THE Australian Maxima is actually based on a car called the Teana in Japan, rather than the US model Maxima, which has a far more challenging and industrial look to it. The Aussie car is still conservative yet this time around it's cohesive and impressive, bar the rather over-sized headlights. Compared to its predecessor, this car is actually 40mm shorter and 15mm narrower despite riding on a 25mm longer wheelbase. The cabin is 15mm taller. The ST-L is the base model, with the Ti and Ti-L the other two models in the range. Equipment levels rather than styling tweaks distinguish the three cars.