2012 Nissan Maxima User Reviews

Pros

Beautiful Car

Cons

Fuel Efficeincy not Great

Purchased As New

I actually just got a 2011 SV with Sport Package. I have had some nice cars in the past- Chrysler 300 in 2011-2005, a fairly loaded Grand Prix- and I have been a passenger in some of the better cars like BMW, Mercedes. I was driving an Altima for 3 years. I am a family man with one in college and one in daycare. I am also an attorney and I do ok. I drive to hearings and clients, goofy or not, always seemed to look at what I was driving in with. I began to become sensitive about this. My friends all lease BMWs and the smaller Mercedes for this reason. Cars mean more to them than me though. I would, other than what I just said, be happy in an Accord or a Mailibu. I decided to focus on some of the lower level luxury offerings like Acura TSX and Audi A4. Both seemed small and I am about 6'1". Then I started getting loyalty stuff from Nissan in the mail. They had some prices in those for the Maxima S (usually cloth seats, no spoiler but same basic car). I went to a Nissan dealer. They had a few new 2011 SVs. My Nissan Loyalty was giving me more for the 2011s. I looked at some 2012s though. There are some options with these cars like navigation, quality of seats, rear monitor etc. I drove 2 to get a feel for the difference in drive- regular SV and SV with Sport Package. The Sport Package has 19 inch tires, sport tuned suspension, basic radio monitor (the orange we have all seen) but it has the premium leather seats. I was surprised to learn it had bluetooth that works good and these cars have some fancy features like seat that goes back and steering wheel that lifts up when you get in and out. Mine has homelink too. The Sport Package was coming in cheaper so my wife wanted me to focus on it even though I tried to explain what 19 inch tires meant to replace and the added bumps of a sport package.
First off, these have some big big prices on the sticker. Do not be afraid. Nissan will wheel and deal with you and it is effortless. I was getting like $2500 (Nissan Loyalty for a 2011), $500 (President's Day Sale) and some rebate that I did not understand. I think the purchase price was less than $32,000. Once this car gets to $32,000, it blows away the other cars anywhere near that price.
The ride is fantastic. It is just like being in a different car. The Bose stereo with XM (3 free months) is incredible. There is almost no exterior noise. The steering is impossible to describe. The seats are comfortable!!! By the way, having just got rid of the Altima, I can verify that -leather or cloth- Nissan has the best seats. Maybe, people are reading this who drive a BMW 5 series or a Benz beyond the C series that take for granted this kind of ride, this kind of comfort. It is not even close to anything I have driven before. It is a completely different way to drive for me!! Traffic jams mean nothing. Power? 290 horses that feels like 300 horses. I envy no one on the road but I probably wouldn't in a Cobalt. That is just me. The wheels on the Sport Package? Oh, the looks I get.
Look, I am 46 years old and I feel young again. If you are like me- want to take a step up but want to go from like $25,000 for an Accord to the low $30,000 range for a truly better ride, look at the Maxima. Do not be afraid of the sticker. If there are none of the incentives I got, wait until Memorial Day or 4th of July. This is truly a great car that I got at a price that cannot be beat for this car.