Aside from your educated opinion, your insight is refreshing......

To the original poster;

Avoid the 04 Maximas. I say this as a former 05 Maxima owner. I am a moderator on another board for these beauties and I can say with absolute certainty that the 04's are plagued with more issues than the 05-08's. 2004 was the first production year for the "6th generation."
(check out www.6thgenmaxima.com)

I loved my Maxima, I still do. I sold it so that my finances could be better shifted to finish my degree. It was by far the best car I've ever owned. It's performance was remarkable, with a bit of mods. It was big and naturally it handled like a boat. Drop her on Progress Springs with an RSB and she handles like each corner is teasing her, practically begging for her to lean harder.

There is more room. The MPG is much better, and the giddy-up is faster than the G sedans, 04G vs 04 Max. The Max is obviously FWD while the G is RWD.

I now have a G, it was more of a steal. My spouse wasn't sold on the Maxima's looks. So we searched for, and bought a G, which we both love.

I think this is going to be a situation where your preferences will dominate. While they are similar, they are different beasts as well.

If you have any questions you want answered objectively, feel free to shoot me a pm or touch on this thread.

I love both vehicles. I have experience with both vehicles. I can help you know what to avoid if you chose the Maxima.

Swee

 

RWD wins everytime. That is all you need to know. Maximas are nice so really both are good choices and Nissans.

 

Now that is great advice Swees G.

I like the G35 alot. It is so much fun to drive. I remember I had one on loan for a day or so when my I30 was at the dealer. I didn't want to give it back but couldn't afford it at the time. For some strange reason I knew I would end up owning a G35 someday

In my opinion it really depends on do you want or need FWD. The G sucks in snow but we don't get alot of it so I decided to buy RWD instead of another FWD.

 

+1, G is far more of a driver's car, IMO. The Max is...an appliance.

 

With snow tires its fine. We got pounded with snow up here in NE a couple weeks ago and the G was fine.

 

Like your avatar

 

Christ, it's not that bad. I've got a '03 6 speed with HLSD and I've trounced my wife in our G. '04 Max is American made and fat, I passed up the 6th gen for a Japanese made 5.5 gen. I thought the '02-'03 Max was a better looking car than the 6th gen and the 6th gen interior is not as nice.

Max doesn't ride as well, doesn't handle as well, and the turning radius sucks. However, it's just as fast, if not faster, than the G35. The interior of my Maxima is much more attractive than the interior of the '03-'04 G's. Both of my cars are full leather, loaded, etc etc.

I'd pick the G over the Max but it's not a slam dunk. Both should be reliable as it gets.

 

LOL at all the "RWD is better than FWD" posts... Seriously, day-to-day driving, does it really matter? Both are fine cars. It comes down to your personal preference. You can't go wrong with either one.

 

Do you really want to get into an argument? I summarized your several paragraph post in one sentence. I used to have a Maxima, was very active in the maxima.org community, and currently own CTMaximas.org.

 

I owned a heavily modded 96 Maxima 5MT with a full suspension setup along with welded in subframe connectors. Even at 5/10 driving, you can feel the difference between RWD and FWD. After 8/10 driving, it's lights out. RWD blows it a way. My Maxima, with all it's work, probably could come close to matching the handling numbers by G could put up, but it wouldn't do it remotely as smooth nor as poised. Push the G into a longer sweeper and it just hunkers down and starts pulling you in, wanting more. With the Maxima, it was darty and wanted to go wide.

 

Of course it does. Why wouldnt I want a near perfect balanced chassis, resulting in better handling, braking and acceleration that potentially could benefit me in certain emergency situations? Why would I want to fight the steering wheel with all that torque going to the wrong wheels when trying to pass somebody?

 

Aaron,

What you gave wasn't pros and cons, which would have been helpful to the OP. You merely made a "maxima.org" smug remark about the 6th gens. (There's originality). How again was your 'advice' helpful?

Maxima.org? Well there's a reliable sight. They definitely support all year Maximas.

So what that you own CTmaximas.org? That makes you more qualified to answer 6th gen questions than anyone else, including former owners?

Back on topic big guy. Let's help this OP!

 

I have really enjoyed having rear-wheel drive again. We live where it snows a bit more than a dusting and ice's about 2" a year. In that weather I would honestly choose the FWD car we have over the G. It would handle a bit better, and if it got nailed by someone not experienced on snow and ice, it wouldn't hurt the precious G. She would be safely garaged at home, nice and warm.

 

you pwn people so politely

 

Yes, but Dave, not all of us push our cars as hard as you do...