As the most exclusive and the flagship of the Nissan vehicle line in the US, the 2016 Maxima definitely brings a breath of fresh air into the business. It is much, much more appealing than before and it certainly brought that long forgotten sporty feel despite being a front wheel drive only vehicle.

Compared with the previous model years, the changes are profound for the 2016 Maxima. This is an all new car riding on a new platform and receiving all new dimensions. Trying to capture the sporty character of the cars from the early Nineties, the 2016 Nissan Maxima brings stylistic features we have seen before only on the Z cars. That is a nice way to go if you want to inject sporty character into the sedans. We aren’t sure if they’ve succeeded in all this sporty push, but the car definitely looks appealing, slightly more modern than expected and, from the rear, quite handsome.

The looks aren’t enough to accentuate the sportiness, so a special 3.5 liter V6 engine with 300 HP is the one sitting over the front axle. It is not the most sophisticated or the most refined engine in a Nissan car, but it has enough power to make this thing quite fast and entertaining.

More importantly, it packs great fuel efficiency thanks, in part, to advanced CVT transmission which is standard equipment for this thing. As officially reported, the new Maxima can return 25 mpg combined which isn’t that bad actually.

As for the other advanced features, the Maxima comes with the so-called chassis dampener which greatly improves NVH levels (lowering them of course). With it on board, the Maxima is definitely as refined as the best cars in the segment thus proving its credibility in a market where more than 3 million units of this car have been sold through seven generations. This technology was only available on the Nissan Z cars, which is another link between these two cars with totally different approaches to transportation.

To expecting anything less than the most advanced infotainment and entertainment equipment inside is definitely something that shouldn’t be done. This thing is packed with Bluetooth, touch displays, voice recognition and LED lightning stuff. It teems with equipment even in the entry level trim bringing powered seats, dual zone air con, fog lamps, alloys and much more for the money. Going all the way to Platinum makes the new Maxima sort of a luxury automobile. The Platinum has wood inside, 360 degree camera view, NissanConnect tech, rain sensors, automatic side mirrors and a whole complement of impressive safety equipment which will keep an eye on you at all times.

As it turns out, the new 2016 Nissan Maxima is definitely one of the best all-rounders in the class. It brings sophistication, sporty look, high efficiency and equipment you’d expect only from the best in business. Nissan did become one of the best, no question there.