When the first-generation (1981-’84) Datsun 810 Maxima arrived in North America, it was a higher premium variant of the 810 Deluxe. Despite a switch to front-drive for the second-generation model (1985-’88), the Japanese automaker marketed the third-generation Nissan Maxima as a “four-door sports car” complete with “4DSC” badging. Now in its eighth-generation, Nissan is again marketing its midsize premium sedan as a four-door sports car.
But does it live up to the hype?
Although we shared our long-term Maxima SR sedan’s performance stats in a previous update, we want to bench race the “four-door sports car” against the rear-drive Dodge Charger. A quick recap: Our front-drive, 300-hp 3,544-pound Maxima SR hit 60 mph in 6.0 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 99.3 mph. Stopping from 60 mph took 125 feet, and the Maxima SR lapped the figure-eight course in 26.6 seconds at 0.69 g average.
In comparison, a 4,107-pound 2012 Dodge Charger SXT Plus with the 292-hp 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 and eight-speed automatic accelerated in 6.6 seconds and 15.1 seconds at 95.2 mph, stopped in 121 feet, and posted a 26.9-second time in the figure eight at 0.66 g average. Despite being slower in a straight line, the rear-drive Charger nearly matched the front-drive Maxima’s figure-eight time. We wonder if the Charger’s rear-drive setup makes up for its acceleration deficient.
A comparably equipped rear-drive 2016 Dodge Charger SXT with the Premium Group is priced at just under $37,000. That undercuts our long-term 2016 Maxima SR sedan’s price by about $1,750. The Charger with the V-6 is EPA-rated 19/31 mpg city/highway compared to 22/30 mpg for the Maxima.
A 2016 Dodge Charger R/T with the 370-hp, 395-lb-ft 5.7-liter V-8 starts at under $35,000, still leaving room for a couple options within the Maxima’s price range. The Charger R/T’s additional power, however, comes at the expense of fuel economy, with its EPA-rated 16/25 mpg. We haven’t tested a Charger R/T since it gained the eight-speed auto in 2015.
With more than 18,000 miles on the odometer, our long-term 2016 Nissan Maxima SR has been nearly trouble free. One quibble I have is with the hands-free keyless acess system with push-button ignition. Sometimes after unlocking the car using the door handle-mounted button and with the key fob in our pocket, the car won’t recognize the key, which prevents the ignition from staring. Locking and unlocking the car from the remote resolves the issue.
Occasionally, when using the remote start, the car won’t recognize the key when pushing the start button. Other times, the door won’t unlock from the door handle-mounted button, and the key fob button must be pressed to unlock the car. Although our 15,000-mile service paperwork indicated that the key fob battery was replaced, the issue is still ongoing. We will have the dealer reprogram the key fob on our next service visit.
More on our long-term 2016 Nissan Maxima SR here:
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