2016 Nissan Maxima Swoops into New York Auto Show

The 2015 New York Auto Show is officially underway, and one of the first cars to break cover is the new 2016 Nissan Maxima. We’ve been anxiously awaiting this car’s official debut ever since Nissan showed us a brief little snippet of the car in their Super Bowl ad spot. For the New York reveal, they opted to show the Maxima in a stunning royal blue, and as you can see it looks spectacular.

Nissan is calling their new Maxima a throwback to its roots as a “4 Door Sports Car”. This makes sense since their conceptual preview for the new Maxima was called the Nissan Sport Sedan Concept. Apparently, this sportiness is an image that they always have wanted to convey with their Maxima… While we certainly wouldn’t agree with the title in previous years, this new version actually lives up to the name, at least in looks. In fact, this Maxima looks sportier and more refined than some premium cars in the segment.

With that being said, it should come as no surprise that this is the best execution of Nissan’s latest V-motion front-end that we’ve seen to date. The front fascia is bold and eye-catching, but not overly literal… It’s not like they just plastered a big V on the fender. We love the mesh grille that peeks through behind the Nissan logo, and the angry-looking boomerang headlights perfectly accentuate the front clip as a whole, as well as the sporty two-tone alloy wheels.

Nissan also made upgrades to the powertrain. The 3.5L VQ-series V6 engine has had a full 60% of its parts exchanged or upgraded, and the new powertrain outputs a very decent 300hp. They’ve also managed to increase fuel economy by 15% over the 2015 model year for a manufacturer estimated 30 mpg. No official EPA rating though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Even after all that, the interior is definitely the part of the car that most definitively separates the new Maxima from much of its competition. The picture pretty much speaks for itself… The interior looks incredible with leather seating and a bespoke two-tone color scheme. There are five trim levels, but you won’t need to pay extra to get the best of the tech. amenities… NissanConnect, navigation, Remote Engine Start and that huge 8.0 inch touch-screen that you can’t miss in the pictures all come standard for every trim level.

Speaking of trims, three of the five trim levels for the 2016 Nissan Maxima are brand-new – SL, SR and Platinum – and the car will go on sale in just a few months in “early summer 2015”. Starting price is $32,410. We’ll have to wait until then to judge the car’s driving dynamics, which has probably been the biggest struggle for recent Maximas.