2020 Subaru WRX vs 2021 Nissan Maxima

For many, Subaru is synonymous with camping, skiing, and dog lovers. This active, outdoorsy reputation is one that Subaru has carefully cultivated through the years. But there is another side to the brand and one that is just as critical to its success. Its performance and motorsports efforts helped develop the symmetrical all-wheel-drive system found in nearly every modern Subaru. The 2020 Subaru WRX is the road-going manifestation of decades in world rally racing.

The WRX is a home-grown celebration of all the technologies that underpin the lineup of reliable, efficient Subaru wagons, sedans, hatchbacks, and SUVs. But in the WRX these chassis and powertrain innovations are distilled to their hard-driving extremes. Can a four-door, four-cylinder car be a halo car for a brand? When that brand is Subaru, the answer is “yes.”

The 2021 Nissan Maxima celebrates 40 years on sale, making it one of the oldest Japanese automotive nameplates in continuous use. While it’s impressive for any model to survive four decades, the Maxima has spent most of its history mired in mediocrity.

The Nissan Maxima name first appeared in 1981 as a rebranding of the Datsun 810 sedan. The original Maxima/810 was a true enthusiast’s car, boasting rear-wheel drive (RWD) and a sporty character that led Nissan to declare it a “four-door sports car.” However, that only lasted for a few years.

With its first redesign for the 1985 model year, the Maxima switched to front-wheel drive (FWD) and was positioned as Nissan’s flagship sedan. It’s been that way ever since. Nissan has continued to gesture in the direction of that original RWD model, but for most of its 40 years, the Maxima has been a slightly sportier alternative to full-size sedans like the Toyota Avalon, rather than a BMW beater.

So it is with the current, eighth-generation, Maxima, which debuted for the 2016 model year. It enters the 2021 model year with few changes. We drove the Nissan Maxima Platinum trim level for this review.