Originally Posted by RicerX

The reason behind Nissan not fixing the CSC issue is a matter of lowest common denominator. You can bet that if the Z was a volume car like the Altima it would be a different story.

The CVT is less of an issue when mated to a 3.5 and more of an issue on its 2.5 counterpart, but they're still a crapshoot. I have owned CVT-driven Altima coupes without issue, but can tell you their 6MT counterparts are completely different vehicles.

Now to my point - you say why buy the Maxima if you're looking for what the Q50 already has, and I say why buy the Maxima when the 3.5 Altima exists? It's not $3,000 better looking (yep, subjective for some), it's not $5,000 better driving (slightly less subjective, but still subjective), and it doesn't carry $8,000 more tech in the car (not subjective at all).

Those numbers represent a ballpark of how much more it costs you to get into a Maxima with respect to looks (S trim over Altima 3.5 SL), handling characteristics (SV trim over Altima SL), and all the tech (Platinum or SL or whatever).

You're paying a lot more money for not a lot more car. The car makes little sense if you look at the big picture of things - the Altima has been nipping at the Maxima's heels since 2002, and this generation needed something crucial to truly set it apart from an optioned out Altima. Hell, the last generation needed something to truly set it apart, and while it is indeed a nice car, it failed.

It looks different. That's it. And that's not enough.

Originally Posted by 6spd

/\ Yeah, especially that rear quarter panel design