The Nissan Maxima flagship sedan has a pretty long history of being marketed as 'the four-door sports car', but that ended back in 2015, when the current eighth generation Maxima reached the market. Before then, it had the fun performance of a mini sports car, but with four doors. It always had the style, but this time around, lack of performance and overly high prices keep buyers away. Why? The weird idea of pairing a CVT with a V6. We've been talking about the possible death of the now slow-selling Maxima, but now, the rumors are true.
We were hoping that the recent 2019 refresh would give the sedan better performance (such as no CVT), but that definitely did not happen. Also, the $34K starting price keeps buyers at bay. Nissan is not doing well, and COVID-19 didn't help. Nissan's cost-cutting plans target unnecessary and slow-selling models. In other words, the Maxima is a certain candidate of discontinuation. But, if you really want one, it'll linger for another year of two.
Nissan is set to launch a new flagship sedan based on the electric IM concept in 2022. At about the same time, the more popular Altima sedan will be facelifted. The IM-based sports sedan could be the Maxima's replacement.
We don't know whether the new model will be a next generation Maxima, or if the EV will be a whole other model. The Maxima's current reputation would still keep buyers away, even though it would be all new. Usually, a new EV replaces a slow-selling model, so the Maxima is likely a goner forever. The IM sedan will borrow styling cues from the Ariya crossover, but it will still have a floating roof and a few other general Nissan sedan design cues. Bye bye, Maxima.
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