I always thought this was the most handsome Maxima. My neighbor had a clean one when I was a kid and I fell in love with its simple, yet sporty design.
torque, torque and more torque nice and low in the rev band too. The VG30DE was better on paper - but you had to rev that to get the extra power. Also, the early VG30DE's had valve train issues (noisy, tapping)
One of the main reasons why I continue to ignore modern Nissan cars that aren't the 370Z or the GT-R. Hopefully now that Carlos Ghosn's ousted from Nissan, some of its own mojo will creep back up the tires of cars like the Maxima, and the Altima, for that matter.
@@josemanuel5749 I haven't forgot about the Armada SUVs and Titan pickup trucks. Same with Rogue, Rogue Sport, and Pathfinder (a.k.a. "mallfinder"). My cousin, who has three young daughters had got an ex-rental 2017 Nissan Pathfinder SV 2WD in brick red with anthracite black interior in August 2018 because her 2010-16 Chevrolet equinox LS 2WD with the fake tacked-on turbo emblem and side vents stopped working and the repair costs are too heavy to fix.
Today, if a family sedan doesn't get to 60mph in less than 6.5 seconds, it's "slow." Also great how you can't see out of the windows of anything newer than 2008
Are they kidding about the white/black gauges???? That was always the coolest part of the old Maxima SEs. I had a '97 with the white gauges over an all black interior and loved it.
Professional car testers tend to dislike anything unorthodox about the dashboard area. I think it's a side effect of driving a hundred different models of car every year and being thrown off by different control layouts an owner would get used to in the first week.
@@nlpnt Yeah. Still stupid though, those exact white gauges were one of the most appealing things about the Maxima SE, as a child/teenager at the time my friends and I all thought they were awesome, then I actually got a Maxima that had them. Still miss that car 20 years later.
@@nakoma5 Not trolling. They've never really made any compelling products. Not everyone is a massive weaboo drooling over the Skyline. I can't think of a single Nissan that I'd consider cool, much less a Maxima.
@@herbiehusker1889 Hmm, fair enough. Though I do recommend you personally try models such as: 90s Sentra coupe SE-R and 200SX SE-R Pulsar and NX Twin Cam 93-97 Altima SE 3rd gen Altima SE-R 92-94 Maxima SE with the DOHC V6 300ZX Twin Turbo 240SX Datsun 240Z and 510 And that's not to mention all the non-USA performance models that didn't make it here from the old Sunny/Pulsar GTI-R AWD hot hatch, turbo AWD Bluebird/Altima, and twin turbo Silvia and Stagea [basically a wagon GTR].
Preston Thugman mine went through 8 fuel injectors, 3 stereos and 6 window motor regulators over the 23 years I owned it. Other than that it was all the normal wear stuff like tires, brakes etc. and a few one offs. No fires for me! The original battery lasted 15 years which was completely unreal. Rust and leaks did it in, but it still drove smoothly at the end.
@@jorgelara7860 yea that year model had a unique styling that matched it's era it's the Maxima that you would take to get detailed on the weekend after getting a clean haircut and going for a ride maximas have changed the new ones don't look as good anymore
As a car kid, I was in love with this (among many) cars. Maxima, 929, Diamante, Supra, Legend, etc. They had real presence back then, or at least they did to me. Much to my parents chagrin, I would use my car magazines as a reference and call the toll free 1-800 numbers for car companies and order catalogues on every car I could. Jag even sent a VHS!
The name "Diamante" probably failed because of the bad valve guides found in the Mitsubishi 3.0L engines. I received a VHS tape for the 1995 Maxima and I loved it.
The 1989 Nissan Maxima. The official car of.. Dad's having a midlife crisis but is keeping his wits about him and not buying a M5, yet he's listening to Paula Abdul constantly.
I LOVED the gauge cluster! I bought one of these for pizza delivery in college. It had 240k when I got it, and still ran at 350k when I sold it. It developed a rod knock with the next owner, but was still driving it at 400k the last time I talked to him. They definitely don't make Maximas like they used to.
I actually loved those black on white during day and white on black at night gauges. I thought they were the coolest thing I had seen on a dash in my first 25 years of living. I loved how in twilight they were changing over, but not quite there.
Hoping to see a video about the later revision, from 1992-1994 the SE still the same gorgeous body, but with a 190 HP V6 instead, and a limited slip differential!
@Ike N Interesting choice to call this generation of Maxima a "J30" but not call the G20/Primera a "P10". Especially considering that the Nissan Leopard J Ferie (Y32) was called Infiniti "J30" stateside. Super easy for someone not in the know to be confused. Anyways, you're right about design language. That's what I was trying to allude to. Now I wouldn't consider the U12 Stanza in the same design language as the J30 or the B13 for that matter. I personally think in the case of Nissan, the design language is based on what store sold them considering it's normal in Japan for a brand to have two stores. Not sure if they still do that now but I know at one point it was a dominant feature
I see tons of these still on the road, but only the ones in this trim. My grandma had a GXE trim in light blue. It didn’t have the spoiler, but it had a very tasteful scalloped wheel design. Since my grandma has since passed, it now belongs to my uncle and it’s still going!
They bumped up the power towards the end of this model's lifespan and it was actually pretty quick. Zero to 60 was a little under 7 seconds with the five speed if I remember correctly.
That's because in either '92 or '93 they changed to a 4 valve per cylinder engine making 205 or 215 hp. Big jump from the 160hp it made in '89. Such awesome cars!!
In 1993 the SE got the very short-lived VE30 engine which upped stock hp from the VG30's 160 to 190. Drove them both and the 30 extra was a huge difference. Sadly, the VE was around only 2 years as the redesigned Maxima in 1995 got the VQ30 with 190 hp.
+ctranger Yep, it was all downhill after 94. The 97 I had was a gutless 190hp compared to the 93. I mean it was really noticeable how slow it got. 2000s got a different intake which gave it 222 hp.
All down hill? Back in the day my 96 maxima GLE with 230k Miles was neck to neck with my friends almost new 2002 GS300. We were both in shock and he was so butt hurt
I hope he has lived to regret calling this dash ugly! To-This-Day: The finest set of instrumentation gauges I have ever laid my eyes on! Point. Blank. Period.
My favorite part of these old videos is watching the tester get in and rip on all the seat adjustments. I'd freak out if someone hopped into my car and started doing that. @motorweek - you guys should make a compilation video.
You can still see these running around today. Though it's hard to find one for sale. Not a lot of 89 Taurus's still on the road. I'm surprised there were no complaints about the automatic seat belts which MW complained about on most cars.
jeepthing98 probably resigned to the fact that those auto-belts would be mandatory for 1990. I remember this gen Maxima was one of those cars that had both a driver’s airbag and auto-belts.
This generation Maxima has always been my favorite. The Second, Third, Fourth and 5th gen are my favorites. 90s Japanese sedans aged so well. If I had all of the money, I would buy a garage and buy a bunch of 80s 90s and 2000s japanese sedans and suvs.
One amazing thing is that underneath, it looks very similar to a 1985 Maxima. Even the wheel alignment specifications are the same. However, they went from being one of the most unreliable Nissans into one of the most reliable Nissans. I don't know how Nissan managed to achieve that.
the 89-94 maxima se 5 speed is an awesome fun car with mods. I had one back in the day with lowering springs and kyb gr2 struts, wsp y pipe, intake, exhaust, quite a few other things and it was extremely fun and not slow
My dad had a 1990 Maxima GXE that he bought used with 60,000 miles in 1994. He then drove it for more than 340,000 miles over the next 7 years before trading it in. He ran it ragged from all those miles, but it was a good, comfortable car. Had the same engine as seen here, but regular white on black gauges.
I bought one of these for $650 in 2006, all I had was $150 in my pocket I moved back to Dallas and I'll tell you the manual V6 was a beast, I drove it cross country and that engine is tough as nails.
"Attention Motorweek staffers: Do we have anyone over 7 feet tall that can sit in the backseat of this Maxima and make it look torturous? We have to come up with 2 negatives"
I was about 14 when this generation of Maximas came out and wanted one so bad. My mom was car shopping at the time and no matter how much I pleaded with her she ended up getting a Buick Park Ave instead.
