When the Nissan Maxima was redesigned in the fall of 2003, it didn't receive the warmest of welcomes. Many were left nonplussed by the car's looks, and those who could find the words were less than kind.

The biggest target of criticism has been the big, chrome "tooth" in the centre of the grille, which had, unfortunately, become a trademark of sorts for the company appearing on everything from the Maxima to the snout of the entry-level Sentra.

It's easy to feel bad for the Maxima, which was otherwise a great entry-lux sport sedan: it's fast, comfortable, roomy and represented a decent value, too. Like that person whom everyone describes as having "a great personality," the Maxima's gone under the knife for 2007 in search of a prettier face to match its pleasant comportment. Nissan's surgeons grafted a more traditional-looking grille onto the Maxima's nose, and fitted less busy-looking headlamp clusters and a revised lower air intake in the front bumper.

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The changes to the front of the car are a definite improvement, but the busy going-away view remains the same, and the new styling elements aren't enough to keep us from missing the pre-2004 Maxima, whose sharper looks were a good fit for that car's sharp performance. In our opinion, the current Maxima continues to look overweight, even if the driving experience suggests otherwise.

Thankfully, Nissan didn't mess with the stuff we've always liked about the Maxima. Under the hood is the same powerful 3.5-litre V6 that has powered Maximas since 2002. For 2007, it produces a healthy 255 horsepower - 10 fewer than last year, but you won't notice, as the Maxima pulls strongly from any speed, despite the presence of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) that is now the only transmission option in the Maxima.

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We've been cool on CVTs in past thanks to the way they tended to suck all the fun out of the driving experience. Well, this one's different, making great use of the engine's power to produce terrific acceleration, whether from a stop or while already underway. No matter how much squirt we asked for, the CVT ensured smooth acceleration in all situations. There's a manual shift option, but we found it to be superfluous and preferred letting the super-smooth CVT do all the work. That said, we'd still prefer a true manual transmission, at least on the sporty 3.5 SE model.

One gripe with the powertrain is that Nissan still hasn't been able to eliminate the torque steer that has plagued its powerful front-drive vehicles in recent years. Pin the gas, and the steering wheel tugs left and right, making spirited acceleration a real handful, particularly on uneven pavement, which amplifies the problem.

As is the case with earlier versions of this latest Maxima, we found no fault with the car's ride, which hits a just-right compromise between sporty-firm and cushy-comfortable. Handling is decent, despite our tester's 1,633 kg (3,600 lbs) curb weight, and if the car feels a bit ponderous in corners, the abundance of power helps to mask the car's heft. Understeer is the default setting in spirited cornering, but we suspect that moving to the SE model, with its firmer suspension, would help improve high-speed handling. The Maxima also lacks the super-solid feel that its German competitors offer.

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While we've never had serious problems with the Maxima's interior, Nissan upgraded some of the dashboard materials and cleaned up the centre stack to create a more ergonomic and more attractive environment. The result is that the Maxima's inside continues to be its best side, even if, again, it can't quite match the feel of an Audi interior.

The wide front seats are very comfortable, and there's lots of headroom, even with our tester's standard sunroof. Convenience features abound, including a power tilt and telescoping steering column. The number of interior storage spaces is strictly average, but the extra-deep centre console bin earned extra marks from us.

Comfort and space in the rear is very good as well, the only exceptions being the large hump in the centre of the floor - we'd love it if more manufacturers could figure out a way to eliminate this in their front-wheel drive models - and the lack of a headrest for the centre passenger, which we think is a significant oversight in a near-luxury sedan.

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What we found ourselves wondering, however, is why Nissan feels buyers might be compelled to pick the Maxima over the G35, the entry-level model from Nissan's Infiniti luxury division. For one, the G35's price starts about $1,500 cheaper than our Maxima 3.5 SL's $41,498 MSRP, and it offers a dynamically superior rear-wheel drive layout (bye-bye torque steer!) even if it comes with fewer standard features. Our Maxima's as-tested price worked out to $44,573 before freight, including a $2,950 Navigation package, $125 for metallic paint (in a colour called "Precision Grey" on our tester). Option out a G35 with the Premium and Navigation packages, and you get a car that's equipped almost identically to our Maxima for about $2,000 more. And for about $5,000 more than the price of our Maxima, you can get a G35 with all-wheel drive.

We'd pay the premium for the Infiniti, which we think is the more attractive car, and we do prefer rear-wheel drive in powerful cars like these. Then there's the fact that the G35 is more powerful, offering 303 horsepower for 2007, without a significant fuel consumption penalty: 11.1 L/100 km (city) and 7.8 L/100 km (highway) for the Maxima versus 12.7 L/100 km (city) and 8.6 L/100 km (highway) for the Infiniti. Speaking of which, our Maxima used about 11 L/100 km in a roughly 50/50 mix of city and highway driving.

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Still, we can't deny that the Maxima remains a fine car in its own right, combining elements of a comfortable cruiser with a sporty edge. But despite the much-needed styling tweaks, the Maxima still suffers its odd looks in class full of much sexier cars. The impending arrival of a handsome new Altima isn't likely to help, either, considering that car can be had with a similar level of performance, even if it gives up the luxury quotient to its big brother.

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