Six Appeal: 2004 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SE vs. Audi A4 3.0 quattro
This is a fast car, boys and girls. Even with its full load of luxury gear, the SE can flash from zero to 60 mph in just 6.3 seconds. The quarter takes 14.8 seconds at 97 mph. That puts the Maxima well ahead of the A4 3.0 and neck-in-neck with Audi's far pricier twin-turbo A6 2.7T. Moreover, the VQ engine--the same basic four-cam 3.5-liter V-6 found in everything from the 350Z to Nissan's new Murano SUV--is a honey. Outfitted with continuously variable valve timing and a variable induction system, it's smooth, rev-happy, and, with 255 lb-ft of torque available at 4400 rpm, pulls strongly in any of the SE's six forward speeds.
But before you mash down on the electronically controlled throttle, you'll want to have two hands on the steering wheel. Maybe three. With 265 eager horses galloping through the front tires, the torque steer at full power can make the wheel in your hands feel like a baby shark squirming for the sea. (A helical limited-slip differential is available to help put the power down.) The Maxima never stepped out of line on us, but the engine is so willing, the six-speed shifter so enjoyable to row, that it's hard not to be overindulgent with the throttle--and pay the torque-steer price as a result. Too bad the Maxima SE doesn't offer a quattro system of its own.
Though it shares its basic platform with the Altima, the Maxima SE feels like an altogether more refined and substantial car. Ride motions are well-controlled, the wheel provides plenty of feedback, and the chassis is poised as it approaches its limits (if, of course, you don't unsettle it with an injudicious stab of your right foot). The Nissan proved trickier to negotiate through the slalom than the Audi, posting a 62-mph speed to the A4's 66. Braking was slightly off from the Audi's performance, too. The Maxima's discs, also equipped with ABS and EBD, stopped the car from 60 mph in 129 feet, 10 more than the Audi needed.
The Envelope, Please
We'd happily drive either of these six-speed, six-cylinder sportsters across the country and back. But we won't cop out and not call a winner: If it were our green on the line, we'd deposit it at the Audi store. The A4 3.0 quattro, admittedly the more expensive of the two, pays back with exceptional refinement, Bavarian solidity, superior handling poise, an enduring shape, and a cabin that makes our eyelids flutter every time we see it. If you can live with fewer ponies, the 1.8T is a fine piece for much less money. And the 170-horse Avant variant might be the best-looking sport wagon on today's roads.
That said, the Maxima's virtues can't be denied, if you like its unconventional sheetmetal. Nissan's new four-door is a bold and capable player, and it plays strong on value. It leads in room, power, and electronic conveniences, and its high-swagger styling is undoubtedly going to attract plenty of fans who'd never be satisfied with a car as understated as the A4. Its biggest competitor may just be its corporate cousin, the cleaner-looking, rear-drive Infiniti G35 (or even the cheaper Altima). But the Maxima, as a brand, has a considerable following, and many will want the new one--if for no other reason than to have some great six.