[AUTO] 2026 Nissan Maxima

[Mr.Ares]

The Nissan Maxima is the O.G. four-door sports car—at least according to Nissan, which has attached that moniker to its largest sedan for decades. The current-generation Maxima's production run is slated to end this year, but the nameplate isn't headed to the scrap heap. Instead, it'll reappear in the next couple of years as an electric sedan that should borrow much of its styling from the lovely IMs concept that debuted back in 2019. The 2026 Nissan Maxima is also expected to receive powertrain components from the electric Ariya SUV, with the sedan believed to be built starting in 2025 in Canton, Mississippi.

The next Maxima will be entirely new when it arrives for the 2026 model year. It will replace the current generation, which wraps up production this year. The Maxima name will go into a brief hibernation as Nissan begins the lineup shuffle. We expect very few parts of the current Maxima to transfer over for 2026, except for the number of doors. Some of its styling will come from the IMs concept, a collection of sharp angles and thin lights that Nissan called an "elevated sports sedan."

Pricing and Which One to Buy

Nissan has not yet discussed how the 2026 Maxima lineup may look. The trims will likely follow the same progression as the Ariya, which ditches the old capital-letter style (e.g. SR, SV) in favor of clever names like Engage and Evolve. We believe the Maxima will offer a small-battery variant to keep the base price low. Upper models will improve on power and range, with the latter carrying the "+" designation as part of the trim name.

The 2026 Nissan Maxima will ride on the company's CMF-EV platform, which is shared with partners Renault and Mitsubishi and currently underpins the Ariya. While we're still some time out from knowing how the new Maxima will be configured, it would make sense for Nissan to create a base model from most of the Ariya's entry-level bits, including a single electric motor on the front axle producing 214 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. The Ariya's beefiest all-wheel-drive setup bumps output to a solid 389 horsepower. Since the Maxima is all about sporty driving, or so Nissan says, what we'd really like to see are the same power figures from the IMs concept—483 horsepower and 590 pound-feet. A kid can dream.

Link: https://www.caranddriver.com/nissan/maxima