3 Changes That Nissan Has Applied to The 2020 Maxima

Nissan Maxima has been around since 1976. Of course, back then it was called Datsun, but then things changed and with the 2020 Maxima this vehicle harks back to that traition of having a car that is definitely more sporty.

Nissan calls the Maxima a 4-door sports car. But it's not only a sports car. The available driver assist technologies and connectivity make this car a "high-tech powerhouse," as Nissan puts it on its website. I have seen cars that have richer and more advanced technologies in the interior, but this one definitely raises your pulse when driven. It has a very firm and good grip of the road when driving.

The 2020 Maxima is available in five grades. The different types of the Maximas are the S, SV, SL, SR and Platinum trims. Each of these options differs from the others by price and available features. The S trim starts at an MSRP of $34,250 while the top Platinum Reserve starts at $42,780. The 2020 Maxima has a fuel economy of 24 mpg combined and 20 city, 30 highway.

What Has Changed in The 2020 Maxima

Nissan has added a number of important improvements to the 2020 Maxima. And this is just one year after Maxima received a major mid-cyle refreshing.

The 1st enhancement in the 2020 model year is that the Nissan safety Shield 360 is now available across all five Maxima grade levels. Nissan Safety Shield is the latest development of Nissan Intelligent mobility and is a suite of intelligent driver-assistance technologies that offer the driver safety to the driver and passengers. Safety Shield 360 is available on a number of Nissan vehicles.

The 2nd improvement in the 2020 Maxima is that the SR grade owners now can enjoy the Premium Package content, which was previously available in the Platinum and Platinum Reserve trims. This means Dual Panel Panoramic Moonroof and Intelligent Around View Monitor for the Maxima SR grade owners. SR is Maxima's more sportier grade.

The 3rd change is a little gift by Nissan to all Maxima grade levels. In 2015 Nissan Nissan introduced a new element to the 2016 Maxima called Integrated Dynamics Control Module. This module adds a new element to electronic chassis management. For example it uses targeted brake application, or undulation to immediately improve the level of the vehicle's Body. While in previous years this was only available in the SR grade, now Nissan has made it standard on all 2020 grade levels.

The 2020 Nissan Maxima's Reliability and Safety

The 2020 Nissan Maxima is a good, safe and a reliable car. This assessment is based on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) rating. Recently the 2019-2020 Maxima received a "superior" rating for front crash prevention systems in midsize sedans. In fact, Maxima, with Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, was the only tested vehicle to altogether avoid the obstacle in all six performed tests.

The 2020 Maxima's Interior and Exterior

The steering wheel is fully wrapped in leather. The two color accent stitching and all of the malfunction controls in the middle, the infotainment system and the touchscreen make the inside very appealing. Speaking of the infotainment. The 2020 Maxima shows that the modern infotainment systems can be simple and not frustrating.

The 2020 Nissan Maxima is a fancy car. But you still get that sports car vibe when you get into the interior. While the Maxima SR is the more sporty model, the designs are all shared between the trim levels. My favorite interior detail is the center stack, which is slightly titled towards the driver about 7 degrees. This creates more of a cockpit feel.

On the outside the 2020 Maxima continues with all of the significant changes for 2019. The designers have done a very good job. The Maxima was the first Nissan sedan which has really stunned me by its design when I first saw it in a Nissan dealership in Hickory, NC for the first time. The styling is aggressive. LED headlights are standard. The car gets a new front fascia and grille. The rear fascia is slightly revised in the rear with LED taillights and integrated quad-tip exhaust finishers.

Outside Opinion About The 2020 Nissan Maxima

I spoke with automotive finance manager from Canada Christopher Van Wiechen who has hands on experience driving and reviewing the Maxima for his Youtube Channel Cars Unlocked and dealership St Catharines Nissan. I asked Christopher what he thinks about the 2020 Maxima and here is what he told Torque News in a written statement.

"The Nissan Maxima combines the love for sports cars with your everyday driver. There are numerous reasons to justify its branding as the “4 door sports car.” A high powered, lightweight, luxury machine allows for more pleasure on your everyday drive to work or picking up the kids from school.

"The full size sedan segment does not boast poster worthy vehicles, however the 2020 Maxima offers sex appeal, an athletic stance and aggressive body lines under one sheet of metal. Combined with the new Nissan Safety Suite features that offer a high level of driver assistance, you have a standout in a rather drab class of sedans. The safety suite includes blind sport monitoring, intelligent emergency braking, lane departure warning, and automatic high beam assistant. The rebuttal is the cars hydraulic steering does not allow for popular Nissan features like the Pro Pilot Assist and the Intelligent All Wheel Drive. These features are standouts for other popular Nissans like the Altima and Rogue. If one is seeking performance, handling and styling then the Maxima will always impress.

"Designed specifically for the driver what it lacks in cargo capacity and interior passenger volume it makes up in comfort, styling and a phenomenal fit and finish. As most manufacturers are dumping sedans Nissan’s loyal customer base will keep the Maxima alive as the market thins out and Nissan will hopefully continue to innovate," said Christopher.

If you are a Maxima owner, please let us know what you think of the 2020 model and which grade level is your favorite.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.