We picked up a 93. One owner GXE. Red leather interior. Yes. RED. 138,000 on it and it basically works like new. The later bose radio wasn't amplified and has individual amps per speaker. And ours has automatic seat belts. Even with the auto it actually makes a great daily and I see no issues getting to A to B comfortable and at a reasonable pace. And it actually has near mecedes like vault quality, solid doors, great materials etc.
Was anybody really cross-shopping Tauruses with this Maxima? The Taurus was revolutionary, yes, and inspired countless rounded cars to follow, but the Maxima was a tight little sports sedan by comparison. I think it competed more with contemporary cars like the top trim level Honda Accords, Mazda 626s and perhaps even Mitsubishi Galants. All I know is that as a kid in high school when this video was produced, I would have LOVED to get my hands on a brand-new Maxima like this one! Nissan didn't overstyle it at all; the car was smooth and functional, inside and out, and that V6 is one of the best motors produced in the 1980s/1990s. Today's Nissan cars may be competitive but they lack the same excitement of this Maxima.
Blooming Onion, Maximas are grrrrreat! (grin) My '99 (4th gen) has 200,000 miles, purrs like a pussycat and gets 30 mpg. She's peppy and tons of fun to drive. Ergonomic and comfortable like an old pair of shoes. Radiator, serpentine belt. alternator and starter lasted 150,000 miles. Everything else is factory original -- including radio, brakes, injectors and most light bulbs.
BloomingOnion thank you for bringing this up, I was thinking same thing.....nobody was cross shopping the two. The Maxima back in the day was so much classier and on a different level than a Taurus despite possibly having similar dimensions and specs in certain areas that they really appealed to different buyers
I was just out of high school in '89 and I didn't know anyone my age that would have loved to own a Maxima... You were a strange kid! We all wanted VW 16v GTI's and Scirocco's.
I'm sure I was strange but I can promise you I was not the only person who thought the way I did. Sure, there were the guys who liked muscle cars and what kid didn't have a Countach poster on his wall or sweat some other exotic? I certainly liked and appreciated VWs back then, just as I do now, but I've always had a soft spot for understated performance and luxury. I've always preferred four (or five) doors to two (or three) doors, but that didn't make me strange, that just meant I valued practicality. Like the Taurus SHO, the only Taurus worthy of a comparison to this Maxima in my opinion, the Maxima showed some performance and sportiness that was missing from most other family sedans of the day. It didn't show off its power with over the top plastic add-ons or painted stripes and logos; the classiness of the car was in its simple elegance. The styling of this car was understated given the silky power that fabulous V6 could produce. Cars have come a long way in 30 years. There are four-cylinder "family" cars that are faster than this Maxima was in 1989, and many are certainly more roomy and comfortable. But back in the day, when my gf at the time had a brand-new but boring '89 Honda Accord - and some of my other friends lucky enough to have new-ish cars were driving Tempos, Civics and Bronco IIs - this Maxima was like a breath of fresh air. Yes, I would have loved it.
I adore this era when all the higher class Japanese Sedans all looked exactly the same. Zero complaints from me, it was an amazing time for car reliability and ease of repairs. My 1988 Toyota Supra and 1994 Camry are worlds apart on ease of repair. It's not a crazy comparison once you realize the 88' Cressida looked EXACTLY like all these cars, but had the same motor as my Supra.
When the 300ZXTT went on sale, I instantly wanted one. I going to give part of the credit to mom's 1985 Maxima and part to the fact that turbo power sounded so magical back then.
Dude! It was obvious this guy (or anybody for that matter at that time) had NO idea that the Maxima would seriously surpass in longevity and quality over the stupid Taurus. I had the pleasure of buying a used 89 Maxima In 1993 when I was 20 years old. The car had almost 65k miles. 10 years and 280k of trouble free miles I finally gave it up to another Nissan enthusiast. It was a wonderful car. It drove me and my family through the scorching 125 degree Death Valley and drove us through -10 degree Wisconsin winters without missing a beat. I miss those old quality Nissans 😭
You're really going to love when it falls apart, it's a soulless cheap Agenda 2030 cuckbox like every modern car. After the J30 Maxima's final year that was it for Nissan. Nothing but regression since. Actually, now that I own a CA5 Accord I now realize Nissan was always junk, they simply used to make junk that looked good and drove good. 80's-90's Honda & Toyota are peak Japanese.
