Newport Beach, CA – A meaty, leather-wrapped steering wheel, sport-tuned suspension, comfortable leather seats that offer plenty of support during corner carving, rear spoiler, 19-inch alloy wheels, paddle shifters, all of these qualities would lead you to believe I’m talking about an expensive sports car, and I am, sort of.  The car I’m describing is the all new for 2009 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV.  So maybe not a sports car per se, and definitely not expensive when compared to the competition from Germany and Japan in the guise of the Audi A4, Acura TL or TSX, and Infiniti G35.  All great choices but much pricier when loaded to the gills as this car is.  Pushing 40 large at $37,415.00 doesn’t sound exactly cheap but anyone looking for a sporty, entry-level luxury sedan in the $30K to $40K range the Maxima not only should be on your shopping list….It needs to be.

So what does all that coin get you?  A very comprehensive package that’s what!  Nissan’s familiar 3.5-Liter DOHC 24-valve V6 making 290 horses and 261 Lb-Ft Torque driving the front wheels via a CVT transmission.  Optional (SV trim only) column-mounted Paddle Shifters help create a sporty nature by keeping the driver involved by selecting one of the 6 “pseudo” forward gears, and if you’re an enthusiastic driver such as myself you’ll want this option on your ride.  More on that later!

 The base or “S” trim level is a very well equipped entry-level luxury sedan with 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry and ignition, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, dual zone climate control, sunroof, auto headlights, trip computer, in-dash 6-disc CD changer, 60/40 split rear seat, 8-way driver and 4-way passenger power seats, cloth upholstery, and many more luxury and comfort features on top of the advanced air bag system, active head restraints, tire pressure monitoring system, traction control, ABS, and other safety features.

Of course the really good stuff comes in the optional packages and this tester was equipped with the “Sport Package” which upgrades the suspension to a sportier level, adds the aforementioned 19-inch alloy wheels shod with 245/40VR19’s which offer plenty of grip, a rear spoiler, fog-lamps, premium leather seating surfaces, buckets in the back (which make the middle spot a not to pleasant place to be for a long period of time), HID Xenon headlights, heated front seats and steering wheel, drivers side memory seat, metallic link interior trim (think faux carbon fiber looking), trunk pass through, XM radio and Bluetooth.

The Sport Technology package adds the very easy to use hard drive navigation system with voice recognition, 7-inch color touch-screen monitor, 9.3 gig music box hard drive, XM NAVTraffic, rear view monitor, and the sleek and probably best in the market IPOD interface.

Fuel economy you ask?  Yes you get that too!  EPA is 19 City and 26 Highway for a combined of 22 MPG.  Amazing things never cease to happen and over the course of almost 300 miles pretty much evenly split between city and highway driving I managed to come in just short of the combined rating at 21.8.  I had a ton of fun with this car so I was shocked at the MPG figures.

So after all that, how does the darn thing drive?  Great!  I really enjoyed this car; I kept thinking this is a front-wheel drive version of the M35 less some horsepower.  Precise steering, good feedback through the steering wheel, impressive, very high-quality interior, killer 9-speaker stereo.  The CVT can take some getting used to, and at highway speed when wishing for some passing power it becomes very frustrating.  Bury the throttle for a quick burst and well…..you wait….and wait….and then you give up and hope you have not angered the people behind you too much!  Solution:  The paddle shifters.  Even though there really are not any gears in a CVT, using the paddle shifters seems to convince the CVT Tranny that you want to go and go now so it obliges.  Putting around town you can entertain yourself by using the paddles – in passing or when you want some real get-up and go situations the paddles are a must.  I cannot stress this fact enough, they are, in my opinion, the thing that makes this car fun to drive and adds the “sport” to this very well done entry-level luxury sedan.

So is almost 40 large too much to spend on a Nissan?  If your main concern is curb appeal than maybe it is.  If value for your hard earned dollar is of higher priority shop this car.  I am extremely impressed and received many comments about what a good looking car it is and many more comments about the Tuscan Sun exterior color.  I’m more of a black or silver exterior color guy but this color looks great on this car as does the wheel and tire package you see in the pictures.

Can front wheel drive and a CVT mean “Sports Car”?  Well not really.   Nissan’s tag line of “The 4-Door Sports Car” is a bit of a stretch but not too much.  This isn’t a track day car and it’s not meant to be.  It is plenty sporty enough for the family that needs 4 doors and a good size trunk, that also desires to have fun while behind the wheel on the daily commute.

  Good looks, sporty intentions, room for the kids, numerous safety features, good gas mileage, a very well done interior and all at possibly thousands less than a comparably equipped higher end brand, what more could you ask for?

Column and photos provided by Rich Branch, EVP of Race Central TV and Radio Network Partners.