Nissan Maxima

With a high-rent interior and polarizing exterior styling, the 2016 iteration of the Maxima also offered high-tech safety features like available automatic emergency braking. Power came from a 300-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine. 

Touting new sheet metal and an updated powertrain, this Maxima generation had a comprehensive list of upscale features and creature comforts that put it within a stone’s throw of its Infiniti luxury siblings. This Maxima was slightly smaller than its predecessor, but its V-6 output increased to 290 hp.

With a wider stance, longer wheelbase and more power under the hood, this Maxima redesign was the most controversial in the car’s history. The rotund shape and unusual longitudinal fixed sunroof made either fans or foes of onlookers. A new multi-link rear suspension, adapted from the Japanese Skyline sports car, was added, elevating the Maxima's cornering and maneuverability. For 2007, a CVT was added, curbing some enthusiast devotion for the car.

A roomier cabin and power boost were among the Maxima’s significant upgrades for the 2000 model year. The 3.0-liter V-6 engine's output increased to 222 hp and a new Bose sound system was introduced. An SE trim level was geared toward enthusiasts, and this generation also saw Nissan introduce a Bridgestone-made engine mount with sensors to communicate with the car's electronics. The 3.0-liter V-6 was replaced in 2002 with a 255-hp, 3.5-liter V-6.

The independent rear suspension of the previous-generation Maxima was replaced with a lighter and more economical torsion bar system, part of a general shift toward cost savings by Japanese manufacturers with the bursting of Japan's economic bubble of the late-1980s. Structural revisions for 1997 improved crashworthiness, and the Maxima's exterior was refreshed with plastic headlights instead of the previous glass ones, plus tweaks to the front and rear. 

Bigger dimensions made this generation Maxima the second Japanese sedan sold in North America to qualify as a mid-size car. Nissan added a driver's-side airbag, and this version was no longer offered in Japan. Equipped with an independent rear suspension, the V-6 engine featured a variable intake manifold on both automatic- and manual-transmission models.