MAXIMUM DUTY; Nissan's Maxima packs a potent package.

Performance and luxury are two words car manufacturers love having people say in the same breath, but it rarely happens unless the conversation is about cars costing more than $30,000. Nissan has succeeded in getting owners to talk about the performance and luxury of its 2004 Maxima, which comes in at a base price of $27,490.

Introduced in 1981, the Maxima was the first entry in the midsize import sedan category and has long been billed as a "four-door sports car,'' an advertising catchphrase that simply means a four-door car doesn't have to be boring. This sixth-generation Maxima continues that legacy.

Most respondents to our AutoFile survey spoke glowingly about their cars' acceleration and handling, not to mention the top-notch build quality and cabin appointments usually found on cars costing thousands more.

All that performance talk was backed up by our track testing. The best 0-to-60-mph time we recorded was 6.28 seconds and we saw the quarter-mile in 14.83 seconds. Our best quarter-mile speed was 95.2 mph, all very good numbers for the category. For better perspective, the numbers were very close to that of the sporty Honda Accord coupe we tested earlier this year (AW, March 3), giving more credence to Maxima's performance bent.

Not surprisingly, our Maxima speed numbers were nearly identical to those we recorded in our test of the car's sibling, Altima (AW, May 20, 2002). Both cars share major mechanical components, including the smooth-running 3.5-liter V6 that drives the front wheels, although the Maxima tips the scales at 3436 pounds, 239 more than the Altima. The Altima ran to 60 mph from a stop in 6.32 seconds, and it needed 14.85 seconds to run the quarter-mile at a top speed of 95.1 mph. Part of the reason our Maxima squeaked by the Altima lies in the fact that the 265-hp Maxima was equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox, which allowed us to get more out of the gears than the ...