2010 Nissan Maxima - Styling Review

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Shopping for a 2010 Nissan Maxima? MSRP: $30,690 - $33,410

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Fortunately, last year's complete redesign of the Nissan Maxima model still seems fresh; it's a really head-turning sedan. With the redesign came curvier sheetmetal, an aggressive front-end design, and an overall stance that makes it look like it could have rear-wheel drive.

Referring to last year's redesign, Automobile Magazine says that "the Maxima is completely restyled, and we're glad to say that the effort has been largely successful." Other reviews read by TheCarConnection.com agree that the new exterior on the Nissan Maxima is "designed to exude sport over luxury," in the words of Autoblog, and "it does so with more than a hint of the Nissan GT-R in the front end." According to ConsumerGuide, "two trim levels are available" on the Nissan Maxima, the "3.5 S and 3.5 SV," though there are no external differences between the two. Both share what Cars.com calls "L-shaped headlights and crouched-forward grille" that are sure to "generate strong reactions." Also on the exterior of the 2010 Maxima are fenders that "flare wide around the wheels" in a way that reminds Car and Driver reviewers "of Seventies-era IMSA racers."

The Maxima's interior design carries the look and feel of a vehicle with a luxury-brand badge, thanks to a mix of matte-metallic and soft-touch surfaces along with two different grades of available leather. The Super Cockpit instrument panel design in the 2010 Nissan Maxima especially stands out, and it looks like that offered in several vehicles from Infiniti, Nissan's upmarket brand. Road & Track reviewers report that the exterior's "sporting influence also applies to the interior with what Nissan terms a 'super cockpit' approach" to the interior. Autoblog loves the interior on the 2010 Nissan Maxima, claiming "Nissan nailed the cockpit" with an "adjustable steering wheel [that] offers the proper diameter" and a "NAV screen [that] is easy-to-read." ConsumerGuide also appreciates that the Nissan Maxima's "controls are clear and logically placed."

Other reviewers are a little disappointed by the Maxima's sporting pretensions, which some find misleading. According to Automobile Magazine, "the Maxima might look convincingly like a rear-wheel-drive car from the outside," but that "illusion dissipates when you're sitting behind the wheel," thanks to a windshield that "slopes far away from the driver, in the manner of a classic cab-forward, front-wheel-drive sedan."