Anti-lock brakes are the greatest thing ever. Back in the seventies it was commonplace during panic stops to have the back end break loose on you. You could easily get into an accident while trying to avoid one.
I loved the white face gages. I used to have a white 1990. This model was made from 1989 to 1994. Those power numbers can easily be bumped up with a few slight changes to the intake and exhaust. Makes a night and day difference.
@Ike N I had 3 of these. For the most part they are titled 1989 to 1994. Regardless of what they call the car, on the title it will always be what it is. There might be a 3 month discrepancy but as far as parts are concerned that dont mean a thing. I learn about what was compatible and not because I had 3 of them over time. When a car becomes used that nonsense means nothing. You go by the date on the title. Especially when ordering parts.
I had this car from 1994 to 2017. Nissan used to build them well. Would have bought another had quality not collapsed. That engine lasted forever and I miss those cornering lights.
I've been waiting for MW do a review of the 1989 Maxima thanks so much this is my favorite version too besides the new model these were the best Maxima's ever.
My parents had that exact car. It was white. 5spd. Good looking car and where it really went was the highway. Top end all day long. But it was good on back roads too.
Before Nissan looked to pregnant aliens for styling inspiration... I actually love the styling of these late '80s and '90s low beltline/tall greenhouse sedans (Maxima, Accord and Legend in particular). Like their early SUV counterparts of that era (Explorer and Cherokee), the visibility from the driver's seat was phenomenal.
The Accord was a blatant ripoff of the Maxima. Just like VTEC and everything else. Honda blows. They wait until Nissan does something, then replicate it.
I put 235K miles on a charcoal gray one of these. I loved my white gauges though!! I also had a ‘95 and a ‘00 SE with a sad little 4cyl Altima somewhere in between.
This Maxima solved all the problems with the 1985 Maxima. It might be the second or third most reliable Nissan Maxima and probably one of the most reliable cars Nissan ever built. The 1995 Maxima was better, and making a car better than this was hard to do. One thing you had to remember about the VG30 engine is that it uses a timing belt. My family never knew what a timing belt was until 1994 when it snapped on mom's 1985 Nissan Maxima. If you replace the timing belt and related components on schedule, the VG30 lasted for ages.
I drove thése brand new back in the day - EXCELLENT high speed, long distance cruisers and very quiet to boot, with better than average gas milage. Quite roomy inside too, due to the front wheel drive layout.
Growing up, around '99 both of my older brothers had this gen Maxima. Both SEs, a '92 and '93, in black and white respectively. Such cool cars, can't remember the last time I've seen one driving on the road
Back in the 90s, I wanted two of these. A pearl white over tan GLE and a black on black SE, especially when they bumped up the power in the SE to 190hp. I still like the design.
I love how this (and probably every sedan of the time) was compared to the Taurus. Ford had hit it out of the park and I guess to automags everyone else was playing catch-up. But what made the Maxima cool (still impressive sales) was that it was sportier than a Taurus. And when everyone else had a Taurus, YOU had a Maxima SE! It was quiet-as-kept the cool car!
I love the white gauges. This generation of the Maxima was it’s finest. Looks like a baby Infiniti Q45. Japanese styling reached it’s peak from 1989-1996. RX-7, Supra, 3000GT VR-4, NSX, Miata, MR-2, SC300, GS300, LS400, ES300, Legend, Diamante, Q45, J30, Integra, Maxima, Altima (first gen only), Land Cruiser, Camry (92-96, near refinement of a Lexus ES). I’m probably forgetting a few...
Loved this generation of Maxima, they were great cars. I remember my parents came very, very close to buying one (on two separate occasions) but never made the jump, unfortunately. I do remember having the cars for a full day, back when dealerships occasionally let you do that. They were really nice, and they did feel fast as hell back in the day. I guess this was around the time cars started losing rear seat headroom.
