One of my first press trips at Motor Trend was for the then-new 2013 Mazda CX-5 crossover. Mazda engineers said they spent lots of time designing the A-pillars and side mirrors for a minimally obstructed view from the driver’s seat. Since then, I have paid close attention to forward visibility (and rear blind spots) in every car I drive—this is one area where the boldly styled 2016 Nissan Maxima SR fails to impress.
From the driver’s seat, the position of the Maxima’s A-pillars, side mirrors, tweeters, and blind spot warning indicator light combine to form one massive forward blind spot.
When the car is stopped at an intersection, driver- and passenger-side A-pillars can block the driver’s ability to see pedestrians standing at the curb or walking in the crosswalk more than in an average car. In order to safely make a left- or right-hand turn, the driver must check for pedestrians by moving their body from side to side to get a sufficient view around both sides of the A-pillars before proceeding. Making a left turn onto a street with a center divider is also slightly more difficult than other new cars, requiring the side-to-side head motion to see around the front blind spot in order to place the car correctly in the new lane.
“I can’t get used to the wide pillar-mounted mirrors,” said Motor Trend online news editor Alex Nishimoto.” I think it might have something to do with the low seating position or the Maxima’s high beltline, but when making a left turn it’s very easy to almost clip the median or some other obstacle hidden behind the driver-side mirror.”
Intersections with a double left-turn lane compound the problem as you must constantly check for the divider as well as for the car to the right turning in tandem. Additionally, the electric power steering doesn’t intuitively place the car in the path you expect, leading to minor adjustments to the wheel during the turn.
The Maxima also has poor rearward visibility. Sometimes, it isn’t entirely clear without help from the blind spot monitoring system whether a car really is filling a rear blind spot. The upward kick of the beltline at the rear door quarter window and the rear headrest positions contribute to this. Along with a rear cross-traffic alert system, a blind spot monitoring system and forward emergency braking are standard on the SL, SR, and Platinum models, but not available on the S and SV lower trims.
After nearly a year in our long-term fleet, the 2016 Nissan Maxima SR still gets lots of looks and compliments for its swoopy styling. Unfortunately, this styling is the reason it has such terrible front and rear blind spots.
What do you think: Would you sacrifice optimal visibility for head-turning styling?
More on our long-term 2016 Nissan Maxima SR here:
- Arrival
- Update 1: First Impressions are Fabulous
- Update 2: Performance Numbers and a Recall
- Update 3: Road Trips and Winter Driving
- Update 4: Finding Out How the Maxima Compares to a Charger V-6
- Update 5: Grabbing Attention Nearly a Year On
The post 2016 Nissan Maxima SR Update 6: Epic Blind Spots appeared first on Motor Trend.
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