I was pretty unimpressed with the car. 30 grand, and "only" 265hp. I saw an Altima and Maxima side by side at the dealership, and the Maxima isn't that much larger. It appears to have a larger trunk, but the interior space isn't hugely different.
The front grille is hideous. The headlights look like they belong on the Caddy CTS. The rest of the car is tolerable. I did notice some very poor fit and finish on a couple exterior body panels though. Living up to their reputation, Nissan ALMOST got it right, and managed to ruin an otherwise good design with detail issues.
BTW, the Maxima comes with HUGE tires. 245/45/18's. Seems like overkill to me