Originally posted by warmonger:
Oh, I thought we were comparing Contour SE with Contour SVT at first.
Yeah, the power to weight for the Maxima is about the same as the CSVT but you have the torque advantage. That helps out. However, it appears from the stats that the cars are very comparable and I would think that stock on stock would be 50/50 wins for both CSVT's and Max SE's.
There is something about the CSVT's power band that just helps in the upper rev's in higher gears, and the coefficient of drag must be lower or something because we just leave a lot of similarly powered cars behind us when we hit 3rd and 4th gear.
I'm betting that wind resistance becomes a deciding factor in these instances just because of the low Coef. Drag.
The max SE 5spd was actually the other car I test drove when I bought the CSVT! I liked the power as the take-off torque was much stronger, but CSVT had that surge of power effect at 5K rpm that felt great too. What really decided it for me was the looks of the CSVT and the suspension. The SE felt too soft and floaty after driving the CSVT. I had to go back and re-drive the CSVT and when I did I never went back to Nissan.
I'm not just some Ford guy, I bought my wife a Saturn and I used to work for Chevy/Infinity(nissan) dealership as a mech in college. I just love the CSVT because it's a great car.
warmonger
That's good info!! Most cars beat me off the jump (Integras, maximas, ect.), but when I hit 3, 4, 5 gears its like the power really kicks in. And its funny when you catch them and their head just follows you until you are in front of them. The CSVT is such a fun car to drive. I know it is a lot of four door sedans out their that are faster, but this car is unique. 
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