Now the next generation has been shown to the motoring media and will be on sale from June 1. Those who still like the current car may care to make a trip to a Nissan dealership as soon as possible because there are only a few dozen left. Don’t expect any good deals though because tight planning by the Nissan Australia chiefs during these troubled financial times has turned out to be too conservative and has created a stock shortage.

But what about the new model Maxima? It's an all-new car in the body, with a newly engineered platform that's significantly stiffer than the old. The engine and transmission are carried over, but with many changes to improve performance and reduce fuel consumption.

The biggest news of all is the introduction of a 2.5-litre V6 engine to complement the existing 3.5 V6. We have spent some time driving Maxima with this smaller engine and it's a delightful unit. This is often the way and smaller than average engines with multiple cylinders are some of our favourite powerplants. Outputs for the 2.5 installed in the Maxima 250 models are 134 kW, and 228 Nm at 4400 rpm. Fuel consumption is rated at 9.5 litres per hundred kilometres when measured on the combined cycle to official Australian standards.

On the road this engine is lovely and smooth and we feel the great majority of drivers will be more than happy with its performance. If you're going to be carrying a big load and/or travelling in hilly areas we recommend you try to duplicate those conditions during your own test drive.

Best of all the Nissan Maxima 250 ST-L is priced at only $33,990. That includes leather trim, powered front seats, dual-zone air conditioning and six airbags, so this is certainly no stripped down price leader. With this new model, Nissan Australia is keen to steal sales from Toyota Camry (four-cylinder) and the Toyota Aurion V6, as well as the Honda Accord V6.

The 3.5-litre engine now produces 185 kW and 326 Newton metres. It has plenty of performance and will appeal to the rev heads in the family-car market. Models with the bigger engine are now called Maxima 350.

We feel the new Maxima body, while striking enough in its shape, isn't nearly as adventurous as the about-to-be-superseded one. The designers have chosen to go for a more elegant look this time around.

Pleasingly, the windscreen pillars are noticeably slimmer than average for this day and age. This is an important safety feature as it gives good visibility when driving in the suburbs as well as on twisting country roads.

The dashboard area of the Maxima is a model of simplicity and user friendliness and could be a model to some other car stylists who get carried away with fashion over function.

Though you still wouldn’t call it a sporty vehicle the new Maxima has improved road holding and chassis dynamics compared with the old. It turns in willingly enough and isn't overly upset by big changes in the road surface. But it's not the sort of car you would choose if you enjoy driving hard.

Noise reduction is impressive, an important feature of the new, stiffer platform and the big Nissan sedan is surprisingly quiet on Australian coarse-chip roads.

Interior room is good, but we feel the back seat really should have been bigger for a car of this size. It can take four adults and provides reasonably legroom, but you may have to share some of that space with the occupants in the front.

The boot is huge and stretches a long way forward, perhaps stealing some of the aforementioned room from the back seat.

All-in-all this upcoming Nissan Maxima is a most impressive car at a very good price. Those looking to buy a medium sized car should consider the model with the 2.5-litre engine, while the big 3.5 engine is there for shoppers in the family-car market.

The full 2009 Nissan Maxima range, with prices (excluding on-road costs) is:

Maxima 250 ST-L: $33,990 (automatic)

Maxima 350 ST-S: $37,990 (automatic)

Maxima 350 Ti: $46,990 (automatic)