2003 Nissan Maxima GLE from North America - Comments

Only one thing has gone wrong with this car. The sub-woofer blew out is the first month or two, and that is about all.

This car has the most power I have seen in any car in it's class. Those cars would include the BMW 3 class, and the Lexus IS300. My friend has an IS300, it's power is not as great b/c the maxima has 255 HP, and the IS300 has around 115 HP. The Maxima's engine is in the top 10 engine's in the world so it is very unlikely for it to breakdown before 100,000 miles or even more.

This car's fun factor and power are superb for the cost of the price. the seats, and headrest are very comfortable, I have never sat in a car with any more comfortable seats or headrest. I test drove the all-new Honda Accord, its one of the nicest Accord I have seen (in power and luxury) but the Maxima is 10 times more better then the Accord or the Camry.

There is only one thing I regret about buying the Nissan Maxima GLE, its the fact that I should have gotten the SE, it has chrome rims, and a nicer stock spoiler. otherwise the Maxima which ever one it is (GLX, GLE or SE)a great for every single penny you spend on a Nissan.

I agree with everything you said, I just want you to change the horsepower you stated about the IS300. I don't think you meant to put 115hp.

Yeah, I agree with the guy talking about the IS300 it's got a little more horsepower that that, but other wise great review! :-)

The IS300 has at least 210 hp.

I disagree that the car is in the top ten. I have always driven Mercedes, and currently own several. I have one that I bought new 20 years ago that is just short of the one million mile mark, it has never been rebuilt. I also have a Mercedes 560 with 252,000 on it, with no work done. I don't believe the Maxima would even compare by a long shot.

-just my two cents.

The Mercedes Benz owner was definitely talking about old Mercedes Benz as the new generation is plagued with a variety of problems-sunroofs that will not close, remote doors and trunks that will not open in the most expensive classes 500 and 600 series. The MB SUV had outside door trims falling off as it was driven out of the assembly plant. Try to purchase a MB under $30K. The cheapest model will not outperform the latest Nissan Maxima. All MB has left is its name. Rolls Royce if you want the ultimate luxury; BMW for performance; and Lexus for reliability.

The two Mercedes I used for the example were an '83 240D, and a '91 560SEL. I stated that I own several (7 Mercedes to be exact) I agree completely that the new cheaper Mercedes do leave something to be desired. However, I have a new S600 and a new G500 (the best Mercedes has to offer) each of them have less than 10,000 miles and so far there has been nothing go wrong. It has been 5 years since I bought a new one, so I hope not to be disappointed. I also agree that Rolls are the most comfortable, I use them myself as weekend cars. I do completely disagree that Lexus are reliable. I have a friend who bought her LS400 (or something like that) new one year ago and she is in the process of filing it under the Lemon Law - enough said. She went with me to the Mercedes dealership when I bought the two new ones, and ended up buying one herself.

The top ten list is for vehicles under $50,000. Most mercedes aren't covered in that area.

For the multi-MB owner. The money you spent on owning the MBs and maintaining them (unless you are a MB dealer) will far outweigh the money that anyone will spend on owning and maintaining the Maxima. Let's keep things in perspective, the MB and the Max are in different classes, but the Max gives you more bang for the dollar and a more reliable engine to boot. Top of the line MBs and Rolls Royce are great, but not good enough for average citizens, who may feel like chauffeurs if they drive the cars themselves.

The reviewer didn't say the car was rated in the top ten. The reviewer said the "engine" was rated in the top ten. I've never owned a Nissan (considering a '05) so this isn't a subjective statement. It's true about the engine, just look on the internet.

The VW 1.8T was in the 10 best engines list too. Its easy to find the people who had that engine fail.

The fact of the matter is the Nissan VQ engine is on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for cars priced below $52,500 for the 11th straight year by Ward's Communications, Inc. Whether it's the VQ30DE (3.0) or VQ35DE (3.5) they still are on the top 10 list.

Thanks for saying that I thought I was gonna read another review arguing about Rolls Royce or a Benz. Most true automotive enthusiast know that the VQ engine is and has been 1 of the ten best. That Benz guy is not and auto enthusiest he's a Mercedes enthusiast, and sounds kinda pompous also.

Great review.. I recently just bought a 2003 Maxima GLE after having a 1997 Maxima SE with over 130 k on it, the engines are greatin both Nissan and Honda, they are very reliable cars.