The all-new Nissan Maxima has been tested on track against the BMW 328i, Acura TLX and Audi A4 in an “independent certified testing trial” promoted by Nissan on its PR website.
Testing took place on the 1.8-mile (2.9-km) Buttonwillow Raceway’s West Loop course, with all cars being driven by former NASCAR driver Andy Lally. The test was supervised by AMCI Testing, which had to “explore and certify differences in Buttonwillow Raceway closed course lap performance between the 2015 Acura TLX 3.5 (FWD) with Technology Package, 2015 Audi A4 2.0T quattro Premium Plus Tiptronic, 2015 BMW 328i sedan and the 2016 Nissan Maxima SR.”
Called the “2016 Nissan Maxima Test Track Challenge,” the test was unsurprisingly won by the Maxima, since this was a Nissan-endorsed event. The “4-Door Sports Car,” as Nissan likes to call the 2016 Maxima, posted an average lap time nearly a full second quicker than the closest competitor, the BMW 328i.
“We expected the all-new 2016 Maxima, with its re-engineered engine, transmission and chassis to do well, but frankly even we were surprised by the head-to-head test results against some very well-established luxury sports sedans,” said Pierre Loing, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America.
The Acura, Audi and BMW vehicles were obtained by AMCI Testing anonymously from manufacturer authorized dealerships, while the 2016 Nissan Maxima SR was supplied by Nissan North America (the 2016 Maxima doesn’t go on sale until early June).
All stability and traction controls were in the off position for all laps, and each lap began from a 40 mph (64 km/h) “Pace Car” start. Head over to the video to see how each car performed in the test.