Nissan Maxima (A36) review: the last V6 sedan Nissan sold in Bahrain
3.4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
The A36 Maxima is a genuinely good used buy for someone who wants a 300 hp V6 sedan and does not care that Nissan stopped making it. It is quicker than a Camry V6 and more comfortable than an Altima, and GCC cars are typically well optioned. The catch is the CVT: budget for a cooler service or a full fluid change on anything with unclear history, and buy the newest, lowest-mileage example you can find rather than chasing a bargain — parts and specialist knowledge for a discontinued nameplate only get scarcer from here.
Pros
- 300 hp VQ35 V6 that Nissan never put in the smaller sedans it actually sold here
- GCC cars typically come well equipped, with Alcantara trim on higher grades
- Quicker and more engaging than a four-cylinder Camry or Altima
- Clean examples are starting to hold value now that the nameplate is dead
Cons
- CVT reliability is a genuine concern without full service history
- Discontinued nameplate means shrinking parts and specialist support over time
- Rare on the used market, so choice is limited and prices vary widely
- No official GCC crash-test rating on record
The Maxima nameplate ran for 42 years before Nissan retired it after the 2023 model year, and the A36 generation that closed it out is the version most likely to turn up on Bahrain's used market. It shares its underpinnings with the Altima but sits on a wider track, wears a more aggressive body, and — critically — keeps the 3.5-litre VQ35 V6 that Nissan never offered in the smaller sedan here.
Driving it
300 hp and 354 Nm through the front wheels is enough to spin them under hard acceleration, and the CVT is tuned with simulated steps that mask its nature better than most Xtronic-equipped Nissans. It genuinely feels like the sportier alternative to a V6 Camry or Sonata, with a flat-bottomed wheel and Alcantara trim on higher grades that few midsize sedans bothered with at the time.
Nissan's Xtronic CVTs from this era carry a real reputation for shudder and premature failure under sustained heat and stop-start traffic, and Bahrain provides plenty of both. A Maxima with full service history and regular fluid changes is a different car from one that has never had the transmission touched.
Buying one now
Because the nameplate is dead, values have mostly stopped following the usual depreciation curve — clean, low-mileage cars are starting to hold rather than keep sliding. Buy the youngest example with the clearest service history you can find and treat any car with no transmission paperwork as needing a fluid service on day one, not as a maybe.
The rest of the car is conventional Nissan mechanicals that any competent Gulf workshop can handle, though VQ35-specific parts are not stocked as deep as a Camry four-cylinder's. Buy it as a car to keep, not one you plan to flip in three years — a discontinued nameplate only gets harder to sell as time passes.