Back in Sept 2006 I bought a 2003 Maxima SE 6-speed with leather HLSD and the Works to replace my mighty BMW 540 6-speed. There's LOTS of engine power, and the Xenons are awesome, but that's really about it.
The handling of the stock suspension stinks. It was improved with the addition of an aftermarket rear sway bar, but it still felt very non-linear. The leather is cheap, the (OEM) radio was constantly broken, the paint chipped easily, there's lots of wind noise and road noise, the steering is vague & the turning circle is like that of a Ford Country Squire, it had REAL BAD torque steer issues, the cable-operated shifter (no rod linkage after 2001) was rubbery and vague, there was a general cheap/plasticky feeling that pervaded the entire car.
Reliability-wise, it was no better than the 130K-mile BMW 540 I'd owned previously. After the first $550 occurrence, I lived in fear of the "Service Engine Soon" light coming on again, and the monetary and spousal friction that came with it.
I could go on, but you get the point. I only test drove it for 15 minutes before buying it because I was so intoxicated by the power and the 6-speed manual. And there was nothing "wrong" with my particular car; in fact, my car was in excellent condition! These are issues that are pretty much inherent in the basic design.
I now have a 2006 Accord EX-L V6 sedan and I LOVE that car! As an additional bonus, my car insurance went DOWN by $123/yr when I replaced the Maxima with the 3-year-newer Accord!
The Maxima is great if your main concern is straight-line speed, and/or you are single, and/or you don't mind putting time and expense into your car to keep it on top of its game, OR are a Nissan tech yourself. With a wife and three kids, I realized I didn't have the time or money to use this Maxima as my daily transportation.
I hope this diatribe was helpful to you. Please disregard if you've done all this research and have your mind made up or are a "Maxima person" or "Nissan person".
