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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 14, 2006 - 31 EVERYTHING Auto your guide to everything auto in Oakville INSIDE: Ford Bronco keeps enthusiasts in the saddle after 40 years . .Page 32 20 Cars that deliver the best bang for your buck . . . . . .Page 33 Chrysler 300 driving Chrysler brand success . . . .Page 34 ERYTHING Nissan has re-designed the exterior and enhanced the interior of the 2007 Maxima to make one of Canada's most potent sedans even better. Now in its sixth generation, The Maxima has always been a thoroughly enjoyable driver's machine. I only had a very brief chance to drive the car because it was included at the last minute as a bonus when Nissan recently launched the 2007 Versa and Quest minivan in Tennessee. Because my experience was so brief, I was unable to gather any lasting driving impressions but will get back into the car at a future date. The Maxima for 2007 is one of the first to be fitted with Nissan's Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT). Called the Xtronic by Nissan, the CVT will be included in all future Nissan sedans including the Altima, Sentra and the newly launched Versa entry-level sedan and hatchback. The CVT is basically two, steel belts than slide through cones. Think of it as a bicycle chain except that instead of teethed gears, it is a seamless cone. The result is acceleration/deceleration without any sense of gear change through a much wider range of ratios. Because computers blend torque and gas consumption, less fuel is used while reducing shift times by up to 30 per cent. In real life, when you hit the gas, you feel the power growing in a linear way. When slowing, there is no engine breaking sensation which is kind of strange to a person who grew up on domestic threespeed manual and pushrod V8s. The 3.5litre V6 Nissan used in the Maxima lends itself to a multi-gear manual situation and provides a lot of driver satisfaction in this form. And in the brave new era when people have come to accept dollar-perlitre gasoline, the CVT is the future. There are two trim levels, the SE and the full luxury SL. Style wise, the Maxima continues the clean, chiseled look that does away with cosmetic body trim pieces and cladding in favour of seamless flanks, a long nose, and extremely short rear deck. Ergo, the Nissan design team didn't tamper with the basic shape adding only a new grille, hood, headlights and front bumper. After that, about the only change is with restyled side sills and foglights plus 17inch wheels. Inside, the instrument panel is refreshened with a prominent centre stack with improved ergonomics. The seats are changed slightly with larger shoulder bolsters while the SE gets perforated leather seating surfaces and aluminum trim. There is also a sliding centre console box. These are so handy; they should be standard equipment in all cars. There are lots of choices in terms of options like rear backup sonar and Bluetooth connectivity with the leather package. Nissan's navigation system is probably the best in the industry with its birds-eye imaging. The heart of the Maxima remains its 3.5-litre "VQ" family V6 that has been rated as one of the world's top ten engines by Ward's Automotive for as long as I can The 2007 Maxima is one of the first Nissans to get a greatly improved constantly variable transmission (CVT) that is similar in concept to an automatic, but uses pulleys to blend power and torque for the best traction and fuel economy. New CVT drive takes Nissan to the Maxima for 2007 remember. It is a very powerful V6 at 255 hp and 252 lb/ft of torque. Fuel consumption is listed as 11.1L/100 km (25 mpg) city and 7.8/L100 km (36 mpg) highway. Pricing has not been set but expect it to be very close to current pricing which is $35,098 for the SE and $40,498 for the SL. At a glance: BODY STYLE: Performance sedan DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, front-wheel-drive ENGINE: 3.5-litre, DOHC V6 (255 hp, 252 lb/ft) FUEL ECONOMY: 11.1L/100 km (25 mpg) city; 7.8L/100 km (36 mpg) highway WEBSITE: www.nissan.ca Oak-land Ford Lincoln Compare FORD FUSION CHALLENGE Camry FORDwith ToyotaAc O FUSION Honda U US purchase of a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. Vehicle mus within 7 days, bill of sale and proof of ownership must be IF WE CAN'T SELL YOU A FUSION... WE WILL PAY Y0U TO BUY AN IMPORT!* 570 TRAFALGAR ROAD, OAKVILLE · AT THE QEW · WWW.OAKLANDFORDLINCOLN.CA 1-866-398-4270