LA Auto Show 2018: the 2019 Nissan Maxima is back with a bit more bite

If you want to sell full-size sedans to drivers hesitating between the four-door and hopping on the SUV bandwagon, you have to give them more bite and style, while fulfilling their needs for commodity. It might not be a major overhaul, but the Nissan Maxima is back in 2019 with a refreshed front fascia, a new set of 19-inch wheels, quad-tip exhaust finishers and other physical enhancements. The changes are subtle, yes, but they aim at making it stand out in the full-size sedan segment and catch the eye of those who still love them.

A few sporty touches were included inside, with new seat designs and charcoal headliner/pillars for SR and Platinum Reserve Package grades. In fact, the Platinum Reserve Package is the sole optional package offered, and it comes with different 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, heated rear seats and the Rakuda Tan semi-aniline interior.

If you pop the hood, you’ll be looking at the same powerplant as the outgoing model. The Maxima keeps its 300-horsepower V6 3.5 Litre engine along with the similar chassis characteristics.

Obviously, sedan drivers tend to stray towards SUVs for safety reasons – SUVs always “look” safer. Beyond the looks, Nissan pumped more safety in the 2019 Maxima, with the available Nissan Safety Shield 360, a suite of advanced driver-assist systems that include Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist and Rear Intelligent Emergency Braking.

This suite is already available on the 2019 Altima, Qashqai, Rogue and the Murano.

This 2019 Nissan Maxima is offered in four grade levels: SV, SL, SR and Platinum. But at this point in time, we don’t know which variant gets what and at what price, so bear with us, this information will be out in the coming weeks/months, hopefully before the car goes on sale in January 2019!