time sounding half as good as my new setup. Email me at robbyhenion@yahoo.com if you need help with your stereo or have questions about the Maxima.

Otherwise, the Maxima has AC and a nice roomy backseat. The AC works well, as well as the heat, and the defrosters are good, definitely better than most Honda defrosters I've dealt with, most of which require the AC to be on to work right. It's not quite as good as Toyota's ventilation and defrosting systems I've used, though. The rear window defrosts quickly. The power windows work well at 84k miles, and the driver even gets a one-touch down for the driver's window. I forget if the passenger window goes down with one touch too...

The only real big downside is that the rear seat doesn't fold down; there's just a lame ski pass-through in the middle behind the armrest. I use it for my fishing rods and net. It also lets in some (probably too much) of the bass from the sub (and probably speakers too...).

As for suspension, the car takes corners very confidently. THe weak link with the GXE seems to be the 15 inch wheels. They make it hard to take corners sharply. Once you're riding the curves, though, it'll carve them up nicely, especially for a car of its stature. When I bought the car it had balding Uniroyal TigerPaws which were loud and not very sticky. I immediately replaced them with Yokohama Avid Tourings all around. These tires are absolutely silent on most surfaces and they absolutely love the snow. They are great on dry too, but they do squeal a little on start-up in the rain, but that could be the engine flexing its muscles.

As for the clutch and shifter in the manual, it is a very good setup once you get used to it. It's not as precise or as easy to modulate and shift as a Honda setup, but it's not that far off. It's definitely not like driving a RR Porsche with its crazy shift pattern. The three things I had to get used to were the closer shifter gates, the more touchy throttle and the stiffer and higher clutch. I never quite got the clutch down, at least on start-ups, and I still sometimes add too much gas (and I've been driving manual for almost 3 years now, one year with the Maxima and 2 with the Civic). When I went to get my car inspected last month, I left a note for them to replace the clutch fluid since the clutch pedal was getting hung-up right after the engagement point for a second and then it would pop up all the way. He called me and told me the clutch was the problem, which I still don't fully believe, but I figured it was gonna need replacing eventually anyway and better now than after getting stuck in Timbuktu with no clutch. Plus, he gave me a decent deal on the clutch job: 600 clams for parts and labor (Maxima clutch jobs tend to range from $600 to 800). When I got the car back, the clutch was much lighter (almost as light as my Civic's clutch), and the engagement point was lower, also closer to where the Civic engaged. It still took me a good month to get used to the new clutch, especially on start-ups. All in all, I'm definitely glad I held out for a manual Maxima, since they are a hoot to drive, especially on the back roads and straight-aways. Just don't buy it in black unless you like to wash your car every day or you like dirty cars. It does look sharp when it is clean though. It's a sports car in a tux. I just haven't figured out how to keep it clean...