Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Parents have a '98 SE. Hate the dang thing.
Yes the engine is great.
Interior fit/finish is terrible, not even close to being on par with the '88 Honda I used to have. The control stalks have a vague, undefined feel with no prominant detents for the turn signal. The shift lever for the automatic sticks and creaks when you move it. Basically, it feels like Nissan really, really, really cheaped out on the interior. And don't get me started on the A/C, which doesn't work worth sh!t.
The engine's great. Transmission (automatic) is acceptable. Handling is somewhat above average for a FWD car, but the Maxima is really too big to handle well. It's kind of a barge.
ZV
Must be a lemon, its definitely not indicative of most maximas.
To contrast..
My 96 has an awesome black cloth interior. The control stalks are very responsive and do not flex or give like gm or ford controls. Even with an excess of 200k miles on mine, the turn signal stalk detents just fine.
ZERO internal noises, creaks, etc.
AC is AWESOME. Still on the original factory AC and its ICE cold. Even in the hotest days this summer in Kansas, I never had the AC on full power more than a few mins because it got just too darn cold in the car.
Handling is good, even with bad struts all around. The tranny shifts great (again, with over 200k miles on it), and is nice.