| 2010 Nissan Maxima vs 2010 Volkswagen CC | December 22, 2009 | AUTORIVALS.NET |
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| The term 'four-door coupe' gets thrown around a lot these days. Although it sounds like an oxymoron, sedans from several automakers (like Hyundai) are all getting the coupe-like makeover with a more flowing roofline and more aerodynamic design. Two recent models to receive this treatment are the Nissan Maxima and the all-new Volkswagen CC. | ||
| 2010 Nissan Maxima | vs | 2010 Volkswagen CC |
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| The Maxima and CC have low, wide
stances giving them a sportier appearance. Both grilles are also
wide to match with the Maxima's grille resembling the Japanese
Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R a little bit (Nissan says the overall
design was inspired by the new GT-R). The Maxima's squared off
fenders look more muscular than the CC and the hood has a unique
design that doesn't lead straight to the edge of the grille. The CC is based on the Passat but the wider grille of the CC looks better and the front fascia isn't completely chromed out either. The CC is actually rather different compared to the Passat but the family resemblance is still there in the grille designs and headlight curvature. |
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| Nissan calls the Maxima's design theme "Liquid Motion" based on the curvature of the body panels, especially the hood which resembles a wave. It looks pretty good actually and separates it from other cars in this segment. The CC takes more standard design cues from the Volkswagen lineup but the CC is one of their better overall designs. | ||
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| The most striking design element of
the Maxima are the L-shaped headlights. The Maxima is one of the
first cars to employ a unique headlight design that flows with
the fenders rather than the fenders flowing around the
headlights. The creased fenders lead into a contour line across
the side of the car giving it an aggressive and chiseled look
matched well with the rest of the car's curves. The CC's headilghts are another interesting design that has curvature but aren't as integrated into the fender design. The rest of the CC's design look great with a moderately sculpted hood, door mirrors, and front fascia. Both cars come with sun/moonroofs with the Maxima having a dual panel moonroof and the CC having a panorama sunroof. The CC's panorama design looks better extending from side to side and A- to B-pillar. |
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| The coupe-like profiles of each car add long hoods, short trunks, and rear-swept rooflines. The CC's rear flows straighter toward the rear accentuating the coupe design but is a bit too rounded with a curved rear window. The profile is helped though with frameless doors that look eye-catching but the rear side window looks abnormally long. The windows on the Maxima look better proportioned due to the shorter length coupe-like C-pillar. | ||
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| The Maxima's taillights are
designed similar to the headlights with the LED brake cluster
formed in an L-shape also which surrounds the turn indicator
lamps. The taillights wraparound toward the side and lead into
the creased rear fenders. The trunk is also sculpted nicely
which is raised above the fenders and matched with a moderate
spoiler. The CC's taillights aren't as pretty with an unusual shape and circular design within. Due to the flowing rear roofline, the trunk is shorter in height which leaves little room for any interesting design cues. |
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| The CC's interior looks tremendously better than the Maxima's. Materials are richer, the layout is simpler and more refined, and everything is uncomplicated. The Maxima's interior suffers from faux wood trim added to a dark and fairly cheap looking interior. | ||
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| RECAP | RECAP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PROS +Liquid motion theme looks pretty good +Unique headlight design +Sculpted fenders CONS -Dark, cheap looking interior |
PROS +Frameless doors +Looks better than a regular Passat +Fine interior CONS -Rounded rear -Ugly taillights -Stout rear fascia |
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| Video Source: YouTube via Cars.com | Video Source: YouTube via Cars.com |
| NOTES |
| Performance is a compromise between both vehicles. The Maxima gets more power from the 3.5L V6 and weighs less which makes it faster from 0 to 60 mph and in the quarter-mile but is only available in front wheel drive. The CC gets slightly less power from its 3.6L V6 and a lot more weight, but comes with all wheel drive. On the skidpad, the Maxima hits about 0.85 g which is better than the 2.0L FWD CC which achieves 0.83 g, but not better than the 3.6L AWD which hits about 0.88 g. |
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