~ ~ I suppose the sad day had to eventually come!
The ‘mad cabbie’ has had to part company with his much loved Nissan Bluebird Executive, (circa 1990) which has served him so well as his taxi since it was purchased for only £1500 (Sterling) in August, 1999. A major disagreement with a large lorry, who’s driver decided he liked the look of my lane much more than his own, left the car needing more repairs to the bodywork than its overall value. Mind you, I picked up a fair few Euro in compensation from the haulage company, and still managed to sell on the old Bluebird for €500 to a young lad who is going to undertake his own repairs. In fact, I nearly got back the initial cost of the car, which can’t be bad after three years plus of virtually trouble-free motoring, now can it ??!!

~ ~ Another 3-Litre Maxima was out of the question at today’s fuel prices however, (even if petrol IS considerably cheaper here in Ireland than in the UK!) as I didn’t particularly fancy working simply to pay an enormous fuel bill.
Back in 1995, Nissan brought out a newer version of the Maxima, which in the UK they called the ‘QX’, but which here in Ireland (and most other European countries) they still marketed as the ‘Maxima QX’. As well as the large 3-litre version, (which Nissan retained) they also produced a car with a smaller 2-litre engine. Although not quite so powerful as it’s big 3-litre sister, the 2-litre QX still retained the 24 valve V6 Nissan engine, which meant it was no slouch, but which at the same time gave it much improved fuel consumption figures. (more later)
So I decided that I would cast my eye around on the Web and in the classified car ads to see if I could find a good, clean version of this smaller 2-litre version.
My first port of call was the excellent ‘Autotrader’ website (http://www.autotrader.co.uk) where I had tracked down my old Bluebird in a small local garage in Blyth in Northumberland. There were/are a good number of Nissan Maxima’s listed, but imagine my surprise when I actually came across one in a garage not half a mile away from my own front door here in Dublin, and at a considerably lower price than most of the cars listed at Autotrader!
A 1996 Nissan Maxima QX 2-litre, (SE) at the very low price of only €3,750. (Comparable Maxima’s were selling in and about the £5K to £6K Sterling mark over in the UK!)

~ ~ So why am I so impressed by the Nissan Maxima?
The answer is fairly simple. The Maxima is a superbly engineered motorcar, that looks well and drives beautifully, and which can be bought (used) for less money than a second hand Fiesta of the same age!
Some have criticised its appearance, but my answer to that would be that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I personally like its sleek, low, rounded exterior and understated appeal, which is not so ‘in your face’ as the likes of a BMW. A beautiful set of seven-spoke alloy wheels and a set of spots set into the front bumper finish off its exterior appearance perfectly. And I like the light metallic grey finish FAR better than the metallic black on my old car, as it is much easier to keep looking clean and tidy.
The build is second to none, with everything about the car oozing quality, from the satisfying clunk when you shut the doors, down to the walnut trim round the central facia and door trims. The seating on my own car is in brushed velour (although you can get leather, which I would actually have preferred) and is extremely comfortable. An added little touch is the space for newspapers and magazines fitted on the rear of the front seats, which I fill each morning with the ‘Irish Times’ and the ‘Daily Telegraph’ for my passengers (and my own) use. (Got to do my bit for quality journalism and all that!)

Pictures of Nissan Maxima QX 2.0

Maxima 1

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~ ~ Driving the car is such a pleasure that my average time behind the wheel in a normal working week has increased two fold! I love to drive anyway, (otherwise why would I consider taxi driving as a profession!) but I especially like to drive big, classy motorcars. And the Nissan Maxima QX is without question a big and classy motorcar.
It’s large V6, 24-valve, DOHC, (direct overhead camshaft) fuel injected engine is as smooth as silk and as powerful as a rampaging herd of wild elephants when the ‘pedal is pressed to the metal’. Maximum brake horsepower of 140 is achieved at 6,400 rpm.
And it’s so quiet when idling that I actually have to listen hard to make sure it is actually running! (Shades of Rolls Royce, eh what!)
Its actual performance figures (2-litre version) are a top speed of 125mph (only 6mph less than the larger 3-litre) and a 0 to 60mph time of about 11 seconds. (9.5 seconds for the 3-litre)
Where it really comes into its own is when overtaking. Drop gears from fifth to fourth, or fourth to third, give it some ‘welly’, and the Maxima literally leaps past other traffic as though it were standing still. And all this is achieved with the minimum of fuss and bother from the 5-speed manual gearbox, which is precise and crisp.

~ ~ The cost of servicing a Maxima QX is slightly higher than a standard family saloon, but is far from prohibitive.
The first thing I did after taking delivery of my car was to have a full service carried out, at a total overall cost of €270. (Mind you, I use my own ‘back street’ mechanic, and avoid main dealers like the bubonic plague!)
This included a new set of NGK spark plugs, which were by far the most expensive item at over €100 the set. But they last for 50,000 miles plus, so don’t need to be replaced as often as normal. The rear brake pads were replaced, as were the oil and air filters, and new semi-synthetic oil and anti-freeze were added. A new front number plate cost an extra €10. (the old one was cracked)
The car had no other faults.
One thing to be careful with when you own a Maxima however is to keep an ever watchful eye on the heater radiator. This has a disconcerting habit of starting to leak as the car gets older, (well documented) and dripping down onto the (VERY expensive) engine control unit located directly below it. Should you ‘fry’ this control unit then you are looking at €1,000 plus to replace it. (unless you can pick one up in a scrap yard)