Maxin

ASTUTE observers will
notice a difference in
_price between prestige
luxury cars such as the
Acura 3.2TL, Lexus
.- ES300, Infiniti 130,
Audi A4; BMW 328i,
: five-cylinder Volvo $70,
and. Mercedes-Benz
‘C280 — and similarly-
- equipped import sedans
from more mainstream
brands, such as the

Toyota Avalon, Honda —

” Accord V6,-‘Toyota °-
V6, VW Passat

V6, and this week’s test

car, the Nissan Maxima.

" Most.of the prestige
_ sedans go for between:
$40,000 and $50,000. The
generic luxury sedans men-
tioned are priced from
” °$25,000 to $35,000.

_ Granted; prestige sedans ysu-
ally. have better stereos and -
more sound insulation, but in
many cases, it doesn’t seem

cowesne 4 moat SPECIALIST: s
“WORKMANSHIP”
PRIVATE INSURANCE &

” quite enough to justify the

price premium.
A good case in point is the
_ Maxima, Nissan’s mid-sized
iuxury sedan. Base Maxima
XE’s, which are well-
equipped, start at under
$28,000. Top-of-the-line

‘GLE Maximas go for about

$34,000. The Infiriti 130, a
prestige variant of the
Maxima, starts at $41,000.
The Maxima was first
introduced in the early °80s,
redesigned in 1989, and again
in 1995. It has always been a
” six-cylinder luxury sedan —
. not a better equipped version
of a four-cylinder sedan — as
is the case with the current

Accord, Camry, 3.2TL, A4,

Sama Day Service (most hitches)
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Sport Utility, Van & Pick-up Specialists

328i, and C280. What do
you get for a base price of
$28,000? First, what has been
called one of the best V6
engines in the world by a
number of authorities, includ-

ing Automobile magazine and
Ward

’s Automotive Reports.

- The Maxima’s 190-horsepow-
-er 3.0-litre dual overhead cam ~

24-valve V6 aluminum alloy
engine was redesigned in
1995 to be lighter and more
compact. Engineering refine-
ments such as liquid-filled
engine mounts and micro-fin-
ished camshafts and other
friction-reducing measures
make this one of the
smoothest engines anywhere.
You hardly notice it’s run-
ning when idling, or even
when cruising on the freeway.
At highway speeds of 100
km-h the engine does 2200
rp.m. Put your foot on the
gas pedal, and the engine
responds with a willing surge
and a low burble. Zero to
100 km-h goes by in under

* See Luxury page 30

The bast place for starters

Jivcontesiers :

THE 1997 Nissan Maxima is a mid-sized luxury
sedan without the high price of prestige name-
plates. Standard features include & 190 horse-
power 3.0-litre V6 engine, four-wheel disc
brakes, air-conditioning, power windows and
door locks, and adjustable driver’s seat. Test
drive the Nissan Maxima at Regency Nissan, 711
W. 14th St, North Vancouver (985-9311).

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