2009 Nissan Maxima Quality Review

By design, the Nissan brand has always played second fiddle to the upscale Infiniti sister brand in comfort and perceived quality, but the 2009 Nissan Maxima seems determined to change that.

The sculpted interior of the 2009 Nissan Maxima is designed to seat five, but in practice, it seats only four average-sized adults. The front seats receive high marks in reviews read by TheCarConnection.com, and ConsumerGuide calls them "very comfortable and supportive." Cars.com reviewers also find that "the front seats have ample bolsters for ambling along a winding road...and their soft inserts provide good long-haul comfort." Autoblog's reviewer is impressed that his "six-foot two-inch frame found plenty of leg, shoulder, hip and headroom in the generous front seats," and they recommend that "if you can't get comfortable in the front seats of this car, make an appointment with a chiropractor." The rear seats on the Nissan 2009 Maxima are comfortable as well, if not quite as much as the front buckets. ConsumerGuide says the rear seats offer legroom that "is adequate for an average-sized tester, but headroom can get tight because of the sloped roofline," while "the narrow center position is not suitable for adults or even large children."

The smaller overall dimensions of the new 2009 Nissan Maxima are most noticeable when it comes to available cargo space, and other areas of the Nissan Maxima's daily practicality show some problems as well. Cars.com notes that "full-size cars like the Avalon and Chrysler 300 have larger cabins and trunks—the Maxima's measures just 14.2 cubic feet—so if you frequent the golf course," you might want to look somewhere else. On the positive side, ConsumerGuide observes that the trunk on the Nissan Maxima is "wide-opening" and has "a moderately low liftover height," but the SV suffers from "a fixed seatback with a not-so-useful ski pass through." When it comes to interior storage on the Nissan Maxima, ConsumerGuide feels that the "storage spaces are decent and include a large, wide glovebox, deep center console, and small scattered cubbies."

One category in which the Nissan 2009 Maxima is beginning to run away from its competitors is interior quality. For the 2009 Nissan Maxima, reviews read by TheCarConnection.com unanimously praise the interior materials and build quality, with Road & Track declaring "the materials are of a high quality and the fit and finish are generally good." Cars.com reports that "dashboard quality rivals a Volkswagen Passat or Lexus ES, with gap-free panel fits around the glove compartment, center controls and steering wheel." Consumer Guide also finds favor with some of the interior materials, especially the "quality-looking red contrast stitching" that accents the seats.

The 2009 Nissan Maxima isn't the quietest vehicle on the road, but the sounds that enter the cabin aren't all of the bad variety. Autoblog is quick to point out that "the intake roar, to which Nissan paid special attention, is very apparent under nearly all throttle increases," but they add the engine note "is satisfying." ConsumerGuide agrees, reporting that "around 4500 rpm Maxima emits a throaty, sporty note," but they also mention that the Nissan Maxima suffers "from moderate wind noise and tire thrum."