IFOUR-DOOR SEDAN offers luxury combined with sporty punch.

The timing was right last year for Nissan to redesign its flagship Maxima sedan.

Although only in its fourth year of the model run, sales were starting to head down the slippery slope.

Fast forward to the redesigned 2009 Maxima, and things were back on track for the model with September sales up 78 per cent. What a different a redesign makes!

Maxima has had a long run for Nissan and is now in its seventh generation after starting life in 1981 as the Datsun 810.

Today’s Maxima is far removed from the 810 model, but Nissan is attempting to create lightning in a bottle and bring the Maxima back to past glory.

A return to its sporty roots and to create “the best performing front engine, front-wheel drive car in the world” was the goal of engineers and designers.

Product literature refers to the 09 Maxima as a return of the “four-door sports car.”

While that may be a bit of a stretch, there’s no doubt the Maxima is improved over the previous generation and is a serious contender in the entry-level luxury class.

Key to the sports car goal is a huge boost in power, up to 290 horsepower from a 3.5-litre DOHC V6.

That’s a jump of 35hp from basically the same engine as last year. The engine was tweaked to boost performance, while at the same time providing better fuel economy.

Fuel consumption is rated at 10.8 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and 7.7L/100km on the highway. Last year, the numbers were 11.1 and 7.9 respectively.

Based on the same platform that is used on the Altima and Murano, Nissan set out to differentiate the Maxima from the Altima because over the years buyers had started to gravitate away from the Maxima to the V6 Altima.

Thanks to the new look, Nissan designers have succeeded in making the Maxima look larger even though the wheelbase and length have been reduced. The vehicle is wider, though, and has plenty of room to accommodate four adults in comfort.

It has, what Nissan calls a super cockpit, combining the intimacy and sportiness of a sports car with the comfort and utility of a sports sedan.

Buyers have a choice of four option packages, but the standard Maxima is well equipped with features such as heated leather seats, power moonroof, heated steering wheel, six airbags, anti-lock brakes and vehicle dynamic control.

Four option groups are available including the sport package, which includes sport tuned suspension, rear spoiler, Xenon headlights, premium leather seats, power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, paddle shifters and a few other odds and ends.

A tech package features a colour seven-inch monitor with rear view monitoring system, interface system for iPod, navigation system and a hard disc drive audio system with a 9.3 GB music box server.

My choice would be the premium package, which includes contents of the sport package plus dual panel sunroof with power retractable sunshades, power rear window sunshade, eucalyptus wood interior accent trim, heated and cooled driver’s seat, large rear seat fold down centre armrest with audio and HVAC controls, rear bucket-style seats, paddle shifters and a host of other features.

My tester was nicely finished inside, a testament to the work Nissan put into upgrading the interior.

Fit and finish was excellent and the premium package added a luxurious look and feel to the interior.

Nissan said it looked at every aspect of the interior layout including the size and shape of touch points and the placement of features to improve the driving experience.

An example was a move of the shift lever closer to the driver. This also allowed a cupholder to be placed to the right of the shift lever, not behind it on the centre console.

Along with the tweaked engine, Nissan has finessed the previous continuously variable transmission to improve responsiveness and strike a balance between sport and comfort.

The V6 engine with the power boost takes the Maxima to speed smoothly and quietly, although there is a bit of whine from the CVT, a common complaint with these transmissions. It’s a fun car to drive – perhaps not so much sports car-like as Nissan would like us to think – but certainly in the class of the best entry-level luxury sedans coming out of Japan and Europe these days.

A four-door sports car? Perhaps not. But a competent entry-level luxury sport sedan – definitely.