It's important to nurse the manually equipped Maxima a bit on take-off. That doesn't mean poke along at 'octogenarian wearing hat' speeds, but a smooth release of the clutch and soft touch on the throttle is mandatory to maintain total control. Even at speed, think smooth. Dropping down a gear to pass, and then dumping the clutch will induce enough torque steer to disrupt the car's forward flow. The same goes for the corners. It works best in a higher gear with low revs. Negotiating the curves in a lower gear at higher revs pulls the steering around disconcertingly, and the car off its line. Keeping these things in mind the Maxima is magical, slicing up road twists and undulations with absolute ease and composure.

Braking too is otherworldly. It's easy to see Nissan has targeted sedans like BMW's 3-Series rather than the domestics in this category, its 245/45R18 tires on 18-inch alloy rims bite into the pavement with the tenacity of a guard dog thanks to generously sized 4-wheel discs aided by 4-wheel ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA).