Infiniti has characteristically taken the path less travelled. The original Q45 was styled to express Japanese culture (rather than imitate the Germans), tuned for drivers, and infamously advertised with video of rocks and trees. The brand finally hit its stride thirteen years later with the compact rear-wheel-drive G35. It jumped on the crossover bandwagon with a pair of cozy cabined, firmly suspended, VQ-propelled eggs. Those seeking space for their family and their family’s stuff had a choice between the massive truck-based QX56 and something that wasn’t an Infiniti (often an Acura MDX). Market and dealer pressure to offer something much closer to the norm was no doubt intense. So, for 2013, we have the Infiniti JX35 (originally reviewed by Derek Kreindler). Has the brand’s character been overly compromised, or is this the crossover Infiniti should have offered from the start?

Recent Infinitis have been curvaceous, even bulbous. You won’t find fuller forms on any other new car lot. With the JX35, Infiniti clearly struggled with an inherent conflict between this design language and the need to offer competitive interior space. The JX’s exterior is an incompletely resolved combination of a curvy M-like front end (dominated by an over-sized grille and emblem) and a space-maximizing box. A “crescent-shaped” D-pillar is distinctive, but there’s probably an aesthetic reason that explains why it’s never been done before. Expect it to spread to other Infinitis as they are redesigned.

Inside the JX35, Infiniti has also backed off its usual tendencies in order to cater to the typical large crossover buyer. The interior is styled to resemble those in other Infinitis, so it’s easy on the eyes, but the forms are much different. The instrument panel and console are less curvy and less intrusive. The seats are flatter, nearly bolster-free, and less cushy. As a result, the JX feels less “tailored to fit” (or, for larger people, not fit) than other Infinitis. The appeal isn’t as deep, but it’s much broader.

Infiniti is very proud of the way the JX’s second-row split bench folds forward. With no child seat in it, the cushion folds up tightly against the backrest GM Lambda-style to open up a very wide path to the third row. Infiniti’s innovation: unlike in the Lambdas, if you strap in a child seat the bench can still slide forward enough to permit people to squeeze through. There’s no need to order captain’s chairs (that aren’t offered) to maintain access to the third row with child seats in the second row.

In other respects the JX’s rear passenger accommodations are nothing special. As in most crossovers (Ford’s being the major exception), the seats are flat and are mounted too low to the floor to provide adults with thigh support. And as in too many luxury vehicles, there isn’t any space under the front seats for the toes of second-row passengers, essentially reducing second-row legroom by about four inches. There’s still plenty of legroom in the second row if the bench is shifted fully rearward along its five inches of travel. But, again all too typically, if the second row is all the way back there’s very little legroom in the third row. Ultimately, there’s just enough space to fit average-sized men in all three rows if everyone limits their legroom to the amount they absolutely need. To Infiniti’s credit, the third row is better ventilated than most, so the kids won’t bake back there. Behind the third row you’ll find 15.8 cubic feet of cargo volume, about the same as in an Acura MDX. My five-person family’s luggage wouldn’t fit without folding at least half of the third row.

There’s considerably more space for both people and cargo inside a Buick Enclave. But Infiniti’s marketing people never mention the Enclave as a competitor. They prefer to talk about the Acura MDX and Audi Q7, both of which have tighter third rows than the JX and both of which have gone six years since a thorough redesign. But, in terms of specs and configuration, the Buick is actually the JX’s closest competitor. Inside, the Buick wins on quantity, the Infiniti on quality (unless GM has worked wonders with the 2013 refresh).

With a powertrain and chassis derived from the Nissan Murano (and shared with the upcoming 2013 Pathfinder), the JX35’s performance neither delights nor disappoints. Even with all-wheel-drive curb weight is a very reasonable 4,419 pounds, so the 3.5-liter V6’s 265 horsepower are sufficient. The mandatory CVT assists by holding the engine in its power band when this is required. I personally didn’t mind the behavior of the CVT. If you do, select sport mode and it mimics a conventional six-speed automatic. Go WOT with front-wheel-drive and there’s some torque steer and front-end float, but not nearly enough to by themselves justify all-wheel-drive. Unlike in the MDX, which has an oversteer-inducing rear differential, the JX’s all-wheel-drive system doesn’t significantly enhance the driving experience on dry roads.

Fuel economy according to the EPA is 18 city / 24 highway with front-wheel-drive and 18/23 with all-wheel-drive, similar to the numbers earned by large domestic crossovers. The trip computer reported about 21 on my largely exurban driving route (infrequent stops, speed typically between 40 and 60). Given the vehicle’s relatively low curb weight and CVT, it should be capable of better. Blame the aging VQ V6 engine.

The JX’s ride and handling are similarly sufficient for the vehicle’s intended mission. The steering is light but well-weighted, and even provides some feedback if you’re paying close attention. Body motions and lean are fairly well controlled, but rush the JX and it feels heavy and out of its element, lapsing into a safe, dull plow. Did I really expect otherwise, even with the Technology Package’s “active trace control”? Hope, perhaps. Expect, no. The ride is generally smooth and quiet, though there’s some “head toss” over uneven roads (a by-product of thick stabilizer bars) and some minor jitters over patchy pavement (the standard 18-inch wheels might help–the tested vehicles all had the optional 20s). One “feature” that few people will notice, or be bothered by if they do: the 60 side of the second row often vibrates, as if it’s harmonizing with a frequency in the suspension.

The Infiniti JX starts at $41,400. Add $1,100 for all-wheel-drive. Tick all of the major boxes and the sticker’s bottom line reaches $54,800, which is $540 below a 2012 Acura MDX Advance with Entertainment Package. But the ancient Acura lags in the safety nannies department, while the oh-so-2013 JX has them all (ICC, FCW, BCI, DCA, BSW, BSI, LDW, LDP, XYZ, PDQ, WTF). BCI—Back-up Collision Intervention—is a first: if the system detects that you’re about to back up into something, it automatically stops the vehicle. Between this feature and the around-view monitor Infiniti pioneered a few years ago (I’m a fan), the paint on the JX’s rear bumper should be good for the long haul. Use TrueDelta’s car price comparison tool to assign typical values to these features, adjust the price accordingly, and the JX emerges with a nearly $3,700 price advantage over the MDX. Compared to a loaded 2012 Buick Enclave, a similarly-equipped JX lists for $1,890 less before adjusting for feature differences and about $3,200 less afterwards. Even though the Infiniti can be optioned into the mid-fifties, it’s actually a good value. Willing to forego the fancy bits for a lower price? Nissan has a closely related Pathfinder on the way.

In the end, I’m not sure how to answer the question posed by the introduction. In the next few years, I’m going to take my kids on a grand tour of the western national parks from Arizona to Alberta. When I do, I’d like a roomy three-row vehicle with an athletic chassis. I like how Infinitis drive, my wife likes how they look and feel. They might have stuck to their characteristic way of doing things and created our ideal family truckster. But the entire auto industry has realized the pointlessness of catering to fecund driving enthusiasts taking once-in-a-lifetime Rocky Mountain road trips. The Cadillac SRX lost its barely-there third row and shifted to a front-wheel-drive platform. The relatively car-like Mercedes-Benz R-Class was vastly outsold by the clumsier GL. Lexus never delivered a planned driver-focused GS-based crossover, instead peddling the RX, GX and LX. Infiniti paid its car guy dues with the EX and FX; the former has sold poorly, the latter just a bit better. So the JX, which takes the emerging segment norm and dresses it like an Infiniti, is only a surprise in that it didn’t happen years ago. Unless you get off on safety nannies, there’s no wow, and little in the way of driving excitement. But there’s a lot of nice. The big question isn’t whether the JX will sell–it will–but how many other Infinitis will head down the same path.

Infiniti provided a couple of the tested JXs, fuel, insurance, airfare to Charleston, a fancy boutique hotel, and excellent food. Bill French at Suburban Infiniti of Novi provided another JX so I could test the ride on Michigan roads. Bill can be reached at 888-779-2907.

Michael Karesh operates TrueDelta.com, an online source of car reliability and real-world fuel economy information.

The Infiniti JX marks the fourth SUV or crossover for the brand, slotting between the FX sporty crossover and the gargantuan QX56. According to Infiniti, the brand had nothing to stem the flow of customers who were dabbling outside the brand when it came time for a three-row luxury crossover. Instead of letting their clients go off and get an Acura MDX or Audi Q7, Infiniti took the underpinnings of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and co-opted them for a luxury vehicle.

The 2013 Pathfinder won’t be out until later in 2012, but the peanut gallery that ceaselessly criticized the car’s abandonment of a body-on-frame chassis for a front-drive based, CVT-equipped package will be eating a buffet of crow if the Pathfinder turns out to be as nice as the JX. Even though power is down compared to rivals – the JX makes 265 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 248 lb-ft at 4,440 rpm, compared to 300 for the MDX and 280 horsepower for the base Q7 – the JX is substantially lighter than the Q7 (872 lbs) and a little trimmer than the MDX (182 lbs). Despite the lack of instrumented testing on hand, the JX’s straight line performance is more than adequate. Infiniti’s Sean McNamara told me that the product team wanted to make sure that the JX could “get out of its own way”, as that was the primary concern of their customers rather than bragging rights, and in this area, they’ve exceeded all expectations.

The CVT gearbox’s calibration carefully mimics an automatic gearbox in most situations. Puttering around town, the revs stay in the low end of the rpm range, but when the throttle is pinned, they don’t drop down in quite the same way as a traditional automatic would allow for. The CVT is appropriate in this application, and Nissan’s CVT technology has come a long way since the early Muranos and their motorboat gearboxes. Worth noting is that the JX can be configured in either FWD or AWD. Fuel economy is 18 mpg around town for both. Highway and combined figures are 24 mpg and 21 mpg for the FWD, and 23/20 for the AWD.

While the mechanical bits may be related to the Pathfinder, the cabin is all Infiniti. Sumptuous leather and wood are featured throughout, and the layout of the dash is a near perfect copy of the Infiniti M. The materials are all beautiful, but buttons abound as a means of controlling the absurd amount of acronym-addled technology features. Right before I embarked on my drive, an Infiniti PR rep came over and pressed a button on the steering wheel. “We’re going to activate the LDW, LDP and BSI systems and we ask that you opt-in to that.” What he meant was that the Lane Departure Warning, Lane Departure Prevention (that provides physical feedback to prevent the driver from drifting out of a lane, rather than just chirping incessantly) and the Blind Spot Intervention system would all be active during our drive. It’s a wonder we even needed to bother staying awake and driving the car ourselves.

Rather than feeling monstrous like the QX, the JX is “right-sized”, with far more comfort and usable space than the FX or EX. The ride is smooth and quiet rather than sporty or engaging, and the JX feels like a very good synthesis of the MDX and the Q7. Our test route outside of Charleston, South Carolina, was composed of flat, straight arterial roads and highways – the kind of driving that Infiniti customers are prone to do, but a poor place to accurately gauge the quality of the ride and handling over different (and poor quality) ride surfaces. Parking the car for a few moments allows for a better examination of the JX’s more practical features. Getting into the third row is made easier by the trick second row seats that slide forward and have hinged bottom cushions that allow for a fairly wide opening into the third row. Infiniti has famously been touting that the second row can fold without having to remove a child seat – there was no demo unit on hand, but we’ll take their word for it based on our own seat folding activities. Fold the third row down and the cargo area grows substantially.

Our JX AWD tester came loaded to the gills with every feature possible; voice activation for the audio and navigation controls, the aforementioned drive assistance features, a rear seat entertainment system, intelligent cruise control, an automatic-braking system for front end collisions and a dual sunroof are just a few of the options (and their associated packages) that took our JX from a base price of $41,550 to $54,800, including destination.  Buyers will have to determine whether the $12,300 in frankly excessive options are worth it. Gizmos aside, the JX is a great luxury crossover on its own merits – we barely scratched the surface of all of the vehicle’s technology and still came away impressed. Infiniti should have no trouble making the JX as ubiquitous as the G lineup has become, especially given the short attention spans of novelty-seeking luxury buyers who are likely bored of their four-ringed monsters after a few years of leasing. The FX and EX, for all the performance they possessed, had little practical use and were essentially compromised sports cars. The JX takes things in the opposite direction, sacrificing performance for practicality – something that the target demographic cares about more than acceleration times or rear-drive handling dynamics.

Infiniti provided travel, lodging and airfare to the author for this press event.

We are in Yokohama, on the fifth floor of Nissan’s corporate world headquarters, while Infiniti’s first range extended mid-ship concept sports car is unveiled in Switzerland. It is there, I am told “to provide a glimpse into Infiniti’s future.” The future is undecided. This car may, or may not come.

The design of the car oozes seductive sex. That, thankfully, will rub off on the whole Infiniti line, I hear.

Will the Emerge lead Nissan to a range extended future? “Not necessarily,” says Bancon, with the best sybillinic smile he can muster.

Bancon’s title is “Division General Manager of Exploratory and Advanced Product.” That is one of the longest titles I have seen in the industry, and Bancon indicates that I haven’t seen all of his titles. Bancon, dressed in a sweat shirt and sporting a two day beard, is a rare combination of an artist, an engineer, and a manager. The graduate of the of École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts in Paris had worked as a designer for Renault. It is unusual for a designer to climb that high on the corporate ladder.

Using the artist name Phoebe, Bancon still takes time to produce and show art and photography, and to blog about his work. Once an artist, always an artist. Even if he is one of the few who climbed that high on the corporate ladder.

Bancon has been living in Japan for 12 years. “I came in 1999 with Carlos Ghosn and I am still here,” he says. He has had a number of unusual titles that probably never truly covered what Bancon really did at Nissan. “General Manager, Perceived Quality Department, Global Design Center” was only one of them.

“We call it exploratory planning,” says Bancon when asked what he really does. “We are developing directions the company should follow, long term, mid-term. The EMERG-E is part of this exploration.”

The EMERG-E is the first Infiniti that has been developed in Europe. The design was done at Nissan Design Europe in London. The design itself is Japan seen through the eyes of an American.

After more than 50 proposals from Infiniti studios in Japan, the UK and California were handed in, Bancon and the rest of the brass at Nissan picked the work of California-based Infiniti designer Randy Rodriguez as the winning design. Other designers sketch dream cars. Rodriguez penned an erotic dream car. I learn that the EMERG-E took its design cues from the nape of the neck of Japanese women. I had learned separately that the neck is “considered a primary erotic area in Japanese sexuality.” Even Infiniti’s press kit gets with the X-rated program and talks about “the sensuous, hourglass squeeze” of the cockpit, and the “subtly voluptuous lateral air intakes.” Even the 400 bhp turn an exercise in cross dressing bestilaty. The EMERG-E is, says Francois Bancon, like “400 wild horses in a silky dress.” This is a car that makes us explore sexual fantasies, and I am all for that.

The technology of the EMERG-E was lead-managed by Nissan’s European Technical Centre (NTCE), in Cranfield near London. The decision to have the car developed in England was a practical one. Says Bancon:

“There was some kind of a collaboration with the Technology Strategy Board in the UK. They wanted to promote their technologies, and with Nissan being the number one carmaker in the UK, it was natural for them to collaborate with us and for us to collaborate with them. Collaborating did not save us so much money, but it saved us a lot of time.”

The UK government’s Technology Strategy Board introduced Infiniti to a range of suppliers that would provide innovative hardware and specialized knowledge. One of Nissan’s suppliers of engineering advice is Lotus. Bancon is not worried that they also make cars.

“We have a long relationship with Lotus. We have worked with them a lot on pre-studies. They do their car, we do our car, but we share the heart of the technology.”

Bancon quickly pre-empts foolish ideas that the EMERG-E might just be a Lotus under a sexy silky gown:

“I have never seen the car Lotus did. They have never seen this car. We use their Evora platform to save time. The platform is not crucial for us, we could use our own platform. The key were the electric components, being able to use those was a real timesaver.”

The average buyer of a luxury car is between 50 and 60 years old. “In some markets, the Infiniti buyer is more 60 than 50,” says Bancon. “China is THE exception, the luxury buyers in China are young, 30-35 years. We want to reposition Infiniti, targeting the young buyer.”

The modern affluent buyer may not always have amassed the wealth in a socially harmonious manner, but that buyer wants to have a clean green conscience at least. He wants a “hot, yet clean sports car,” as Bancon condenses it. Infiniti offers guilt-free performance to that rarified demographic. The car promises what Bancon calls “the power of silence.” If that range-extended car is ever sold, it will provide 30 pure electric miles before the ICE is heard from. In the words of Bancon, “you can drive it in London in the congestion charge area without paying, and you can open up on the track.”

Bancon had three choices to deliver that green clean conscience:

“One is battery EV. This has limitations in power and autonomy. Not the best for a sportscar.

Then there is the plug-in hybrid. This is a very promising technology.

The range extender is in competition with the plugin-in hybrid. Basically the same technology. Main difference: The range extender is an EV. There is no connection between the ICE and the wheel. The ICE is just a battery charger.

There are some pros and some cons, the cons being weight and cost. A range extender needs a big battery. Big battery means cost and weight.”

When building the EMERG-E, the engineers fought a constant battle with weight. Bancon remembers:

“If we would build this car the normal way, it would easily weigh 2.2 tonnes (4,850 lbs.) This car weighs 1.6 tonnes (3.500 lbs). How did we do this? The upper body is entirely in carbon fiber. Our objective was 50 percent carbon fiber for the mass production car, and we did it.”

This car being a concept, or what Bancon calls “an exploration,” he doesn’t have to contend with the second problem yet – money. Using carbon fiber to slim down the car does not make it cheaper. If it is ever built, the EMERG-E will remain a toy for the affluent, and that’s o.k. for Bancon. He won’t need big numbers for that car, he already played a leading role during the development and launch of the Leaf.

Will the EMERG-E ever go in production? The answer is yes. Two will be built.

Says Bancon:

“Usually, a concept car is just for the show. This car is not just a styling exercise. We will be building two driving prototypes, one for Europe and one to go around the world, starting in the U.S.“

Come June or July, even I could be behind the wheel of an EMERG-E, promises Bancon. “If Nathalie lets you.”

And he points at Infiniti’s Global Communications Manager Nathalie Greve, who comes in to say that the interview is over.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Specifications

Powertrain

Motor type (synchronous), Twin rotor motors, one per rear rear wheel

EVO Electric Synchronous DC Brushless drive

Motor peak power, revs 150kW per motor (300kW total for vehicle) available for 30s or less. Flat distribution of power circa 3000 RPM upwards

Motor peak torque, revs 1000Nm

ICE cylinders, capacity Lotus 3-cylinders, 1.2litre

ICE peak power, revs 35kW at 3500rpm

ICE peak torque, revs 107Nm at 2500rpm

Transmission Xtrac Single-speed (4.588:1 reduction box)

Battery type Lithium-ion phosphate

Battery capacity 300 kW

Peak power 1000 amps

Energy 14.8kW/h (at 25deg)

Recharge time (from 13amps) 10 hours

(6 hours at 16amps)

Fuel tank capacity (litres) 30.6litres

Chassis and Body

Construction Bonded, extruded aluminium chassis, carbon fibre bodywork

Length 4464mm

Width 1954mm

Height 1219mm

Wheelbase 2624mm

Weight 1598 kg

Drag coefficient 0.340 Cd

Suspension, front Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension. Front Anti-roll bar. Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs.

Suspension, rear Forged aluminium double wishbone suspension. Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs.

Brakes, front Ventilated disc, 350mm dia

Brakes, rear Ventilated disc.332mm dia

Steering Rack and pinion

Assistance Electro Hydraulic PAS

Wheels 8J x 19” dia. (Front)

9.5J x 20” dia. (Rear)

Tyres 235/35 r19 (front)

275/30 r20 (rear)

Performance

0-60mph 4.0sec

0-130mph 30.0sec

Max speed 130mph

Range, EV mode 30 miles

Full range 300 miles

CO2 emissions, EV mode Zero

CO2 emissions, r-e mode 55g/km (NEDC cycle)

Most luxury sedans try to do everything fairly well, while taking no risks that might turn off a potential buyer. The typical end result: a car with few memorable characteristics, good or bad. Despite a “have your cake and eat it too” powertrain, the Infiniti M35h is not such a car. You might not like everything about it. But you will remember it.

To begin with, the Infiniti doesn’t look like any of the others. Though the current automotive fashion favors sheer surfaces, straight lines and sharp creases, the M’s big body contains the fullest curves this side of a plus-sized lingerie catalog. Think Jaguar with more brawn and less grace, as if to prove that organic forms don’t have to be feminine. The tall fenders require 20s to properly fill them; unfortunately the factory dubs are only available on conventionally-powered rear-wheel-drive variants. The h gets 18s.

The equally curvaceous interior recaptures the traditional charm that Jaguar abandoned with the XF in a bid to reinvent itself for the new century. Audi might offer stylish interiors, but they’re never this warm and intimate. The $3,900 Deluxe Touring Package’s silver-rubbed white ash trim tastefully dazzles. The brightwork flowing along the door panels and center console is a joy to gaze upon and trace with a fingertip. Another artful touch: the DTP’s diagonally-quilted semi-aniline leather upholstery. Materials are about as good as they get at this price level. And, despite the clear attention to form, function hasn’t been neglected. The center stack’s controls are very close at hand and logically arranged. The large, cushy seats feel as good as they look. Even compared to those in other luxury sedans, the M35h’s cabin is a very pleasant place to spend time. (Of my 50+ press cars, this one has been my wife’s clear favorite.)

The Infiniti M’s driving position is much different than you’ll find elsewhere. As in the related FX crossover, from the driver’s seat you clearly sense that you’re piloting a massive vehicle, yet not an expansive one. Those curvy interior panels detract from roominess up front. Also, the M’s body is considerably narrower above the beltline than below it. The relatively upright A-pillars touch down far inboard. As in the Jaguar XJ, but to an even greater degree, the view forward has overtones of vintage GT. The rear seat is less of an acquired taste, with plenty of room, a comfortably positioned cushion, and an open view forward. The trunk—well, the lithium-ion battery pack reduces its cubes from a competitive 14.9 to a compact 11.3.

The M35h’s hybrid powertrain combines a 3.5-liter V6 with a strong electric motor for a total of 360 peak horsepower, roughly splitting the difference between the M37’s V6 and the M56’s V8. But this isn’t the whole story: at lower rpm the hybrid’s performance is much closer to that of the 417 pound-feet V8, thanks to the electric motor’s 199 pound-feet of torque (on top of the gas engine’s 258). Despite the 280 pounds added by the hybrid bits, the M35h’s 4,129-pound curb weight is barely over that of a BMW 535i. Reasonable curb weight + scads of torque = strong acceleration. Rotate the console-mounted dial to “power” and the throttle can be overly aggressive, easily overpowering the rear tires. (Avoid this setting when the road is wet. For snow there’s “Snow.”) Even in “Eco” the M35h is a far cry from a Prius, you just have to push the throttle closer to the floor to blur the scenery. “Normal” strikes a good balance.

Helpful readouts include throttle efficiency and battery charge level. But, as in most hybrids, there’s no indication the division of braking between the motor/generator and the conventional brakes, so it’s unclear how to modulate the left pedal for optimal efficiency. An odd (if common) omission as the key benefit of a hybrid is its ability to recoup energy otherwise burned off by the brake rotors.

Based on the seat of the pants, the gas engine, seven-speed automatic transmission, and the electric motor (that takes the place of a torque converter between them) usually work together seamlessly. A notable exception: a hesitation in Eco and (to a lesser extent) Normal modes when you initially put in an order for a decidedly un-eco rate of acceleration, as if the powertrain computer can’t decide what to do. Want to get across the road before those approaching cars arrive? Sit tight, the desired thrust is on its way. The wait can only seem interminable. A second transmission issue: slow reactions to manual inputs. In manual mode anywhere near WOT you’d best request a shift 1,000 rpm short of the redline. Otherwise, “hello rev limiter!”

The ears have a different take the powertrain’s seams. The VQ-Series V6 is more polished than in other applications, but still far from hushed. At half-throttle and up it roars in a very un-hybrid-like manner. This would be okay, perhaps even welcome, except the noise comes and goes. The electric motor is capable of solely powering the vehicle up to 60 miles-per-hour, and frequently does so. The gas engine was off for the entire length of a two-mile 30-mph road. Very peaceful, this ability to glide along in near silence. But at near-highway speeds the engine often cycles several times a minute. So you’ll have a muted VQ rumble, then silence, then the rumble again, over and over. If the engine is going to cycle so frequently, it needs to be much quieter. Other noise levels are low. Aside from some occasional jiggles the ride is that of a luxury sedan, with a sense of solidity and level of encapsulation you won’t find in a mere Nissan.

And fuel economy? For one nine-mile trip where the gas engine was off much of the way the trip computer reported an astounding 39.7 miles-per-gallon. Then 24 on the return trip, despite an equally light right foot. The difference: whether the battery pack was giving or taking. Over longer trips that evened out this variable the car came close to the EPA numbers: 27 in the burbs, 32 on the highway, a significant bump over the M37’s 18/26 and impressive for a performance-oriented luxury sedan. Even a heavy foot sinks the numbers only into the low 20s. Apparently the VQ isn’t incorrigibly thirsty. Infiniti is about to lose its bragging rights, though: the 338-horsepower 2013 Lexus GS 450h ekes out 29/34.

Then there’s the chassis. The M’s moves are as old school as its aesthetics. Charming in some ways, much less so in others, and impairing confidence when it’s most needed. The steering is quick but light and distant. The car’s handling feels sporty, but not tied down or precise. One plus: the battery pack shifts the weight-distribution from 54/46 to 51/49, reducing understeer. But copious body roll in hard turns and a general sense of heft (above and beyond the car’s actual mass) suggest a closer relationship to the FX crossover than the G compact sedan. Worse, body motions aren’t well-controlled, especially out back where the rear end often lags a half-step behind the front. And all this is before adding the throttle to the equation. Like other rear-wheel-drive offshoots of the corporate FM platform, the M35h is prone to snap oversteer. Crack open the throttle with the steering wheel turned even a few degrees and the rear end will step out, even way out, nothing progressive about it. Combine dramatic oversteer with quick steering and subpar body control and you’ve got your hands full. Keep a cool head, don’t overcorrect (very easy to do here), and the rear wheels will again fall in step behind the front ones. The process is just far less intuitive and controllable than it could and should be. Leaving the stability control fully engaged helps, but in a heavy-handed way. Like those in its sibs, the M35h’s system cuts in early and hard. Better systems employ far more finesse, letting you believe you’re a better driver than you actually are. Yet, despite these dynamic faults, perhaps even due to some of them, the M35h is fun to drive. It might lack for talent, but it’s oh so willing.

The M35h starts $6,000 north of the M37, at $54,595. The must-have fancy wood and upgraded leather (plus the nav and 5.1 Bose audio that attend them) bump the tally to $61,945. Fuel savings might earn back the hybrid premium over the course of a decade, sooner if you drive many stop-and-go miles or gas prices shoot up. But also recall that the hybrid accelerates more like the M56, and the V8-powered car costs about $2,000 more. Some people are concerned about the potential long-term costs of hybrids. There’s more stuff that might potentially require replacement, including that lithium-ion battery back. Though it’s far too soon to tell in this specific case, the lower tech NiMH battery pack in the Toyota Prius rarely requires replacement even well north of 100,000 miles, based on TrueDelta’s Car Reliability Survey. If Nissan’s system is nearly as solid (far too soon to tell) its longevity won’t be an issue. The rest of the car? about average so far.

The Infiniti M35h has its shortcomings, especially when called upon to hustle through some tight curves. But the car’s unique combination of strong acceleration, 27/32 fuel economy, distinctive exterior, and beautiful cosseting interior has a certain charm. Want technical perfection? Then get something German. But if you’d prefer a luxury sedan that ignores conventions, that combines myriad noteworthy strengths and weaknesses into a whole that shouldn’t work—a luxurious retro-flavored hybrid where oversteer is a concern—yet somehow does, then take the M35h for a spin. Unlike with the typical hybrid or even far too many performance luxury sedans, there’s never a dull moment where the car seems to be doing all the work and you’re just along for the ride.

Infiniti provided the car with insurance and a tank of gas.

Michael Karesh operates TrueDelta.com, an online provider of car reliability and real-world fuel economy information.

The luxury SUV formula is simple (and almost universally applied); take a mass-market SUV, add bling, softer leather, and wood trim (real or fake, take your pick). The Cadillac Escalade is the best known example. The Caddy borrows so heavily from the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon that it’s hard to tell them apart unless you’re looking at them head-on.  Toyota/Lexus uses the same formula to make the LX570 out of the Toyota Land Cruiser.  If this doesn’t appeal to you, Nissan/Infiniti may have been listening. While Infiniti’s last generation QX was a tarted up Nissan Armada, this time around the QX is a re-badged Nissan Patrol. Same story different names you say? Not quite, the Patrol has never been sold in America, and in all likelihood never will be. You see, the Patrol is not some budget Nissan, it’s Nissan’s flagship SUV in markets where Infiniti doesn’t exist. This sounds strange to the average American buyer, however it is perfectly normal (in many markets) for a single brand to compete in the budget-compact market and the full-size luxury niche at the same time.

Outside, the QX looks big. Really big. Infiniti attempted to put the QX on a visual diet by adding the Infiniti signature grille and “bubbly” hood treatment. The nip/tuck works to some extent and made me believe the QX56 is smaller than the competition, until I parked between an Escalade and GL550. At over 208-inches long and 80-inches wide, the QX56 is 6-inches longer and more than an inch wider than the Escalade (if want an SUV that rivals river-barges, Cadillac’s Escalade ESV is 229-inchs long). The QX is so large that while on the freeway I came too close to a pair of Smart Fortwos and accidentally pulled them into orbit. While I find the quarter-panel “portholes” an awkward styling job, the rest of the slab-sided QX is more attractive in my mind than the sedate LX570, the angular GL or the Escalade.

The super-size theme continues inside with wide, flat-bottomed front seats, a large center console between the front and second row seats (in the 7-seat QX) and large expanses of real wood trim. Anyone who owns or has driven a late model year Infiniti will feel immediately at home inside the QX as Infinit’s interior design department still chants the “same sausage, different sizes” mantra, and I’m OK with that. Parts quality inside the QX is extremely high with all the major touch points lacking the plastic feel the Cadillac is burdened with. Still, budgets are a way of life and back in 2010 when I reviewed the redesigned M56, I loved the “knurled” rings around the speedo and tach, the QX borrows the style but not the 3-D plastic bits opting instead for a painted-on faux knurl. Other than the painted gauge bling, the QX’s cabin is  easily on par with Mercedes’ GL and Lexus’s LX.

Under the QX’s bulbous hood beats but one engine option: the lightly re-worked 5.6-liter direct-injection V8 VK56VD. While the V8 is shared with the M56 sedan, exhaust differences reduce the output by 20HP and 4lb-ft to 400HP at 5,850RPM and 413lb-ft at 4,000RPM. Despite the downgrade in twist, the new engine is more powerful than all of the competition except the Escalade’s 403-horsepower, 417lb-ft 6.2-liter pushrod V8. Despite being down on displacement versus the Caddy, Infiniti’s direct-injection and variable valve timing tech help the QX’s V8 not only deliver its peak torque earlier than the Caddy’s 6.2L V8, but it doesn’t run out of breath as easily either.

As a result of the advantageous torque curve, high horsepower and a well matched 7-speed transmission, the QX56 recorded a faster 0-60 time than the 2011 Infiniti G37 convertible we tested recently. The QX boasts an 8,500lb towing capacity (slightly higher than Escalde), and in a back-to-back test with a friend’s 2011 Caddy and the same trailer, the QX felt far more composed going up steep grades with a 5,000lb trailer. The fast acceleration times and improved towing feel are largely due to the 7-speed automatic which spent less time hunting than GM’s 6-speed. Overall, the QX transmission’s shifts are fast and crisp like other Infiniti products (with rev-matched down-shifts), however the unit is programmed to be up-shift happy for fuel economy reasons. Fear not piston heads; romping the go peal will still trump the EPA. All 400 ponies are routed to the tarmac via the rear wheels or an optional all-time four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case. Sadly the terrain selection dial (ala Land Rover) from the Nissan Patrol didn’t make it into the QX.

Out on the road, the QX’s 121-inch wheelbase (5-inches longer than Escalade), independent rear suspension and standard 60-series rubber help the QX deliver a fairly compliant ride. Upgrading to the 22-inch wheel package drops the aspect ratio on the tires to 50 but improves the look of the vehicle whiel taking a slight toll on harshness over rough pavement. If handling is a priority for you, look beyond the 22-inch low profile tires and shop the   300lb lighter Mercedes-Benz GL550 or a crossover. Compared to the LX570, the QX delivers better grip than the Lexus, but slots firmly between the base Escalade and the Escalade with GM’s Magnetic Ride Control. Does any of this matter? I say no. Let’s face it – as long as a large SUV handles as well as a 1980s minivan it has succeeded in my book.

While Green Peace will never give a thumbs-up to any full-size SUV, the 5,850lb QX56 manages to win the award for the most fuel efficient “full-size non-hybrid SUV,” delivering 14 city MPG and 20 highway MPG. (The Escalde and GL450 both scrape the bottom at 13 MPG city/18 MPG highway.) During our 640-mile week with the QX56, we averaged a respectable 15.2MPGs in mixed driving and a daily commute over a 2,200ft mountain pass and our best highway mileage of 22MPG was achieved during a 48-mile run on level highway.

Lately Infiniti has been taking nanny state to the next level with “prevention systems” rather than just “warning systems.” As much as I may dislike systems that take control at any time (as opposed to systems that take control when you are inattentive), when you are driving a living room sized vehicle aroundm it’s probably a good idea for the nannies to kick in early. Sure, the Lexus LX has a pre-collision system and the Mercedes GL can be had with lane departure warning, but the QX takes electronic prevention to a whole new level. “Lane Departure Prevention” not only tells you when you cross the line without signalling, it will actually use the brakes to “steer” you back in your lane. Similarly, “Blind Spot Avoidance” will act (more drastically) to keep you from side-swiping that motorcycle or Smart car in your blind spot. While the Lane Departure system’s intervention is a gentle tug, the Blind Spot system is more of a shove back in your lane. I can hear HAL now: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Most luxury brands offer radar cruise control as an option, but Infinit’s packs a socialist twist: an accelerator pedal that fights back. The radar cruise control with “Intelligent Brake Assist” will brake for you [even to a complete stop] in many situations. The easiest way to describe the behavior is this: you are following a car on a surface street, the car begins to slow for a red light, if the QX56 sees that you are closing on the car in front of you it will begin pushing the accelerator pedal up at you to indicate your need to act, if you lift off the accelerator and you are close enough to the car in front, the QX will automatically apply the brakes taking you all the way to a complete stop. Once stopped the car will hold the brakes for a few seconds, then beep indicating your need to touch the brake pedal and then release it’s death grip on your stoppers. I will leave the debate over this making QX drivers depend too much on technology to our readers.

The QX56 shares its 8-inch navigation/infotainment system with the rest of the Infiniti lineup and as such provides excellent Bluetooth and iPod/iPhone integration. While the software has not been significantly improved since the former QX, it is fairly competitive with the Lexus and Cadillac systems. With an intuitive interface that combines physical buttons on the dash and steering wheel as well as a touch screen, navigating through your music device or the nav system is easy and can be done primarily via the steering wheel. While the Infiniti system allows voice control of the navigation system and Bluetooth phone dialing, it unfortunately still lacks voice command of your Apple music device ala Ford’s SYNC or Kia’s UVO. The large screen is also used by Infiniti’s “Around Monitor” system which takes images from four different cameras around the car and digitally manipulates the image to give you a bird’s eye view of your surroundings. While this feature is nifty in a mid-size luxury sedan, it’s a matter of wheel-life-or-death on large SUVs and thankfully it is standard on all QX models.

So how much does one of these babies set you back? Logically, full-size SUVs have full-size price tags and the QX56 is no exception. The 2012 Infiniti QX56 starts at $58,700 for the rear wheel drive QX and $61,800 for the four-wheel drive model. Aside from the all-wheel motivation, the $3,100 also buys the driver a windshield de-icer and a 260lb increase in curb weight. Strangely enough the 4WD system does not come standard with a reduction in fuel economy with 2WD and 4WD models scoring the same in the EPA tests (your mileage may vary of course). Our tester was a fully-loaded AWD model retailing for $75,140. Our options list included: the $2,950 “Theater Package” with dual 7-inch headrest monitors for the second row, wireless headphones, second row power-folding heated seats and a built-in 120V AC inverter; the $4,100 “Deluxe Touring Package” with heated and cooled front seats, semi-aniline leather, dynamic body roll control, climate control with air quality management, a Plasmacluster air purifier and burl wood trim; and the $3,000 “Technology Package” which includes all the safety nannies we covered earlier. While $75K sounds steep, the QX56 is actually a “bargain” in the luxo-hauler class. Similarly equipped, the Mercedes GL550 will set you back $89,818, the Cadillac Escalade Platinum  $82,035 and the Lexus X570 will ding you $89,356. It should be noted that despite the Cadillac of price tags, the Escalade lacks many of the advanced active safety features of the QX.

As much as I might like to think of myself as a mild-greenie, I have always had a strangely large place in my heart for large vehicles. You know you like ‘em big too. However politically incorrect it may be to drive a large SUV, and keeping the fact that few people really “need” a full-size SUV, the QX56 is a solid entry in this niche and 2011 sales bear this out with the QX outselling the Lexus LX570 fourfold. Indeed the QX outsells all but the Escalade, and for good reason, with a fresh new look, upscale interior and more electronic doodads than the competition for a lower price point, the QX56 should be at the top of your super-sized list.

Statistics
0-30: 2.161 seconds
0-60: 5.61 seconds
1/4 Mile: 14.27 seconds @ 97 MPH

Infiniti provided the vehicle, insurance and one tank of gas for this review.

As auto enthusiasts, we champion cars that deviate from the soporific segment norm. If we don’t, who will? Most manufacturers offer, at most, one or two such vehicles. Then there’s Nissan and its luxury arm, Infiniti. In the crossover / SUV / minivan arena they field a fiscally insane hodgepodge of deviants: cube, JUKE, Xterra, Quest, EX, FX. Automotive deviants rarely sell well, and (like their human analogues) often die tragically early deaths. Not the Infiniti FX, now in its tenth model year. But will there be a third generation?

The first generation Infiniti FX’s exterior was timeless near-perfection: so clean, and such an intriguing combination of feminine curves with masculine proportions. The second generation, typical of follow-ups to icons, transformed the original into an overstyled cartoon. Revisions for 2012 continue this unfortunate trajectory, adding the grille from the rhino-like QX. Someone clearly felt that some visual punch was lacking, for there’s also a new Limited Edition coated in Iridium Blue and shod with gray turbine-bladed 21-inch alloys that appear oversized even within the FX’s generous curves. So, do you love it or hate it?

Inside there’s also a special blue…on the floormat piping. The 2012 FX’s interior is as tasteful and cosseting as the exterior is outlandish and off-putting, with calming curves, premium materials, and large, comfortable seats. The Infiniti EX35’s interior is infamously tight. Inside the larger FX, the retro-positioned windshield and many curves yield an atmosphere that’s nearly as intimate (along with outstanding ergonomics), but there’s actually enough room for four full-sized adults. Cargo space falls short of the segment norm, as does the lack of a third row, but as the prices of designer’s-wet-dream exteriors go these aren’t bad ones.

The FX’s electronics can be irritating. The Bluetooth system requires too many steps, the voice recognition system often becomes an exercise in frustration, and reactions to button presses are often delayed, so you hit them again, only to have the second push reverse the first. To an even greater extent than the typical system, the nav displays too few street names even when zoomed in. The around-view monitor, on the other hand, makes parking or backing out of a curvy driveway a joy. Want the full array of gadgetry, including adaptive cruise and lane departure warning? Then no Limited Edition for you. The “Technology Package” is only offered on the regular FX.

The Limited Edition isn’t offered with the suitably gonzo 390-horsepower 5.0-liter V8. The mandatory 303-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 moves the ovoid SUV well enough, but induces no adrenaline rush. Being charitable (for once) about the sound of the six we’ll say that its loud, couth-deficient character fits the rest of the vehicle. The seven-speed automatic transmission behaves well, shifting quickly in manual mode (though there are no paddles to assist with this).

The FX35 drives very much like a G37 that’s packed on a quarter-ton (for a curb weight of 4,284 pounds) and been lifted a few inches. Which is essentially what it is. The basic dynamics are the same, just surreally altered. The steering doesn’t feel precise or provide a very direct connection to the front wheels, but the wheel is small, the system is quick to respond, and together with the chassis it yields a surprisingly chuckable chunk of SUV. A touch soggy and unwieldy, but oddly entertaining. The view forward over the long, dramatically undulating hood enhances the experience. Think Corvette, just much higher off the ground.

Though the FX’s feel is distinctly that of a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, all-wheel-drive (mandatory on the Limited Edition) effectively blunts the platform’s inherent tendency to insufficiently linear throttle-induced oversteer. With the V6 it’s only easy to hang the tail out on loose surfaces or at low speeds. But the stability control kicks in too hard and too early anyway. Despite their size—265/45VR21—the tires aren’t very grippy, and lapse into a safe, mushy slide at their limits. Credit the odd choice of tire model: Bridgestone Dueller H/L 400s. Not high-performance rubber, and a sign (along with the lack of the FX50’s Sport Package option) that the FX35 Limited Edition is more about show than go.

The payoff for the ride-oriented rubber and softer suspension tuning than in earlier FXs: livable ride quality. Even with the 21s impacts are only occasionally harsh. My wife, who couldn’t stand the ride in the sport-suspensioned G37, found the FX35 quite comfortable.

The sticker price for all of this sport truck goodness: $52,445. A regular FX35 AWD with Premium Package lists for $2,700 less. Figure $2,500 for the LE’s special blue paint and 21-inch wheels. A similarly-equipped Porsche Cayenne with 20-inch wheels lists for over $12,000 more, about $1,400 of which can be attributed to feature differences according to TrueDelta’s car price comparison tool. Or, if utility truly isn’t needed in your sport utility, the Acura ZDX is $1,040 less before adjusting for feature differences and about $875 less afterwards.

But what if utility matters a lot, as it does for the typical crossover buyer? Infiniti gave the FX ten years to carve out a space for itself. For the 2013 model year they’re caving to market demand and adding a Murano-based minivan substitute to the lineup. Compared to the FX35 LE, the JX35 lists for nearly $5,000 less after adjusting fore feature differences. Forego dubs on both and the gap narrows by a grand. Still, the writing is on the wall. In the JX35 most people will see more room for more people for less money. During 2011 monthly FX sales usually failed to break 1,000 units. Once the JX arrives they could well slow to a trickle. The FX35 might not be perfect, but it delivers a unique driving experience. The automotive landscape would be poorer without it. Want the aggressive egg to survive its impending intramural encounter? It needs your support more than ever.

Michael Karesh operates TrueDelta.com, an online provider of car reliability and real-world fuel economy information.

Let’s face it, hybrids are boring. They are slow, complicated, come with hard tires and soft suspensions, sloppy handling, and they look weird. We’ve heard the story before: this hybrid is different. First Lexus gave us the GS and RX hybrids claiming V8 performance with V6 fuel economy, but the result was more like V6 performance with V6 economy, not really a great sales pitch. Still, hybrids sell well and with Infiniti marching towards mainstream luxury success they “need” a hybrid. Of course, with Infiniti aiming to be the “Japanese BMW”, performance is obviously a prime concern, so the claim from Infiniti that the M35h will deliver “V8 performance and four-cylinder economy” was expected. But is it another case of leather clad disappointment? Let’s find out.

Not too long ago Infiniti dropped off a new M56x at my doorstep, at that time I didn’t much care for the styling, commenting: “Every time I approached the car I felt as if an enormous box-fish was going to devour me.” While the Infiniti M still looks hungry to me, seeing more of them on the road has perhaps warmed me up to the design and I find the form more attractive than before. As we often point out on TTAC, style is terribly subjective and subject to our own personal leanings, so take my opinion with a grain of salt if you like the look. My informal lunch group’s opinions were mixed with some loving the flowing curves and some preferring sharp creases in their sheet metal alá Cadillac and Mercedes.

Inside the M35h (and much like the M56x) there is little to find fault with. But there is also little to identify this M as the hybrid that saves the world and your testosterone. The only change to the well put together cabin for hybrid duty is the charge/power gauge in the cluster replacing the engine temperature gauge found on other M models. The center stack, nav system and trim are all the same (with the hybrid specific software teaks of course) and there are no blue back-lit hybrid badges, EV mode buttons, or displays with growing leaves to be found. This is the sleeper hybrid if there ever was one.

The lack of hybrid bling does not mean the M35h lacks tech, quite the contrary. The M35h gets the same suite of standard and optional gadgets as the base M37, not a bad list to pull from. The 7-inch standard infotainment screen does everything but navigation, iPod and USB integration with Bluetooth speakerphone is standard as is the 6-speaker Infiniti auto system with a single in dash CD player and XM satellite radio. Opting for the $3,350 “premium package” gets you Infiniti’s easy to use navigation system with a high-resolution 8-inch display, Bose 5.1 channel surround sound system with speakers in the seat backs, voice controlled functions, heated steering wheel and cooled front thrones and active cabin nose canceling.

Should you desire the latest in driving nannies, Infiniti is happy to oblige with radar cruise control, collision warning and prevention, lane departure warning and prevention and an accelerator pedal that fights back. The accelerator pedal is perhaps the nanny that people will find the most fault with, especially if you are an aggressive driver. The feature can of course be turned off, but if dialed up to full-on German-au-pair, it will fight you hard, forcing the pedal back at you if you’re driving uneconomically or if it thinks you are getting too close to a car, or if it feels like it needs to stop the car NOW. While I dislike the thought of a car that drives for me, honestly at least half the drivers on the road need this pedal stat. Not that we condone distracted driving, but if you needed to, this car could help you accomplish the feat more safely.

The hybrid system is where the M35h departs from the regular M or the hither-to-normal hybrid. Until recently if you bought a hybrid in North America, you had one of three systems. Honda’s weak-sauce Integrated Motor Assist system just puts a motor between the engine and transmission and is essentially a start/stop system with some extra oomph. GM/BMW/Mercedes developed a crazy-expensive and crazy-complex 2-mode hybrid system which seems to be dying a slow death in the market [Ed: until CAFE rescued the investment]. And lastly we have the original true hybrid system, the Toyota/Ford system which uses a planetary gearbox to allow the engine, motor or both to drive the vehicle. Infiniti took a different approach to “hybridification” by removing the torque converter from a regular 7-speed automatic transmission and in its place stuffing a slim electric motor with two clutch packs (similar to the Hyundai/Kia hybrid system). These clutch packs are what make the Infiniti system innovative and different from the Honda IMA system.

Starting at the front of the car and working your way back, you first find a Nissan 3.5L V6 engine running on the Atkinson cycle (like most hybrids) putting out 302HP and 258lb-ft of twist. After the engine sits a dry clutch pack that allows the engine to start and run while decoupled from the electric motor. Next up we have a 360V AC motor that’s good for 67HP and 199lb-ft directly coupled to the Nissan 7-speed automatic transmission. Located inside the rear of the transmission is a wet clutch pack that allows the engine and motor to be connected with one another to charge the batteries with the vehicle stationary (it also slips to help make gear changes smoother). Decoupling the V6 reduces mechanical losses boosting the electric drive efficiency; this is an area where Honda’s system suffers. Behind the rear seats a 1.4kW lithium-ion battery, wedged where you’d put the 5th bag of golf clubs (Infiniti says a quartet of golfers can still be accommodated and they kindly print a diagram in the trunk to tell you how to manage it). And the final  change is a tall 2.6:1 final drive ratio allowing the V6 to spin leisurely on the freeway (1,600RPM at 60MPH).

Hybrid systems like Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive combine the motor and engine numbers in a way that is not simple addition (google is you must know why), however Infiniti’s system is easy to figure: the peak number is achieved where the HP and torque curves of the engine and motor meet, making the M35h good for a combined 360HP at 6,500RPM and approximately 410lb-ft at 5200RPM. Note: Our combined torque number is an estimate as Infniti does not officially list a combined rating; the “online” 457lb-ft numbers floating around are not accurate according to Infiniti because when the V6′s 258lb-ft peak does not align with the motor’s 199lb-ft peak.

The high torque of the electric motor from very low RPMs make the M35h far faster than the numbers on paper would imply, we easily recorded 5.2 second runs to 60MPH with our lowest taking only 5.03 seconds. The low 1.9 second sprint to 30MPH (the M56 takes 2.3) is perhaps the most telling number because by the time the spedo crested 100 the M35h had lost its lead on the V8 powered M56 clocking a 13.5 second ¼ mile at 103MPH (vs 13.4 at 106 for the V8). Part of the reason the performance is so good is the weight gain, at only 276lbs heavier than the M37, the M35h manages to be 99-lbs heavier than the M56 and slips in just below the AWD M56x on the scales. (The Lexus GS450h is only five pounds heavier.) Stoplight racers be warned however, that after a few 0-60 runs the battery and motor heat up enough that the control circuitry puts the kibosh on at least a portion of the electric assist and by the 6th back-to-back 0-60 run our times had risen to 6.2 seconds.

If you drive the M35h on a normal commute and not a track day, the EPA claims you’ll achieve 27MPG city, 32 highway and 29 combined. In our 7 days and 820 miles with the M35h we averaged a quite respectable 29.1MPG (excluding our track adventures, photo shoots, etc) in our mixed driving of mostly California freeway and rural mountain highway. Our numbers were no doubt buoyed by moderate traffic and a general inability to exceed 72MPH on the highways in the SF Bay Area. Infiniti claims the system will allow you to drive electric only up to 62MPH but in reality there didn’t seem to be much of an upper limit for the EV functionality provided you were gentle on the go-pedal. This is also a key area where the M35h differs from a Prius, to drive at 65MPH, the Prius has to use the engine because of the design of the transmission, the M35h on the other hand just disconnects the engine from the equation. While on a level highway with the cruise control set to 67MPH the hybrid system would switch in and out of electric only mode fairly often with my daily commute spending some 19% of the time in “EV mode” (22% for the lifetime of the car) as figured by the trip computer.

Since the M37 delivered some 22MPG on the same commute, the efficiency gain is noticeable. Thankfully hypermiling skills were not required to achieve our test numbers, but perhaps more strangely a daily jaunt testing all the hypermiling skills from Prius forums didn’t appreciably bump the numbers either. Since Infiniti opted to keep the grippy all-season tires from the non-hybrid M, and thanks to the nearly perfect weight balance, it was possible to test the economy figures on some of my favorite mountain roads. When driven this way the economy certainly drops like a rock (17MPG for that trip), which may sound bad, but put in perspective the lighter G37 convertible scored 11MPG on the same route.

What’s the M35h’s competition? By my estimation it competes most directly with the Lexus GS450h, a sedan that is not long for this world. Since the 2013 GS450h has yet to be announced officially, a comparison to the current hybrid GS is all I can offer. In this match up the GS offers a suitably swish cabin that has aged well but is a definite step behind the M35h’s silver-dist rubbed goodness (the 2013 GS I was able to preview at Pebble Beach has a competitive cabin, but is not a substantial step above the M35h). The GS is also significantly behind the M when it comes to fuel sipping delivering only 22/25/23 (city/highway/combined) EPA numbers, a substantial 26% lower than the 27/32/29MPG numbers Infiniti scored. If that weren’t enough of a shot across the bow of the company known for their hybrid tech, the M also wears a 20% smaller CO2 footprint, if you care about that sort of thing. Driving pleasure in the GS is limited by the CVT that is the heart of the Lexus Hybrid Sybergy Drive system, but that may be balanced out by the M35′s less polished transitions between gasoline and electric power.

With a base price undercutting Lexus by $5,250 and offering more interior room, a real transmisison and improved economy I’d take the M35h over the GS450 any day. Unfortunately like most hybrid cars the M35h has less of a value proposition when compared to its own non-hybrid brethren. The M37 which is cheaper, delivers 8/10ths the speed, 8/10ths the fuel economy and perhaps 11/10ths the luxury feel due to the sometimes quirky nature of the hybrid clutch packs the M35h uses. At the end of the day the M35h is far from a leather clad disappointment like other luxury hybrids, but as long as the M37 is available for sale, I just don’t see the M35h enjoying a place in my garage.

Not a fan of our Facebook page? Too bad. For out Facebook peeps, here’s what you wanted to know: Jason M: Smugness level is similar to a Prius, 1/2 the economy but 2X the car. Andy A: No paddle shifters. Clay C. I tried, but BlendTech doesn’t carry a car-sized blender. Phillip W: We never reached battery depletion levels, try as we might. This is easier in Toyota hybrids because putting the car in N disconnects the generator, the M will still connect the generator whenever it feels like it, N or not. Mirko R: Yes. Marc C: Mileage depends greatly on how you drive, we did however average 29.1 which is the combined EPA number in mixed driving, moderate speeds, moderate acceleration. Sergio P: No idea what the batteries will sell for, my dealer didn’t know either. J S: Not quite sure why Autoblog thought it was more refined than the Lexus system. Infiniti’s solution is perhaps more interesting, and it is newer, but it isn’t as smooth. Given the choice, I’d take the Infiniti.

Infiniti provided the vehicle for our review, insurance and one tank of gas.

Specifications as tested
0-30: 1.9 Seconds
0-60: 5.0 Seconds
¼ Mile: 13.5 Seconds @ 103MPH
Average Fuel Economy: 29.1 MPH
Miles Driven: 820

I’m a horrible car guy; I dislike convertibles. It’s not really for the usual reason car buffs dislike going topless, it has nothing to do with the inevitable loss of stiffness or added weight and complexity and everything to do with the reduction in practicality. I realize that a practical convertible is something of an oxymoron, but some are worse than others. It’s no wonder the convertible landscape is littered with has-beens, convertible sales only account for 2% of passenger car sales in North America and premium ‘verts are an even smaller part of the pie. It is therefore no surprise that the G37 convertible is only the second ever Infiniti convertible.

Released back in 2008 as a 2009 model the G37 Convertible was designed from the beginning to be a convertible. Huh? Yes, the G37 convertible is not just a G37 coupé with its top removed, although on the face of things you would be forgiven for thinking so. Although the G37 sedan, coupe and convertible ride on the same Nissan FM platform as everything from the Nissan 350Z to the Infiniti FX and even the GT-R, the Convertibles parts sharing stops at the curvaceous proboscis, overall style and dashboard. The convertible receives a wider track and a modified rear suspension unique to the topless cruiser in addition to the three-part folding hard top designed by Karmann. Fortunately for the public, considerable time was spent making sure the G37 looks as good with the top up as down unlike some topless abominations I could mention.

From the driver’s perspective there is little difference between the convertible and the coupe inside the cabin. The G37’s three-spoke steering wheel, gauge cluster and center stack with 7-inch infotainment/navigation screen and funky rotary-joystick/button tower are all where you expect them to be. Glancing rearwards and the differences become more obvious. The front seats have speakers growing out of the headrests and the B pillar is conspicuously missing. This missing pillar combined with essentially the same seats as the coupe means the seatbelts are mounted to the body of the car looping thru a leather holder fastened with snaps. The belt arrangement is a tad less elegant than some of the competition and makes ingress and egress difficult for rear passengers compared with in-seat safety belts. Speaking of the rear, while leg room is just bearable for a 6-foot rear passenger and a 6-footdriver, head room is severely limited, so keep those foursomes limited to short drives.

Speaking of driving, packed under the curvaceous hood beats he same 3.7L engine as other G variants tuned down slightly by 5HP to 325HP and 267lb-ft. The reduction is apparently due to different exhaust routing, not that 5HP makes much difference when you’re motivating 4,100lbs. Yes, that’s right; the G37 convertible weighs in at over two tons as the folding lid and required structural modifications to the FM platform have added over 450lbs vs the G37 coupe and sedan. Despite the added weight however the convertible seems to retain the vast majority of the driving ability of the coupe due largely to the 52/48 percent weight balance (slightly better than the coupe) and standard 225-width front rubber and 245 out back (the base coupe and sedan have 225s all the way around). As with the coupe and sedan, the convertible routes all 325 horses to the rear wheels via Nissan’s relatively new 7-speed automatic. While the shifts don’t seem quite as fast or as crisp as ZF’s 6-speed, the svelte magnesium paddle shifters mounted to the column rather than the wheel are as close to perfection as it comes and the acompanying rev-matched downshifts are likely to make a few die hard manual fans opt for the ease of the automatic. Unlike many other manual modes, the Nissan setup queues shifts and dispatches them quickly and neatly with zero drama on its way to a measured 5.9 second run to 60.

When the going gets twisty, the G37 shines with handling unquestionably better than the Audi A5 cabriolet and superior poise when pushed compared to the Lexus IS350c. Much like the Lexus however, the Infiniti possess the ride of a GT largely due to the added weight and revised suspension. Still, with road holding ability only a notch below the BMW 335, I’ll take the softer ride any day.

One of the reasons I dislike convertibles (aside from sunstroke in the hot California sun) is the practicality sacrifice. You lose enough cargo room in a soft top, but most hard tops make the sacrifice even more severe. The G37 is no exception to this rule; a 10.3 cu-ft trunk doesn’t sound too bad (considering the tiny 7.4 offered by the G37 coupe) until you see that it drops to an astonishing 1.99 cu-ft with the top down. If two-cubes weren’t small enough, most of that is under a hatch in the trunk floor that can’t really be accessed without raising the top. Literally just two lightweight adult male jackets will fit in the remaining cargo cubby. In comparison, the Volvo C70 offers three-times more schlepping with 6cuft of top-down space (almost equal to the G37 Coupe) and the Volvo’s roof will lift up and out of the way at the press of a button to make access easier. The G37’s main competitor, the 335i convertible, still has room to stow and retrieve a large computer bag with the top down. My prejudice aside, no hard top convertible should ever be thought of as a practical luggage hauler, so on long road trips to a weekend getaway in Napa, your rear seats will act as leather-clad cargo space.

The G37 convertible includes all the heated leather and (optional) red-stained maple wood trim you could ask for. Roofless models also get a slight standard feature boost as compared to the coupe and sedan. Also on the option list you’ll find: cooled thrones, navigation, and Bose audio systems that adapt to the top being up or down. The optional Bose “Open Air Sound System” in our limited edition tester uses 13 speakers including two speakers in each headrest and two 10-inch woofers, and 9.3GB of music storage on the integrated hard drive. As unusual as the headrests may look, they work surprisingly well for the front passengers, but they do make sound for the occasional rear passenger sound strange. (Who cares? They are in the back.) The integrated Bluetooth system even manages to work surprisingly well even with the top down at highway speeds. USB and iPod integration is standard on all G37 convertibles with or without navigation and it works as well as most competitive systems allowing full on-screen access to my iPod and iPhone 4.

The 2011 G37 convertible wears a $45,750 base sticker price and our Limited Edition tester was essentially fully loaded save the radar cruise control with a $58,125 price tag. While the top-end pricing of the G37 may raise eyebrows, the rest of the luxury import convertible market is similarly priced. Compared to the Lexus IS350C which would be the G37’s most direct competition, the IS350C enjoys a larger trunk, but its interior suffers from the same thing the IS350 AWD we reviewed recently: age. From Europe the RWD competition comes in the form of the 335i and the new W212 Mercedes E350 cabriolet. The E350 wears the largest base price in the class at $56,850 and $63,565 sticker comparably equipped. While the Infiniti may not have the snob value the E350’s tri-star exudes, it does come across as the better performance value. The 335i on the other hand has aged extremely well and the torque curve of the turbo-six helps scoot the 335i to 60 faster with a more linear feel than the Infiniti’s naturally aspirated mill. The G37 fights back with a base of $52,650 and a comparably equipped price of $61,250, scoring big value points in most trim levels.

Usually most reviewers seem to stop the comparo after mashing the G37 up against the Germans and the Lexus, but at TTAC we march to a different drummer. Volvo enjoys a similar brand value proposition as Infiniti in the eyes of most American shoppers, both notching below the major players from Germany and Japan. The 227HP C70 convertible is unquestionably slower and less exciting to drive, but with a chic Scandinavian interior and a base price just below 40-large (similarly equipped price of $47,175) and sporting the largest trunk in the group, it’s worth at least a glance from shoppers not interested in drifting while they tan. If you’re looking to import your next convertible from Detroit, the Mustang GT convertible delivers an interesting alternative. Although there is no hard top ‘stang, it will please your aural senses with its 412HP 5.0L V8. Of course cross-shopping is unlikely, but as a comparison, the GT will burn the socks right off the Infiniti.

0-30: 2.3 seconds
0-60: 5.9 seconds
1/4 Mile: 14.3 seconds @ 98 MPH

Infiniti provided the vehicle, insurance and one tank of gas for this review.

You have your reasons. Gas prices might be high and headed higher, and car-based crossovers handle better, but you want your full-sized, full-lux, body-on-frame conventional SUV. GM and Ford, the segment’s traditional rulers, have had nothing new to offer in five years. But Infiniti has as much faith in the segment’s continued vitality as you do—why else would they have introduced an all-new QX56 for the 2011 model year?

With voluptuously rounded fenders and tight proportions, the QX56 adopts Infiniti’s current design language and appears smaller than it actually is (six inches longer and an inch wider than a Cadillac Escalade). And yet with a huge grille leading a domed hood that rises far above the headlamp clusters the SUV also has the powerful presence expected from this sort of vehicle. I personally find the new QX56’s exterior a major improvement over the previous one, far more attractive than the Lexus LX 570 (not a high hurdle to clear), more tasteful than the excessively chromed but otherwise excessively pedestrian Lincoln Navigator, and more current than the Cadillac Escalade. Still, I can see how some people might perceive the QX56’s exterior as bulbous and prefer the crisper lines of a Cadillac Escalade or Mercedes GL. And the Range Rover’s exterior is a classic that will never go out of style.

Opinions of the QX56’s interior should be less mixed. Like the exterior, it is fully up-to-date in a way that those of its closest competitors are not. Sweeping curves continue into the SUV’s cabin, which between its sensual styling and premium wood and leather is a very nice place to be. The door panels (including the door pulls) and the center console are luxuriously upholstered. Unlike in the Lincoln or Cadillac, there’s no sense of any pickup origins. One issue: sunlight sometimes reflects annoyingly off the chrome trim around the shifter. Among other things, this makes it hard to view the position of the small seat heating-and-cooling knobs buried at the base of the center stack. Hint: if you start feeling uncomfortably warm, the seat heater is on.

Any lingering doubts that the QX56 is a conventional SUV fall away with the considerable climb into the driver seat—the step-in height is nearly two feet. Shorter adults will be thankful for the standard running boards, though even these are well off the ground (fixed, in place, they don’t power down like those on domestic competitors). Once up there, the view over the hood is commanding. Huge mirrors aid rearward visibility. The standard “Around View Monitor” provides a top-down view of the entire perimeter of the vehicle, making it much easier, even fun, to maneuver in tight spaces. Once you try it, you’ll wish your car had it.

The QX56’s large front bucket seats feel very comfortable at first. As the miles accumulate, the cushions don’t seem as cosseting, but still better than most. The second row, which reclines, is notably roomy and comfortable. The third row, despite the packaging advantages of an independent rear suspension (IRS), is not. The seat’s very low to the floor, and there’s hardly more room back there than in a live-axled LX 570 or Escalade. Consider it kids-only for all but short stints.

Cargo volume similarly fails to receive an IRS refund. With just 16.6 cubic feet behind the third row and 95.1 with both rows folded to form a flat but upward-sloping floor, the figures are very conventional SUV. You can stuff another twenty cubes above the lower floor of a Buick Enclave crossover. The third-row seat power folds, but operates so slowly—and you must keep your finger on the button the whole time—that a manual seat would be preferable.

Though a foot longer than the Lexus, the Infiniti weighs about 150 pounds less—which still leaves 5,850. No matter, the 400-horsepower 5.6-liter VVT DOHC V8 backed by a manually-shiftable seven-speed automatic is well up to the task. Infiniti’s V8 might lack the character of Cadillac’s, but is nevertheless easy on the ears. Unlike with the Lexus, all-wheel-drive with a two-speed transfer case isn’t standard, but no doubt most QX56s will be ordered with it. Fuel economy about the burbs might top 14 MPG if you go easy on the gas. Towing capacity: 8,500 lbs. There are some benefits to a conventional SUV.

Handling isn’t one of them. While the QX56 certainly handles with much more balance and composure than the Lexus or Lincoln, its chassis is not as entertaining as the Cadillac’s (though it might post better numbers) and is most definitely an outlier in the Infiniti showroom. The QX56’s steering and handling aren’t nearly as tight or precise as those of an FX50, much less Infinitis that check in well south of 4,500 pounds. Even with the Deluxe Touring Package’s hydraulically cross-linked shocks there’s a fair amount of lean in hard turns. Typical of large SUVs (though the Cadillac does better), the QX56 bobbles and shudders a bit over uneven pavement. It feels every bit as large and heavy as it is.

Equipped with AWD and the Deluxe Touring Package (which requires the dual screen entertainment system), the QX56 lists for an even $71,000. While certainly not cheap, a similarly outfitted LX 570 lists for $14,360 more. Adjusting for the Lexus’s additional features using TrueDelta’s car price comparison tool and comparing invoice prices (Lexus dealers enjoy broader margins) only reduces this difference by half. Compared to the Cadillac Escalade the Infiniti’s advantage is over $14,000 even after such adjustments. The Lincoln Navigator is a little less expensive than the Infiniti, but there’s a reason for this.

Stylish curves and Infiniti brand notwithstanding, the QX56 remains very much a large conventional SUV. If you’re into cars, it’s not going to change your mind about the class even if it does perform somewhat better than others. But if you want a large conventional SUV, the Infiniti seems the one to get, offering the most up-to-date styling, an outstanding interior, a powerful V8, and competent handling at a relatively low price.

Bill French of Suburban Infiniti in Novi, MI, provided the vehicle. He can be reached at 248-427-4712.

Michael Karesh operatesTrueDelta, an online source of automotive pricing and reliability data.

As recounted last week, I had been wanting for years to meet up with my best friend and both of our fathers in a pair of Mazda RX-8s for a spirited West Virginia road trip. Finally, the appointed day arrived for the drive from Detroit to West Virginia. The car selected for the task: a 2010 Infiniti G37S six-speed coupe.

I requested the G37S because I’ve been curious about the right-sized rear-drive Infiniti ever since it launched back in 2002, but have never spent much time with the three-pedal variant. Also, while I’d personally need the sedan, I’ve never driven the coupe at all. The drive called for a car that would still be comfortable after 6+ hours, but competent on a challenging mountain road. A perfect opportunity to evaluate the G.

Nissan was not willing to let me drive the car all the way to Virginia and back (my original plan). Do other journalists ask the manufacturer if they can drive the car X miles, or do they realize it’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission? Well, I had asked. Fortunately, when I offered to limit the miles to about 800, they relented. The Infiniti would sit in Bridgeport, WV, while we spent a few days in the RX-8s.

Leaving as little as possible to chance—delays happen—I asked Nissan to drop the car off two days early. They dropped the car off on schedule, but when I drove across town that evening to meet up with Edward and Ronnie for the Volt drive, I drove my personal car. After all, every mile spent driving in the Detroit suburbs was a mile I would not be able to drive in Ohio’s fabled Hocking Hills. This was all for the best. All three of us ended up in my car after the event, and even someone of Ronnie’s physical stature would find headroom lacking in the back seat of the G37 coupe.

Friday morning arrives. The temperature is a bit below freezing, and a thin layer of ice coats the coupe. The 2010’s shape is less chiseled than that of the first-gen coupe, but it’s still quite attractive, especially in “Athens blue.” Wheels with an even number of spokes tend to look less dynamic, and I’m generally no fan of multi-spoke designs, but the ten-spoke 19s look great on this car. The G37 coupe’s trunk is about as tight as they come, but I manage to fit a huge duffel containing far more clothes than I could possibly need (packed mindlessly at the last minute), hiking boots, laptop bag, and a box containing a 21.5” LCD panel (I work most efficiently with a pair of full-HD displays).

The road to Ohio is almost unavoidably Interstate. In general the G37 feels like a more refined, more upscale car than a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. As it should, given its significantly higher price. A comfortably cushy driver’s seat includes power adjustable side bolsters to provide lateral support when you need it, and space to relax when you don’t. But the sport-suspended Infiniti doesn’t ride well over expansion joints, tar strips, frost heaves, and the like, reacting with sharp vertical kicks. The more compliant base suspension isn’t available with the stick. Also, road noise on Michigan’s concrete is fairly high. The difference when you cross the state line into Ohio, which employs asphalt, is striking. One nit: the armrest on the driver’s door is too low to use while steering the car. Fuel economy isn’t bad: about 25.4 MPG while averaging 75 MPH.

Usually I hop onto the Ohio Turnpike southeast of Toledo, but wanting to employ the Interstate as little as possible head east on US 20 instead. US 20 is as straight and level as the Interstate—we are in northern Ohio—but though four lanes wide is much more a part of the surrounding terrain, and so (relatively) more interesting to drive. The small towns along the way provide some interesting sights—like the “Korean Karate” studio next to the American Legion post and canteen in Bellevue. You can see these easily: the Infiniti’s cowl is relatively low and its A-pillars are blessedly thin by current standards. The obvious downsides of towns: low speed limits and traffic lights. The latter highlight the heaviness of the Infiniti’s clutch. Farm equipment dealers seem more common than car dealers. I briefly stop at one just west of Norwalk, but with places to go and people to see do not request a test drive. Maybe next time. Aided by the 55 MPH speed limit, the Infiniti averages 27.5 MPG on US 20.

At Norwalk I exit onto US 250, which atypically for a US highway runs diagonally, in this case southeast through Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia. This generally two-lane road is the shortest route to where I’m going, but not the most entertaining, at least not in Ohio. So after twenty miles I hop onto OH 302, a more intimate road that includes the trip’s first entertaining hills and curves. There aren’t many, but they provide a taste of what lies ahead. Though no sports car, the Infiniti handles 302 with aplomb. I don’t feel at one with the machine, but the meatiness of the coupe’s steering and composure of its chassis are reassuring. With the fun up, fuel economy drops into the low 20s. A few miles east of Lattasburg I pass a horse-drawn cart—the Infiniti’s 330 horses easily outpace the cart’s one. We’re now in Amish country.

Which makes the VW dealer on the western outskirts of Wooster, where I rejoin 250, a bit of a shock. On the other side of the small city I pass a “Volvos & More,” with a few pre-Ford Swedes parked out front. I’m intrigued by the “& More,” but don’t stop to investigate. This stretch of US 250 is quite boring and I just want to get through it. After picking up I77 for a few miles I exit onto US 800 just south of Uhrichsville. After 230 miles the real fun can finally begin.

Well, not quite. Back during a college trip to Jamaica some friends bought batch after batch of ‘shrooms. With each batch they’d sit around the table and ask one another, “Feel anything yet?” “I think so…maybe…no.” My best friend Trey (also there) and I didn’t take part, but we certainly enjoyed spectating.

Well, this time I’m the one attempting to feel something, side bolsters cranked tight and seatback adjusted upright in anticipation. For the first 15 miles or so on 800 each curve made me think I had finally reached the promised land, only to exit into another long, boring straight. But the road does become increasingly curvy and hilly, and by Freeport (Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco!) you’re definitely feeling it. And, in the G37, it feels good.

Sounds good, too. The 3.7-liter “VQ” V6 isn’t the most refined engine, but its moderately throaty exhaust is appropriate for this car on this road. Given the big six’s plump, flexible midrange, there’s no need to venture near the redline unless you want to vastly exceed the speed limit. Even so, fuel economy averages 18.5 on OH 800.

Storied OH 26 more-or-less parallels OH 800, running a few miles to the east. But I’m planning to take 26 on my return trip, so I stick to 800 to see how it compares. Bad move. The seven miles between Barnesville and Somerton aren’t all that curvy, but are apparently too curvy to include even a single passing zone. I’m stuck behind a Ford Escort and a Chrysler minivan.

Suggestion for navigation system manufacturers: indicate the location of passing zones and/or the distance to the next one. A further suggestion for the supplier of the Infiniti’s nav system: provide an option to view minor roads even when zoomed out. As it is, zoom in far enough to view minor roads and you can’t see enough of them to learn where they go.

I reach Woodsfield, where 800 and 26 cross. But, given the need to keep the total miles near 800, I take neither. Instead, I head east on OH 78, which proves a thoroughly boring road. Luckily I’m only on it for about ten minutes before turning onto OH 536, which runs through barely populated Round Bottom and proves a match for the best roads I’ve ever driven. For ten miles this zero-traffic narrow two-laner hits curve after curve and hill after hill. My notes sum it up this way: “Awesome.”

Work the VQ, and it drinks to the tune of 16 MPG. The manual shifter, though pleasantly hefty and not overly long of throw, isn’t as willing a partner. Fourth can be especially hard to find in a hurry. The G37 initially understeers, but just a touch of throttle balances the chassis, and the car feels planted throughout, with the sport suspension as appreciated now as it was unappreciated on I75. The six-speed coupe seems less prone to excessive, unprogressive throttle-induced oversteer than the two-pedal G37 sedan I reviewed last July, and its stability control doesn’t cut in as early or as often (when I have it enabled). Also appreciated: the lateral support provided by the driver’s seat, with a tighter hug from the backrest and cushion bolsters always just a tap on a hard-to-reach switches away. I love this feature (the adjustability, not the poorly located switches) and cannot fathom why BMW seems to be phasing it out.

Well, you know what they say about all good things, and 536 terminates at the Ohio River. Six hours and 307 miles into my trip I cross into New Martinsville, West Virginia.

Infiniti provided the vehicle, insurance and one tank of gas for this review

Follow Michael’s journey in part three of this piece here.

Michael Karesh owns and operates TrueDelta, an online source of automotive and reliability data

Infiniti provided the vehicle, insurance and one tank of gas for this review

Michael Karesh owns and operates TrueDelta, an online source of automotive pricing and reliability data

“We need young, college-educated people like you,” the man said, “because the old way of selling cars is dead and gone. That’s why I was hired — to bring the dealership into the present day.” And with those thoroughly self-deceived words, the new sales manager at “Infiniti Of Columbus” welcomed to me to the team in March of 1994. It was the end of winter in Ohio, but it was just the middle of Infiniti’s long winter of discontent. We had three products. There was a facelifted Q45 which precisely nobody wanted. There was a facelifted G20 which cost nearly as much as a Lexus ES300 while closely resembling a Nissan Sentra inside and out. Note, however, that the G20 shared nothing but the engine with the aforementioned Sentra. On any given month, we would sell two G20s and no Q45s. In fact, during my entire six months’ tenure at the store, we only sold two Q45s, one of them to a salesman who was quitting to go work for Merrill Lynch.

It was the new-for-1993 J30 that kept the lights on and paid our meager draws against commission. The jellybean-shaped, rear-wheel-drive sedan was available as a J30 or J30t. Neither car had any options available: in an amazing reductio ad absurdum of the Japanese export philosophy, the equipment list was the same for every single car that came off the boat. The “t” model added HICAS four-wheel-steering, a rear spoiler that truly spoiled the otherwise interesting design, and some cross-spoke wheels. They were hideously expensive — $37,995 and up in an era where an LS400 could be had for fifty grand or less — and they were both controversial-looking and suspiciously similar to a Nissan Altima at a distance. (Jerry Hirschberg designed ‘em both.)

It didn’t matter. We rarely sold any outright, but more than 20 would leave the lot every month thanks to the Magic Lease.

The head honchos at Nissan USA knew the car was overpriced, and badly so. Their solution was elegant. The oh-so-English Jonathan Pryce was hired to do a series of advertisements about “the astonishing J30″, and a genuinely astonishing lease program was put into place. $1500 down, $399 a month, 36 months, 36,000 miles. Extra miles were cheap and the dealership management always just threw the down payment away, so most people paid about $450 a month, tax included, for a 45,000 mile contract with nothing out of pocket. “t” models were $15 a month more.

The numbers were ridiculous. The cars were “capped” — sold to Nissan Financial — for about $34,000. The three-year residual was expected to be about $29,000. Ha! We had six-month-old buyer’s-remorse specials on the lot that wouldn’t fetch $29K. Nissan was just sending its problems into the future. Who cares? At that price, we could make them disappear.

Still, plenty of buyers could think of reasons to look this gift horse in the mouth. Almost nobody liked the looks. The trunk was minuscule and the rear seats didn’t fold. The sunroof was steel, not glass. The car was noisy and cramped inside. Although it was essentially a four-seat 300ZX, it wasn’t a four-seat 300ZX Turbo, which meant it was slow. (JDM variants got a 4.1L V8 and a turbo 2.5V6, as I recall.) Infiniti had virtually no brand equity, to put it mildly. We all learned that our best chance to move the iron was to convince unaccompanied spouses to sign before the better half could show up and say, “$399 is a lot for an Altima.”

The irony was that there was plenty to love about the J30. It was put together like a Zenith El Primero. The materials quality shamed both Lexus and ze Chermans. The “t” was a little spooky at high speeds, since the HICAS never seemed to give the same response twice in third-gear corners, but that was part of the fun. The stereo was damned good. It really felt like a high-quality piece.

My new boss was new to the auto industry. This was good, because he didn’t do anything that sales managers typically did, such as scream incoherently for no reason. He let us take weekends off. Most importantly, he didn’t understand the NADA Guide and therefore he always paid Dealer Retail for trade-ins. Once I understood that, I called my father and he dragged his boat-anchor Audi 100LS into the shop, crossing his fingers that the transmission didn’t perform its usual gearchange gymnastics during the test drive. His wish was granted and he left with two $399/month J30s. One was triple black, the other was blue with a cream interior. Most importantly, they were 1994 models. The 1995 car was chock-full of cost-cutting and it was obvious when you sat in one.

Our no-hassle sales philosophy and enlightened approach to customer satisfaction didn’t help us sell used cars at Dealer Retail plus a few grand. The lot filled up. The floorplan overflowed. One day the dealership principal showed up at the building. It was before noon and he was sober. These were bad signs. The sales manager was escorted out of the building. The replacement was a fat, oily Macedonian fellow from a Hyundai shop in the iffy part of Columbus. His first official act was to wholesale most of the used lot at a six-figure loss. His second official act was to fire the sullen-looking college kid who parked his Kawasaki Ninja on the showroom floor in the evenings. Thus released, I walked the earth like Caine, or at least rode it like a douchebag, until my next dealership job. It was there that I witnessed a salesperson exchange sex for a chance to sell a Thunderbird, but that’s another story.

With the 2006-2010 Infiniti M, a highly competent luxury performance sedan was hidden beneath utterly forgettable sheetmetal. Before my father bought his 2008 Cadillac CTS I suggested that he also check out the M. One glance at the car’s exterior was all he needed to summarily reject it. Well, for 2011 Infiniti has totally redesigned the M to address this shortcoming. The question now: does the rest of the car measure up to the new come-hither exterior?

Ads feature the new Infiniti M with the optional sport package and its 20-inch alloys, and the car so equipped is striking. Maserati-influenced curves are a stark contrast to the relatively conventional three-box shape of both the previous M and the current competition. Curves always lend a feminine aspect to a car, but the forms in this case are massive enough that no one will think the M strictly a “woman’s car” (not that there’s anything wrong with that). In comparison, even Jaguar’s current styling direction seems overly stiff and straight of line.

Why bring up the ads? Because I’ve yet to see a car with the 20s in the metal. Here in Michigan the dealers only order all-wheel-drive cars, and for some reason Infiniti does not offer the sport package with all-wheel-drive. Yes, this package does include summer tires, but surely all-season tires in the same size are feasible.

The non-sport wheels are 18s. Not so long ago 18s seemed HUGE. Well, they’re lost within the new M’s massive fenders and supersized wheel openings. Bereft of the 20s it was clearly designed for, the exterior that looks so graceful in the ads appears stubby and stout in person, if still a refreshing break from the usual. Infiniti needs to find a way to offer the 20s more widely.

Inside you’ll find Infiniti’s best interior to date. Nearly all of the various surfaces and switchgear bits look and feel worthy of the $55,000+ price. And the interior styling is warm, classically inviting, and gorgeous. Most notable: the sporty double bump of the instrument cover and the teardrop shape of the door panel trim. The British and Italians, clearly sources of inspiration, have rarely done it better. The interiors of competing sedans are unimaginative and boring in comparison. And, unlike in many highly styled interiors, the controls on the new M’s center stack are all logically arranged within easy reach.

Yet some people will not be happy with the new Infiniti M’s interior. Though not to the same extent as that in the EX35 compact crossover, the new M’s interior fits closely around you. It was clearly designed to feel sporty and intimate, not spacious. I generally like this ambiance, but the A-pillars are too intrusive even for my taste, as they extend unusually far inward. From the driver’s seat the M doesn’t feel quite midsize despite its generous exterior dimensions.

The driver’s seat itself is larger and broader than that in the half-size-smaller G37 sedan. Adults who frequent neither the gym nor the buffet line might find them, unlike the interior as a whole, a little loose-fitting and short on lateral support. I recall cushier, more comfortable seats in the previous M, though perhaps my memory is misleading me here? To its credit, Infiniti has avoided the rush to install rock hard headrests that jam forward into the back of your skull.

The rear seat also doesn’t feel spacious, but it is comfortably high off the floor and includes a couple inches more knee room than you’ll find in the G37. The front seatbacks are low enough that they don’t block rear seat passengers’ view forward. The trunk continues the “not spacious” theme and, as in other Asian luxury sedans, the rear seat does not fold to expand it.

The new Infiniti M is offered with a 330-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 and a 420-horsepower 5.6-liter V8. The latter is the clear choice for torque junkies who can never get enough. For nearly everyone else, including most driving enthusiasts, the sampled V6’s noise output will be more of an issue than its power output. This V6 is perhaps the loudest in the segment despite the thoroughly sealed engine compartment. What might be fitting for a sports cars on the open road—and even then a sweeter song would be welcome—can come across as unseemly in a luxury sedan on suburban streets. Your ears will tell you to take it easy lest you attract unwanted attention.

With this six at least the seven-speed automatic is not the best of partners. Downshift to second for a thirty-something MPH turn and the resulting engine noise suggests that you’ve gone a gear too far. But third is too tall. Responses to the manual shifter are sometimes quick, sometimes not, and are not always smooth. To be fair, I didn’t have a lot of seat time in the car. After a few days a better working relationship might well develop as driver and transmission adapt to one another. A head-up display that included the selected gear would help. The attractive instruments are located too low for a quick glance during aggressive driving—good for seeing the road, not good for instantaneously seeing which gear you’re in (which is never nearly as intuitive with an automatic as it is with a manual) or how fast you’re going.

Despite these shortcomings, perhaps even a little because of them, I did enjoy driving the new Infiniti M37 more than nearly any other car in this class, with the BMW 5-Series the only likely exception. The intimate cockpit combines with a balanced chassis and the relatively visceral nature of the car to inspire a close connection and confidence I never felt in the previous M. The all-wheel-drive system includes enough rearward bias that the attitude of the chassis can be adjusted with the throttle. The steering could feel more razor sharp, but it compares well to the numbness of today’s typical system. Pushed, the new M feels smaller and lighter than its 195 inches and two tons, and hustling it through curves quickly becomes second nature.

Ride quality is similarly more polished than that of the previous M, and is generally acceptable for a luxury sedan with sporty pretensions. There’s some jostling about on uneven road surfaces, but no harshness, at least not with the 18s. (The lower profile 20s could be a different story.) Wind noise is low, but road noise on concrete is a bit above the luxury sedan norm. Infiniti continues to have different priorities than Lexus.

No car is perfect. Overall, my criticisms stem from how close the new Infiniti M comes to perfection rather than how far it falls from it. Beautiful exterior—unless you get the standard wheels. Lovely cockpit—except the A-pillars are overly intrusive while the seat bolsters aren’t intrusive enough. Fun to drive—but the V6’s engine note could be of higher quality and lesser quantity. Compare the new M to existing competitors rather than an evasive ideal, and it stacks up very well for anyone who prioritizes the driving experience over silence and spaciousness.

Michael Karesh owns and operates TrueDelta, an online source of automotive pricing and reliability data.

Many cars look and drive much like any number of other cars. They’re simply not special in any way. You might as well toss a coin to choose among them. The EX35 is not one of these cars. Infiniti’s compact crossover is unlike anything else in the U.S. market. And you’re either going to love it or, more likely, hate it.

Before the EX arrived for the 2008 model year Infiniti already had one five-seat crossover, the FX. Though the second-generation FX is something of a cartoon compared to the cleaner, future-classic original, it retains a distinctive, coherent, round-yet-macho exterior. Credit the long hood and huge wheels. Compared to the FX, the EX is nine inches less lengthy, five inches narrower, and three inches less tall–all sizable differences. The EX’s largest available wheels are 18s—huge a decade ago, almost small today—and its proportions and lines are a not fully resolved blend between the FX and the G sedan. The EX is not a bad-looking vehicle, but it lacks the FX’s bold stance, coherence, and striking originality.

The interior design is more successful. While other manufacturers seek a futuristic, high-tech ambiance, the EX’s interior has a warmer, more traditional vibe that owes much to the British. The materials are soft to the touch, the curvy surfaces flow smoothly into one another, and both the instrument cluster hood and the door panels are nicely upholstered. Wood rather than some sort of faux metal covers much of the center stack and center console. Logically designed and arranged controls avoid the overwhelming sea of buttons found in too many competitors. Knobs for the primary HVAC and audio system functions are relatively small and have a smooth, quality feel. Everything is close at hand.

Too close, perhaps? Well, it depends. Many, especially the big and the tall, will find the EX35 an overly tight fit. The cabin is quite narrow, the center console is tall, and the center stack is unusually close. Those not so big and not so tall will still find it cozy, but perhaps in a custom-tailored, cosseting way. After stretching to reach the controls in the majority of cars these days, and finding that many fit me about as well as shoes a couple sizes too large, I found the EX35 a welcome relief. This is the way Jaguars used to feel before they bowed to market pressure to provide as much interior room as everyone else. Generously sized windows and a seating position that is high relative to the instrument panel keep claustrophobia at bay.

Thanks to these windows and its tidy exterior dimensions, the EX35 is an inherently easy vehicle to park. You’ll want the optional “around view camera” anyway. By digitally combining the images from four cameras, this system shows a top-down image of the EX and its surroundings on the nav screen. Reversing down a curving driveway or perfectly backing into a parking space is not only easy with this system—it’s flat out fun. Every car needs this. And, with the prices of these camera falling as volumes increase, perhaps every car will eventually get it. But the EX35 had the around view camera system first, and the FX remains the only other vehicle to offer it. Oddly the gadget-laden new M sedan didn’t get it.

The front seats are comfortable, though I prefer the larger, plusher seats in the FX. They provide only a modest amount of lateral support, but no doubt this modest amount is all most crossover drivers will ever need. The rear seat is the most limiting aspect of the EX. Forget cozy—it’s tight for all but the smallest people. Even sitting behind my 5-9 self, my knees graze the backs of the front seats. Larger adults simply won’t fit unless the front seats are nearly all the way forward, and three across would be a very tight squeeze. If the front seats are nearly all the way back, only children will fit behind them.

Cargo space is similarly limited. With the rear seat up, there’s perhaps half as much cargo room as in the typical sedan’s trunk. Folding the rear seat more than doubles the cargo area, but even then there’s only about two-thirds as much as in the typical compact SUV. So it strikes me as odd that a power-folding rear seat is standard. The rear seat is such a short reach, why bother? Especially since it cannot fully fold if the front seats are most of the way back. If you have to move the front seats up before the rear seat can fold, what’s the point of being able to fold the seats using a button in the cargo area? Similar switches in the center console might prove a bit more useful. Rear seat folded and kids need to get into it? Then you can unfold it without leaving the driver’s seat. So it might be of some use in the school’s pick up lane.

While the Infiniti cars have moved on to a 3.7, the EX continues to be powered by the same 3.5-liter DOHC V6 that has powered nearly every other Infiniti in recent memory. In the EX, this engine kicks out 297 horsepower. Factor in that the EX weighs only a couple hundred pounds more than the G (for a total of 3,979 with AWD), and acceleration isn’t far off that of the G. In other words, the EX35 is quick, if not especially so by today’s warped standards. The engine note isn’t the most thrilling. Nissan’s VQ engine has received much praise, but ever since the bump from 3.0 to 3.5 liters it has seemed a bit gruff and unrefined to me. In Europe the EX has already received the 3.7-liter upgrade. If we get the same it will improve acceleration, but not sound quality.

Until the 3.7 arrives with a seven-speed, the automatic in the EX remains a behind-the-times fiver. Beyond the number of gears, this transmission has a somewhat syrupy, old-fashioned feel to it. The lever can be used to manually shift the transmission; no paddles, at least not yet.

Given it’s compact size and relatively low weight, the EX might be expected to venture farther on a gallon of fuel. Alas, perhaps due to the thirsty VQ engine, it does not. The EPA ratings of 16/23 are almost identical to those of the far larger, more powerful Ford Flex EcoBoost. I observed 16 in aggressive driving, and 19-21 in casual suburban driving.

Compared to other compact crossovers and SUVs, the EX handles well, with excellent balance and the sort of feel only a space-inefficient front-mid engine location and rear-drive platform can provide. It’s about as close to a car as a crossover can get without becoming a hatchback. And yet the EX still feels a touch tall to me. Body roll in hard turns and a slight delay in responses to steering inputs let you know you’re in a crossover and not a car. The EX’s steering is moderately quick and provides about as much feedback as any compact ute’s steering does these days. I’d like a quicker, sharper, more direct feel, but judging from what manufacturers offer this must be just me, right? Forgoing the optional all-wheel-drive would probably help. With it, the EX only oversteers readily on loose surfaces. And even on dry pavement the insufficiently sophisticated, overly intrusive stability control intervenes sooner and more often than it should.

The benefit of this moderate chassis tuning: a very livable ride, even with the 18s. Sure, the ride sometimes feels a touch busy, and some bumps register, but there no bobbling about and it’s never punishing the way the FX could be. Noise levels are moderately low, with a sound quality suitable for this class of vehicle. Your ears tell you you’re in a luxury car.

Sounding like an ideal car for the women in your life rather than yourself? Perhaps. For whatever reason, cars have never been sized like clothing. And automakers have generally avoided gender-specific models. But by offering the EX and FX Infiniti goes about as far in these directions as any automaker has gone. Want something bigger and more macho? Then Infiniti will be happy to sell you the FX. For those who, on the other hand, don’t physically require a lot of space and who want a uniquely personal, seemingly tailor-made crossover, the EX is without equal.

Infiniti provided the vehicle, insurance and one tank of gas for this review

Michael Karesh owns and operates TrueDelta, an online source of automotive reliability and pricing data

]]> http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/05/review-2010-infiniti-ex35/feed/ 69 http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/10/import-sport-sedan-comparison-sixth-place-infiniti-m35x/ http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/10/import-sport-sedan-comparison-sixth-place-infiniti-m35x/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:13:52 +0000 Michael Freed http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=332564

Luxury sport sedans have a lot of boxes to tick. In a segment where high price points have not prevented a a crowd of competitors from gathering, every contender must develop a unique identity that sets it apart from the pack. This means a combination of performance, character, quality and feel that makes the car’s priorities evident, and speaks to the tastes of its well-heeled driver. Instead of picking a specific formula, the M35x tried too hard to check all the boxes, leaving it almost completely without distinguishing characteristics. The upside is an almost utilitarian soullessness, an anonymous competence that defines much of the front-drive luxury market. In this group though, we’re looking for more than that. The Infiniti’s driving experience comes across as a pastiche of other, more memorable cars, and this lack of identity drops the M to last place.

At first glance, there’s little to disappoint, but little to excite, either. The M was clearly styled in the Mercedes idiom: more impressive than alluring, particularly dressed in black metallic. The basic shape is blocky and slab-sided, with a pronounced wedge shape and more chrome bling than you’d find on a whole fleet of 5-series BMWs. Overall, the look is aggressive and imposing, and the workmanship impresses, but the M’s styling just doesn’t leave a lasting impression – curious, given that other Infiniti products, particularly the sleek G sedan and coupe, are stylish and overflowing with design personality.

Once inside, the M again makes a decent impression. The dashboard is a two-tiered affair: a dark upper panel and light-colored lower panel separated by a dash-wide swath of unique-looking African rosewood.  Entry and exit are the best in this test, aided by the M’s tall roof line and a system that moves the seat and steering wheel in and out of the driver’s way for ingress and egress. The seats themselves are wide and comfortable, if not terribly supportive. The workmanship is good, but the materials are a mixed bag – the leather and wood trim is of obviously high quality, but many interior materials, such as the door padding, look slightly downmarket at this price.

The driver interfaces with a nicely padded wheel, and instrumentation is beautifully rendered and highly legible. Like its German competitors, the M has a multifunction wheel (think iDrive) to control, well, just about everything. These controls can be finicky to use, but at least Infiniti places the controls high on the dashboard, in the driver’s line of sight, mitigating the ergonomic impact of the system. The aesthetics are another matter – all those buttons under the LCD navigation / radio screen make it look as if a miniature laptop computer has been grafted into the dashboard. It’s not a look for all tastes, and this writer found it decidedly awkward.

The equipment level is hard to argue with – the M came fully stocked with toys, including ventilated front seats, a hard drive-based multimedia system, voice-activated audio and climate controls, an excellent Bose sound system, and a DVD audio and video system. Other gadgets were a bit too gimmicky, such as the lane-departure warning system, which beeps at you when you’re straying too far out of your lane. Frustratingly, it can’t be turned off.

Keeping with its utilitarian theme, the M35 excels as a people mover. It offers the largest and most comfortable back seat in this test, and a massive, well-shaped trunk. But then so does an Avalon.

The M35 is powered by the latest iteration of Infiniti’s ever-present 3.5 liter V-6, putting out a class-acceptable 303 horsepower. Like the Lexus, this engine loves to rev, and puts out a fairly aggressive howl, but the M’s curb weight – over 4,000 pounds – and willing but cog-limited 5-speed automatic mean you have to truly flog the engine to drive enthusiastically. Subjectively, the M felt slower than the Mercedes, but the engine felt more eager and made more encouraging noises. The 7-speed transmission, available in the rear-drive M, would help, but what would really make the difference here is the 324-horsepower, direct injected V-6 in the G37 sedan.

Handling-wise, the M35 fares better. Among the Japanese luxury brands, Infinti has been chasing BMW for quite some time, and this car shows they’ve been learning along the way. The M is not as overtly sporting as the BMW in this test, but a lot of the ingredients are there: direct, communicative steering, solid structure, and a firm but compliant chassis. As a result, the M35 responds eagerly to hard driving, and rewards the driver with an open line of communication with the road. But here’s where the underpowered V-6 undercuts the M35 yet again – as eager and competent as this car is over the road, it never feels effortlessly fast, and that’s a deal killer in this class.

This car is also available with a 325-horsepower V-8 – the M45 – and with that engine, it would have been a better match for the BMW and Audi, but thus equipped, the M was far from revelatory to drive, and wouldn’t have placed any higher than fourth in this test. And if the BMW stretches the price envelope here, the M45 would have blown it away with a sticker pushing $63,000. As tested, the M35 came in at a far more reasonable $54,965, and that seems the more sensible way to go.

And that sensibility explains why the M35 finishes last here. While the Infiniti is undeniably well-rounded, competent, and a solid value, those are common-sense attributes, and when you’re dropping this kind of money on a car, it shouldn’t be a sensible purchase – it should be an extravagance, a treat. A car that, in one way or another, simply blows you away. Each of the cars in this test offer that in their own fashion, each is a unique melange of performance and character that give shape to an identifiable personality. Except the M35, which other than geeky streak, shows almost no personality at all. In this segment, that’s an unforgivable sin.

Performance: 2/5
Engine is willing, but it feels underpowered, and the transmission needs more cogs

Ride: 3/5
Comfortable without being too mushy

Handling: 4/5
Feels eager, with quick, direct steering; too bad the engine intrudes on the fun

Exterior: 3/5
Impressive, but doesn’t really have its own style

Interior: 3/5
Roomiest in test, with some unique stylistic touches, but some subpar materials and the odd center stack do not impress

Fit and Finish: 3/5
Notably well made, but some interior materials are not up to snuff

Toys: 5/5
It’s hard to think of a gadget this car doesn’t have

Desirability: 1/5
Just not much to get excited about here.

I love technology. I was an early adopter of the microcomputer (8″ SS/SD floppies, anyone?). I spent way too much on a TI calculator in college because it could *gasp* do square roots. My car has rain-sensing wipers, self-leveling headlights and power headrests. However, spending a week with an Infiniti FX35 made me wonder if, just as electronic calculators have given us a generation who can’t do simple math in their heads, the technical fripperies in our cars are going to produce a generation of drivers who can’t drive.

The FX35 is a gadget geek’s wet dream. It gives you an alphabet soup bowlful of technosystems at your beck and call. Not only do you have the usual VDC, TCS, ABS and TMPS but your menu also includes IBA, FCW, LDW, LDP, DCA, ASC, DRM, CVTCS and ICC. (Click here to break the code.)

Want to back out of your driveway? First, you can’t see anything through the FX35′s gun-slit rear window. The blind spot created by the SUV’s huge D pillar means your neighbor’s mailbox is at risk. Then, when you engage reverse, both outside rearview mirrors tilt downwards, giving you a nice view of the driveway next to the car—instead of where you’re backing. But don’t worry. The dash-mounted screen shows what’s to the rear along with what’s on the other three sides as well. It’s like the car’s saying “I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t let you do that. Here, look into my ‘Around View Monitor’ and I’ll show you what you need to see.”

Once underway, HAL’s on full alert. If you get too close to the [non-powder] white line whilst unwrapping your Big Mac, the Infiniti’s Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system sounds an alert. If you ignore that, the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system gooses the brakes on the opposite side of the car to nudge the car back towards its own lane. They’re incredibly intrusive. Fortunately you can actually shut off the LDW permanently and the LDP is off by default, but why pay for them if you aren’t going to use them?

The FX35′s Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) keeps you from getting too close to the car ahead of you while you’re sipping your grande soy half-caf cinnamon dolce no whip latte—to the point of applying the brakes automatically (if needed). I’m wondering how long it’ll be before someone has an accident because they were too stupid to realize they were in a car without this feature. “Officer, I don’t know what happened. The car just plowed right into that other car.”

Don’t worry about paying attention to traffic. The Forward Collision Warning (FCW) will alert you to things you don’t notice while you’re texting your BFF. And if you can’t be bothered to notice those alarms, the Intelligent Brake Assist (IBA) will apply the brakes to slow you down. And if you’re still too engrossed in your happy place to react to this, you deserve to crash.

But if you do, the active head rests, advanced air bag system and seat belt tensioners will all do their best to make sure you don’t reap the reward of your incompetent driving.

Or you can save almost $3K by not ordering the technonanny package and enjoy the car that’s underneath all the gizmology. The FX’s 3.5L V-6 gives you 303 horses, which can haul you from rest to 60 in about six seconds. The CUV’s seven-speed transmission shifts almost imperceptibly; the Downshift Rev Matching (DRM) gives a satisfying blip on the throttle when you use the steering-wheel mounted paddles.

Thanks to a double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, the FX35′s handling is definitely un-SUV-like. At slow speeds, the speed-sensitive power steering feels a bit heavy. As you pick up speed, the fun begins. Drive this thing like you stole it and it shrugs and asks, “Is that the best you’ve got?”

Head out on the highway, turn on the air conditioned seats, set the cruise control at a comfortable speed, crank up some Miles Davis on the excellent 11-speaker Bose audio system and the FX35 is in its element. It eats up the highway like Oprah at a benefit buffet.

As far as its looks are concerned, the pictures say it all. The front’s ugly and the rest isn’t bad.

The price of admission depends on how heavy-handed you get with the option sheet. The FX35 starts at $42,150. Adding the Premium Package (climate controlled seats, memory seats, Bluetooth, power tilt/telescope wheel) will cost $2,350. The Navigation Package, which includes the “Around View Monitor,” is another $2,850. The Technology Package gives you the electronazi systems for $2,900. The whole nine yards brings the “as tested” price to $50,250.

The FX35 doesn’t need so much wizardry. A terrific driver’s car lurks underneath all that code. Unfortunately, most owners will never know this; they’ll never turn off the electronic doo-hickeys to let the goodness shine through. They want to be insulated from the driving experience. Don’t they?

[Nissan provided the vehicle, a tank of gas and insurance for this review.]

[Written by TTAC commentator FreedMike] Much to the annoyance of the local BMW and Infiniti dealers, I’ve been shopping these two cars. But, hey, it’s MY 40 large, not YOURS. So I’ll be picky if I wanna be). By now, I’m VERY familiar with the two machines. I don’t know why TTAC’s comparison was between the 324-hp G37 and a 328 that gives up about 100 hp. The G37 will eat the 328 for lunch. The real comparison is between the G37 and the 335.

From the outside, both cars look great, with the Infiniti wearing sleeker duds. The BMW has that classic 3-Series proportioning that wears so well over time. Either car makes a strong style statement, so you can chalk this one up to personal preference.

The Bimmer’s interior boasts a slightly higher-quality tactile feel, while the Infiniti’s cabin offers more impressive styling (particularly if you nix the aluminum trim for African rosewood). The Infiniti has an LCD display mounted high on the dashboard that displays the radio, climate controls and (optional) navigation. When equipped with navigation, the BMW’s high-mounted LCD display looks like it’s been lumped on top of the dashboard as an afterthought.

The BMW 335’s lower ride height makes ingress and egress harder. Once inside, both the Infiniti and BMW offer supportive chairs (sports seats optional). The Infiniti G37 rides slightly higher so there is actual foot room in back; if you sit low in the BMW, your back seat passengers will have NO foot room whatsoever.

The 335’s twin turbo motor is an absolute gem: eager off the line, strong throughout the power band and wonderful to listen to at any speed. The G37’s naturally aspirated V-6 is similarly strong, if a bit more throaty and assertive-sounding; think of the G37 as espresso and the 335 as frappé.

Both cars have well-sorted automatic transmissions with a manual shift feature. The G37’s new seven-speed transmission offers more cogs, The sport model’s paddle shifters are finely crafted in magnesium, with a grippy rubber backing. They’re big and easy to reach from the wheel, and operate with a marvelously precise feel. The BMW’s paddle shift system works well, but I found myself using the Infiniti’s paddles more often.

In terms of driving dynamics, the BMW is near perfect, but the Infiniti’s not far off. If you don’t drive on the knife-edge of adhesion, you won’t feel much of a difference. But it’s there.

The 335 is the more refined ride, but not by much. It’s also subjectively quicker. In reality, the two cars are about evenly matched. Both are highly capable back-road maulers, with accurate steering, strong brakes and solid structures. The BMW’s almost telepathic steering gives it an edge over the Infiniti in this category. Anyone who drives at less than nine-tenths won’t notice much of a difference.

The BMW is the better car, but the differences are subjective and very subtle. And the superiority comes at a price.

A loaded G37X with the sport package runs $42 grand. A similarly equipped 335Xi (navigation, leather, top-notch sound system, etc) is $52 grand. You can get a base 335 for the same price as the G37, but it comes with a tinny-sounding sound system with the world’s worst display (it’s cryptic, with a cheap-looking red LCD display that disappears completely if you wear polarized sunglasses).

I can live without navigation, but other equipment choices are harder to justify at a matching price point, such as the manual steering wheel adjuster (as opposed to the Infiniti’s electrically-adjusted steering column, which glides up and out of the way when you get out of the car). The Bimmer’s iPod interface is a $450 option—a standard feature on an $18K Toyota Corolla.

But the hardest cheap-out to justify on the base 335: the drab-looking vinyl seats, which offer neither heating nor lumbar support, and emit a nasty chemical odor to boot. The effect is far more pronounced on cars with tan interiors. Even the charcoal vinyl interior, which does a decent leather imitation, has a nasty smell. How BMW has the chutzpah to charge over $40K for a car with vinyl seats is beyond me.

Still, the 335 offers a sublime driving experience, and the cachet of the roundel. The Infiniti offers a more a more strongly-flavored (some would say less refined) drive. Subjectively, it’s not quite up to the standard of the BMW.

Removing price from the equation, the BMW wins. However, given the price difference between similarly equipped models, the Infiniti triumphs, particularly against the out-muscled 328. That’s doubly true if you value the latest and greatest gizmos: standard in the Infiniti for the same money as a base 3-Series.

Overall, I’d give the nod to the Infiniti G37 over the BMW 335 based on superior value. And unless you’re a die-hard BMW fan, the G37’s a no-brainer over the 328.

Imagine you’re looking for a $41k imported sports sedan. You want something fun to drive. Sayonara, Lexus. You were traumatized by an orthodontist. Aloha to Acura’s tin grin TL. You appreciate the difference between having it and flaunting it. Auf wiedersehen, BMW and Mercedes. That leaves the Audi A4 3.2 Audi and Infiniti G37 6MT. Oddly enough, I recently sampled those two exact cars. Funny how these things work out.

The moment Audi introduced the A5 last year, the A4 became a victim of its own dowdiness. Audi saw that one coming; they redesigned the A4 for 2009. It now looks like a four-door A5. (Cynics might see it as Germany’s answer to the Impala/Monte Carlo, but I couldn’t possibly comment.) The A4′s exterior and interior are new; the 2.0-liter turbo and 3.2-liter drivetrains are not, although the 2.0t offers 11 extra ponies and some welcome low-down grunt. As before, customers can purchase the 2.0t with or without quattro, while the 3.2-liter is four wheel-drive only.

In 2007, Nissan redesigned the G series for an even more modern look, then blessed Infiniti’s sedan with the same 3.7-liter V6 engine serving time in the snout of the G37 coupe. The 6MT refers to the standard six-speed manual transmission. The package includes upgrades to the suspension and the brakes. Most of the good stuff is also available as a Sport Package on the “Journey” model, but the shift-it-yourself tranny’s only available on the 6MT.

Both the Audi and the Infiniti show strong family ties to their more expensive siblings. The G37 wears Infiniti’s trademark windswept look well. That said, from some angles, the G37 comes off as an Altima that went to finishing school. The Audi shows up at the ball with the pissed-at-the-world glower previously seen on the R8 and A5. Audi’s LED eyeliner looks overwrought, as if the designers had to figure out how to incorporate BMW’s “angel eyes” into a car without round headlights. More than one person asked me about the row of lights. Other than attracting attention (which they certainly do). I couldn’t provide a single reason for their existence.

Although the A4 and G37 appear to be about the same size, the Infiniti is two inches longer. The A4 has a two-inch advantage in width. Interestingly, the G37 is classified by the EPA as a mid-size while the A4 is considered a compact. With the front seats positioned for my 6′3″ frame, both cars suffer from a severe lack of rear legroom.

When you’re firmly ensconced in the driver’s chairs, concerns about the rear passengers’ discomfort quickly disappear. The G37 features highly-bolstered front seats; the driver’s throne adjusts a dozen ways. The side bolsters on both the back and bottom adjust in and out and there’s an extendible thigh support on both front seats for those long of limb. As a bonus, the instrument cluster moves up and down when you tilt the steering wheel, so everything stays in clear view.

The A4′s seats may not be as Gumbi-fied as the Infiniti’s but they’re still quite comfortable. Since they aren’t as aggressively bolstered, those whose derrieres have been ambushed by gravity may find them a bit more accommodating than the G37′s.

The G37 offers plenty of toys for for your forty large. Unfortunately, the center stack was designed by the same symmetry-OCD-affected engineer that tidied up the Murano. The G’s main controls are located on a shelf in front of the touch screen, an arm’s length away. The system incorporates the readout for the radio and HVAC settings—controlled by buttons and knobs further down the center stack. Thankfully, the radio and sat nav voice control have redundant controls on the steering wheel. Once you learn where everything is and what it does, you’re OK. Until then, not.

Audi doesn’t give you a nav system at this price point. But you do get Audi’s MMI mouse-driven controller, which adjusts everything from the bun warmers and sound system to the sensitivity of the automatic headlights. The basic controls are mounted in the A4′s center stack, but you have to reach past the shifter to get to them. While the MMI is easy to learn, I reckon a car’s primary controls should be mounted on the console where they’re within easy reach and don’t require eye time.

Both the Audi A4 and the Infiniti G37 6MT sport the very latest in recycled beer can aluminum trim technology with the metal applied to the dashboard and the door panels—like every other car with performance pretenses. At least it’s real metal and not silvery plastic.

Unfortunately, both automakers just said no to real-deal cup holders. In the Audi’s case, they’re different sizes. The smaller one won’t hold anything larger than a soft drink can or small bottle of water. The Infiniti’s cup holders hide under a sliding cover. The square indents don’t offer a lot of support for round beverage containers.

Audi and Nissan’s drivetrain engineers have done their level best to make your caffeine-free transportation worthwhile. In the G37′s case, they deployed the same rear-wheel-drive FM platform underpinning the 370Z. Push the G37′s smart key Start button and the 3.7-liter, 328 hp V6 responds with a sinister snarl. Running it up to the redline is both anti-social and aurally gratifying.

The G37′s clutch action is light and precise. Rowing through the gears at speed can propel a G-man or woman from 0-60 in just over five seconds. Driven a bit more conservatively, the G37 delivers a reasonable 17 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway. Nissan says this engine marks the first application of their VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) system on a production vehicle in the American market. If that’s what makes this engine so sweet, they need to spread the wealth.

The G37 6MT’s standard sport suspension keeps you glued to the road. I may infuriate a few Bowtie Blowhards, but there were times when scurrying around a switchback resulted in flashbacks to my Corvette-driving days.  Just make sure the sprogs are well secured in the back seat; any curve becomes a challenge to better your personal best.

Performance-wise, the Audi A4 is outclassed. Put the key fob in its slot, then push it in another quarter inch and the 3.2L 265 hp V6 purrs to life. Ingolstadt’s engine gives up 60 hp to the G37 AND it has to haul around an extra 240 lb. The Audi takes a full second more to perform the 0 to 60 benchmark. At least the fuel mileage is comparable at 17/26. The six-speed automatic transmission is silky smooth when left to its own devices. However, if you feel compelled to take things into your own hands, paddle shifters are noticeable by their absence.

Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system is as seamless as ever. In normal conditions, it sends just over 50 percent of the power to the rear wheels. When traction becomes an issue, the A4 sends the torque to whichever wheels need it. You can’t beat the control and security in inclement weather. The trade-off: in the dry, you never feel quite as one with the road as you do with the rear wheel-drive G37.

The A4 3.2 quattro and G37 6MT both sticker within $500 of our arbitrary $41K price point. For $41.3K, Audi gives you the A4 and not much more. Our test car had but one option: the $425 “Aruba blue pearl effect” paint job. Your forty large buys you rain-sensing wipers, Bluetooth, and HomeLink, but upmarket, mission-critical sat-nav runs an additional $2.5K.

The G37 6MT starts at just over $34K. The $2.5K Premium Package which brings it even with the A4 3.2 toy-wise, includes a sunroof, memory settings and power lumbar support for the chairs, a premium Bose sound system, Bluetooth and other toys. The G37 6MT’s navigation package adds another $2.15K. Tick the boxes for a couple other “gotta-haves”  (e.g., rear spoiler and lighted kick plates) and you’re still $400 below the A4.

Either of these $40K-ish cars will get you from point A to point B rapidly, in comfort and style. If your driving routine includes a lot of snowy or rainy weather, the A4 3.2 quattro is an excellent playmate with a feel-good cabin that makes mincemeat of mondo mileage. However, when the going gets twisty, the twisted get going in a G37 6MT—it’s far and away the better driver’s car of these two. Before you dismiss the G as more performance than you need and less safety than you want, I suggest you take it for a test drive.

The BMW 3-Series has been the gold standard for small sports sedans since America had a gold standard. Well, it seems that way. The Ultimate Driving Machine has seen off the Germans (Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4), Americans (Cadillac CTS) and Japanese (Infiniti’s G-force). Repeatedly. Despite the min-Merc’s rep as a credible corner carver, it’s the Infiniti that’s posed the most dangerous threat to the 3′s rep. In fact, Infiniti’s persistence is the automotive equivalent of the posse in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Who are zees guys? These days, the G-Unit chases the 3 with a bigger engine, remapped power delivery and a Bimmer baiting tagline: “Beyond Machine.” We shall see.

The BMW 328 xDrive is the least Bangled of the Bimmer bunch, retaining its golden rule proportions—despite speed lines from a Japanese cartoon. This iteration finds itself more plump than its predecessors, but hey, would you complain it if was a steak? That long nose covers a straight six, the engine configuration that’s delighted generations of pistonheads. Literally. What else do you need to know?

The Infiniti G37x has an entirely different posture, with nearly the same stance. It is erumpent and rolling, like a silk scarf in the wind. The overall effect is more sinister than commanding. It doesn’t appear to be in the same weight class as the champ. Ha!

The Infiniti’s cabin had an interior decorator on their design team. The Washi paper-like aluminum trim is Shirley Temple-class cute. The flow and wrap looks sensuous, but also calming. The BMW’s innards were designed by engineers. No flourishes are found. From this seat, you drive your car. Ja? BMW breaks up the purposeful lines with varying textures and shades. Everything feels good, and that’s enough.

The BMW 328xi and Infiniti G37x’s stable-yards are grossly mismatched. BMW brings the venerable 3.0-liter, inline six-cylinder engine making 230 hp @ 6500 rpm. The Infiniti wields 328 hp @ 7000 rpm from a 3.7-liter V6. Yes, the 335′s 300-horse turbocharged engine would crush the Infiniti into a fine powder. But that particular motorized meisterstuck is seven-Gs more (cash not cars). The truth is most sports sedanististas compare cars dollar-for-dollar.

The 328 is quick. It’s not going to make your mouth dry, but palpitations are not beyond the realm of possibility. Ye Olde variable valve timing produces a strong, steady surge up and down the rev range. A good driver can control and work with every ounce of the 328xi’s urge, using momentum to achieve what sheer grunt can not.

The G37 is fast. The engine’s 269 lb-ft of torque (@ 5200 rpm) reveals itself like it’s been there all along, waiting for you. Again, astute valve control delivers unto your right foot and two hands a strong, usable engine. Still, you gotta pay attention.

The G37′s dynamic vehicle control, traction control, ABS and all-wheel drive system do their level best to keep you at your level best, away from solid objects. I plowed this thing through light and heavy virgin snow. The experience was almost disappointing. The rear-wheel drive bias fools you into thinking you can break the rear end loose. You can’t. At least not if you’ve got a wife, two kids, a mortgage and a desire to support same.

The BMW’s equipped with almost the same system. I’m sure lawyers someplace will disagree. But the result is identical: more confidence than anyone other than Gunnar Thermaenius should have on a snowy road (to pick a neutral party).

Holistically speaking, the differences between the BMW 328xi and Infiniti G37x are remarkable (’cause that’s how we roll), but not profound. On dry pavement, the G has so much power you have to hold back, even when it’s not strictly necessary. It strains at the leash and then heads for the hills. If you’re not having enough fun, just hammer it and hold on. Done.

As you’d expect, the 328xi has a far more tossable, user-friendly feel. It encourages the enthusiastic driver to approach its limits a little at a time. By the same token, the G37′s stoppers are absurdly effective. But the 3′s brakes are effectively absurd; you can slow the sedan from outrageous speeds with logic-defying grace and seemingly infinite power.

The G37x’s new seven-speed is the world’s best continuously variable transmission (only not). The 3′s six speed is just as smooth, but lacks that final dollop of crème fraîche. Response under full throttle is identical, as are the official gas mileage ratings.

Overall, the cars are equal. The G trounces the 3 in the power department. Yet there is a purity to the 3 series that remains insuperable; it wasn’t designed to evoke or compete with anything. It’s a 3 series. It was built as a whole and ultimately it translates to a special, unified driving experience that can’t be overcome with power and tricks. I wouldn’t fault anyone for buying a G. But for me, synergy supplants paper prowess. The 3 wins.

[The original comparo crashed the entire site, due to some photo-related code. I apologize for losing your insightful commentary. I promise it won't disappear this time.]

The FX50’s re-sculpted snout is like Mike Tyson's tattoo. You contemplate it for a second and briefly ratiocinate, “Cool.” One beat later you're wondering, “What in the fuck was he thinking?” From the CUV’s basking shark grill to its squigly lamps, the FX50's prow looks like a weird toad. Fender vents? Why? Thankfully, the FX50’s sheetmetal contains plenty of the previous car's clever cuts and inventive angles, keeping the basic shape solidly in the “Hell yes” column. Especially squatting on those shiny 21” dubs.

Swing open the FX50 door and behold! Infiniti has set a new standard in the all-important wooden door insert competition. The rest of the cabin lives up to the maple-accented portals’ upmarket aspirations, with scads of top shelf soft touch leather and plastic. The FX50’s optional quilted leather seats (with adjustable thigh and back bolstering) are complemented by a steering wheel meaty enough to put off even the most casual vegetarian. The new Fiddy is a lot classier than the last FX, though just as cargo-challenged.  

But it’s not short of gadgets. The FX50 packs more electro-wizardry into one space than the Consumer Electronics Show. In front of your left knee: seven buttons labeled with abbreviations like DCA, FCW and IBA. I have no idea what any of them do. But the sheer amount of pressable stuff will impress (and confuse) the Joneses. As for doodads I do understand, the radar-cruise control works so well that I didn’t touch a pedal for over an hour in bumper-to-bumper gridlock. Combine that with Infiniti's beepy Lane Departure Warning system and the FX50 is the first car you can drive from the passenger seat. Blindfolded. 

The FX50 is the only Nissan FM chassis variant with the sizzling 5.0-liter V8. That's a shimmering indicator to where Nissan's (and the rest of the industry's) head has been: squarely up their backsides. Still, what a gnarled, snarling brute of an engine. The mighty mill stumps-up 390 horses and 369 torques, making this power-wagon thuggishly quick.

No joke. The brand new lunatic fringe Mitsubishi EVO X with its dual-clutch tranny and cantaloupe-sized turbocharger hits 60 mph in 5.1 seconds. The 4,575 pound FX50 takes one tenth of a second longer. One tenth! The big Infiniti feels much faster than the EVO, and through the quarter-mile — it is! By the time I hit 120 mph it was obvious that the FX50 is a motorized mental case meant for drivers much more psychotic than I. And that’s saying something.

Sadly the transmission sucks. I'm stealing from Berkowitz, but “AUTOCOCKBLOCK!” Under brisk acceleration, the devious seven-speed has you in fifth gear by 30 mph. For the math-averse, that's one shift every six mph. I hate it. True: you can paddle the gears yourself. But it's a slusher, not a dual-clutch. So you're playing the hurry up and wait game. That's hateful, too. If you floor it, the tranny will hold gears up to 7000rpm redline– and the already low mileage will drop off a cliff. The stoppers are mean and mighty, once you get your leg into 'em; the lack of initial bite is disheartening.

Infiniti has revised the FX50’s underpinnings, reducing the travel and heft of the old multilink rear with liberal lashings of aluminum, and fitted double-wishbones up front. Combined with fat, sticky rubber and lots of computerized prestidigitation, the big, tall, portly CUV handles as well as if not better than your sports car. Equally astounding, this time ‘round, your dental fillings are safe.

Unfortunately, tossing the FX50 into a tight corner feels like riding a Macbook. I’m not saying it’s numb, but I would have to drink five Arrogant Bastards to personally achieve the same effect. 

So, the new $63k Infiniti FX50 is a ruthlessly fast, lateral-G genius saddled with an electric chastity belt (or three) that’s not very practical and drinks like Charles Bukowski on a bender. Infiniti has crafted a vehicle with all the grace und pace of its German rivals. If you can put up with the numbskull transmission (and insatiable thirst) the FX50 is the fastest, most tossable sedan-on-stilts money can buy. Just don't look it in the eyes.

When launched, the Infiniti Q45 was infinitely more desirable than Lexus's stuffy LS400. Unfortunately, Lexus had already eclipsed Mercedes as the brand recent Black Sea immigrants asked for by name, and BMWs remained the must-have nouveau riche accessory. Although today's M45 is best-in-class, BMW 5-Series' still runs the schoolyard. Meanwhile, Infiniti (and everybody else) is striving to wrest control of the all-important, profit-laden next class down. So how does Infiniti's AWD 3-Series fighter stack-up?

When images of the second-gen G35 started leaking onto these here internets, I was taken aback by the hood's flowing cut line. Simply perfect. The rest of the car appeared to be a subtle evolution of the old one. Two years later, I still love the hood line. Everything else is tired. Parked next to the current gen Altima, the Nissan is a much more attractive package. The four-door G is just too mousy and restrained. And the taillights are still too damn big. That said, the seven-spoke, 18" aluminum wheels on our tester are impressive.

Inside, it's an entirely different picture. The Infinitis of yore offered cheap Nissan parts binnage, with navigation screens that looked like convenience store cash machines. No more. In fact, the nav screen is the single most gorgeous part of a decidedly swanky interior. Specifically: the sweeping, organic layout of the fun-to-fondle buttons below the screen.

Gizmos abound: Microfiltering HVAC, rear seat-heater ducts, dual antennas and XM radio. The rest of innards are posh, well thought out and supremely comfortable. Even the (useless) faux-flappy-paddles feel fantastic. Off the hill Audi; there's a new haptic king of the hill (with a prince of an XF also fighting for succession).

If one was forced to stereotype Nissan, one might quote the Ferrari dictum: sell them an engine and throw the rest in for free. Since 1994, the VQ family of V6s has been giving customers throughout the model range (Pathfinder, QX, FX, Altima, Murano, Quest, Z, etc.) more power than the competitors at a (usually) lower price, with plenty of torque.

For all-weather entry-level luxury duty, Nissan mates the 3704 lbs. G35x AWD to the 3.5-liter VQ35HR. The HR part of the alphabet soup stands for "High Revolution"– as in a 7500 rpm redline. The spinning metal pumps-out 306 horses at 6,800 rpm and 268 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. Should you opt for an all wheel-drive (AWD) G, you opt out of the six-speed manual transmission. Although the G35x' cog-swapper is "only" a five-speed, its seamlessness moots any objection. For both around town and highway duty, the G35x has an entirely useful drivetrain.

Yes but… As you'd expect, the G35x' all wheel-drive mechanicals means it weighs more than the standard four-door. Therefore, it takes 5.9 seconds to hit 60 mph; the rear wheel drive makes the same sprint in 5.6 seconds. I can already hear the keyboard clacks of people writing in that some magazines have clocked a G35 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and the G35x AWD in 5.5. And we'll counter that some magazines employ a 1-foot rolling start to consistently record the lowest (and therefore most attention grabbing) numbers.

But my point stands. The AWD G is slower than the regular G.

Not only is the G35x slower on radar, but, worse, it feels more sluggish to the driver. Again, losing a little (though noticeable) straight line thrust in under six-second world is no biggie. After all, you can make the time back in the corners, right? Uh, no.

I've long considered the FM platform to be one of the marvels of the modern automotive landscape. Forget about the Gs and Zs, you ever driven an FX? There's no way a sedan on stilts should be so nimble and so much fun. Yet it is. Sadly, the good times end with the G35x. The steering feels artificially heavy yet distant at all speeds. The car wants to do anything but turn in. Look, I love AWD performance cars. But the engineers need to have AWD in mind from the start. If not, it's like adding on a basement once a house's foundation has been poured– an expensive afterthought.

While not bad in any glaring way, the G35x AWD left me wanting. Especially after spending time in both the Subaru STI and BMW xDrive35i, two 300+ hp AWD cars designed from the outset to butcher the corners and bloody the straights. With those two machines there aren't slimmer, cheaper, equally powerful variants to remind me of money poorly spent.

I'll grant that if you need to blast across South Dakota during a blizzard, the G35x would be a hell of a comfortable way to go. But for all other applications, stick with the original. Or, yeah you guessed it, a 335i.

Visually, the difference between the FX and EX is no more profound than the disparity between Sarah Connor in the first and second Terminator movies. The “coupe inspired” EX is a bit more compact and a lot more cut than the FX. And that's it. To this reviewer’s eyes, the FX’ zoftig curves are far more appealing than the Bimmer-aping character lines bisecting the EX’ prow and flanks. The EX’ rear window treatment is especially over-wrought; a mish-mash of shapes assembled for the sole purpose of not being an FX. 

The EX’ back end lacks the FX’ way cool integrated coffee can exhausts, but the smaller sib’s helm leaves no doubt to which letter in SUV it aspires. The Japanese cute ute’s steering wheel is meaty enough to inspire a vegetarian backlash. That said, the EX’ designers clearly decided that G comes before Z in their aesthetic alphabet. To justify the Lexus-like price tag, Infiniti’s designers have once again benchmarked Audi. From the climate controls to the red-faced LCD trip computer nestled between the gauges, the EX grasps for Ingolstadt's four rings.

And misses the marque. The EX’ dash may be as handsome as Poggenpohl kitchen, but the gauges’ violet inner rings and oversized font stick out like an oil can of Fosters in a wicker wine cradle. The EX’ leather seats may look elegantly sumptuous, but they feel as plasticky as your grandmother's vinyl couch covers. The EX’ rotary controller is suitably Starck, but sits dorkily on the dashtop, like a nerd's polyester trousers grazing his nipples. While I can appreciate the oil-dampened glide of a glovebox door as much as the next OCD pistonhead, the EX’ cabin proves than lackluster imitation is the sincerest form of bad branding.

If Infiniti has a "thing," it's gizmos. We're talking voice recognition, an Intelligent Key (that couldn't answer the simplest trivia questions), Intelligent Cruise Control (that kept Tom away), an "Around View" parking monitor (in case you need to park sideways), a brake-actuating Lane Departure Prevention system, Sat Nav (with real time traffic info), Bluetooth, Bose blasting (with 24-bit DAC, 11 speakers, two subwoofers, six CD player, iPod connectivity and a 9.3GB hard drive), remote rear seat release (and motorized retraction) and the usual luxury everything. Wait. No power liftgate? Nope.

But power it's got. The EX’ fourth gen VQ engine stumps-up 297hp and 253 ft.-lbs. of torque. As max shove clocks-in at a relatively high rpm, sporting drivers must give the EX’ go-pedal a proper pasting to satisfy their accelerative urges. So motorvated, the 3752lbs. EX heads for the hills like you TASERed its tailpipes. The dash from rest to 60mph takes a shade under six seconds. Provided you use the EX’ five-speed autobox’ manual override to hold onto tight to your revs, the SUV will pass long lines of traffic in a single bound.

On the downside, EX lacks the similarly speedy FX35's operatic mellifluousness under wide open throttle. What's worse, the silence allows the EX' tire roar to come to the fore (damn those fat all-season shoes). The EX35's prodigious thirst is another inconvenient truth. Ambling around town, the accommodation and cargo-challenged SUV gulps gas at the astonishing rate of 16mpg. Drive the EX like you stole it and the fuel bills will make you wish you had.

Still, if you had to evade the long arm of the law in an SUV (closed course, fake arm), you could hardly do better than pilot an EX equipped with ATTESA ET-S (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System with Electronic Torque Split). If you ignore the FX-donated crashy rear suspension, and the EX' unsettling tendency to porpoise over undulations, the all wheel-drive Infiniti can perform the same stupid truck tricks that help Porsche Cayenne S owners justify their bizarre whip to incredulous mainstream motorists– only faster.

Yes but– you can’t drive an EX35 off road. Or tow anything. Or carry four adults in comfort. Or their luggage. Yes, the Infiniti EX35 is the fastest, best handling of all the luxury cute utes. But who cares? How many people have been hankering for a really expensive jacked-up two-plus-two sports coupe with a billion megabits of electro-mechanical mishaps just waiting to happen, produced by an automaker whose street cred hovers in that near luxury no-man’s land once occupied by Buick, currently home to Acura?

In fact, the Infiniti’s EX' EXtreme lack of utility consigns this so-called SUV to an EXtremely rarified niche: drivers who want a less practical G35 sedan with a better view; or customers looking for a smaller, cheaper FX35. Otherwise, well, what was the point?

You’d be forgiven for not seeing anything new about the new G37. The styling changes are only slightly more evolutionary than what’s happening with your baby toe. The biggest difference: in their Infiniti wisdom, stylists have traded the “you got me by surprise!” vertical headlights for more organic amoeba shaped lamps. Otherwise, we’re looking at the same sleek, low-slung two-door sports car whose side profile is ruined by the inevitable 25-year-old “son of stock broker” with gelled back hair sitting far too low behind the wheel.

The big news is inside. Out goes the old blocky JDM interior. In comes the sweeping cabin from the second generation G Sedan. Ignore the feng-shui dashboard and you’ll spot the signs that the G37 means business. The seats are now heavily bolstered and exceptionally comfortable, complete with an extending bottom cushion (just like the 3-Series Sport). The steering wheel is as meaty as the tires below, with two perfectly-shaped curved razors behind its arc for swapping cogs. And while the aluminum pedals are a bit tacky, well, point taken.

The G35 groaned and complained when you hit the gas. Spritz some dino-juice into the G37’s eponymous 3.7-liter V6 and she delivers the best aural sex you can get without dialing a number starting with 1-900. While there’s nothing wrong with the way BMW’s smooth-spinning six signals its intentions to pervert the course of justice, wind-up the Infiniti’s mill to the 7500rpm redline and auditory addiction is yours.  

The engine note perfectly mirrors the G37’s intensely aggressive dynamic demeanor. The G37 is well-suited to enthusiasts who like their internal organs thrust rearwards; zero to sixty takes just 5.5 seconds of your time. Yes, the 335i is faster. But the blown Bimmer swooshes you towards triple digits with less drama than an hour of C-Span. A whip-handed G37s whirrs, moans, screams and then jettisons you from any speed to any speed, at speed. 

And just as the G37’s engine's sound and fury signifies a major hydromorphone blood dump, the steering sets your left brain alight. Critics have rightly condemned BMW for the mental disengagement of its active steering system. The old G35's helm was far worse; the words "surgically numb" spring to mind. But the new G37’s tiller tactility trumps them all. It’s as direct as a TTAC editorial, with gobs of feedback and consistent and linear response. It’s point and shoot perfection.

When it comes to handling, there’s not much in it. Both cars are equally capable of annihilating corners without a hint of oversteer or Nanny intrusion. Again, the 3-Series is the more civilized of the pair; it's the luxury sports car that can slalom through sharp curves with one-hand behind its back. The G37 is a sportier sports coupe; the machine that makes you work harder for the same result.

Low profile tires mounted on huge wheels surmounting road imperfections (potholes, speed bumps, loose coins in the street); it's the usual recipe for getting jostled to the point where taping your hands to the steering wheel seems a reasonable option. And yet a G37 with the Sport Package (19” rims and performance tires) rides comfortably over broken surfaces. It’s not cushy like a Lexus, but there’s no reason not to make a G37 a daily driver.

In short, the G37 is less mature than Old Man Bimmer, but more fun for the really determined “hands on” driver. And then there’s the “real” bottom line. Dollar for dollar, the G37 coupe defenestrates the BMW 335i coupe– and nearly all its other natural born competitors. A G37 coupe buyer saves some seven grand over a comparably equipped 3-Series. Lease… and it’s a different ball game. You’re looking at a gap of less than $100/month. Three bucks a day. A cup of Starbucks. And come trade-in time…

Yes, but– is the Infiniti G37 better than a 3-Series? That depends on which model you compare it to and your driving style. But one thing’s for sure: the biggest difference between these sports sedans is image. BMW can rely on the 3-Series’ iconic status to protect its sales, but that new kid in town’s back, and he’s badder than ever. 

Admittedly, the original G35 sedan (2003-2006) was continually (and properly) slated for its lackluster looks, lack of refinement and lackey’s interior. On the exterior front (and side and back), the G35’s “all new” sheetmetal suddenly seems a lot less bland and a lot more “understated”– thanks to the latest 3-Series’ flame-broiled exterior. From its dual after-burner taillights to the L-shaped headlights, the Infiniti G35 has stayed true to its own unique design vocabulary. The roofline’s down a bit, the stance is a bit wider (the old “wheels pushed out to the corners” routine), the side gets a crease and the strips of metal that form the trademark grill twist a few inches backwards from the edges, to enhance the similarity with the traditional Japanese Katana blade. Hai!

The changes to the G35’s cabin are far more important and obvious (i.e. discernible). For one thing, Infiniti’s interior decorators have finally banished the hard plastic econo-box buttons blighting the old model. The new G Sport sports the sort of quality rubber you’d expect at an upmarket S&M party, or inside a $35k sports sedan. The aluminum trim has the texture of hand-rolled Japanese Wahsi paper (supposedly). And the despicable orange-on-black gauges– which made it virtually impossible to see the tachometer’s redline– have been replaced by Lexian electroluminescent white and violet “fine-vision” gauges. The fit and finish could use a bit more fit and a tad more finish, but we're more or less there.

Provided you get jiggy with the option sheet, the Infiniti G is still a gadget freak’s delight; including an intelligent key (it leaps out of your hand and hides if you’re drunk), intelligent cruise control, a rear-view backup monitor (that tells you where and when you’ll hit things), voice activated navigation with real-time traffic updates (that tells you where and when but not how to get off), a Bose “Studio-on-Wheels” sound system (as opposed to…) and a touch-screen display. On NAV-enabled cars, you also get a 9.6gb hard drive, so you can copy and paste up to 2000 songs from pirated CDs.

Once underway, the G35 is the Muhammad Ali of sports sedans. In the sting like a bee category, Nissan tweaked the beJesus out of the heavyweight sedan’s 3.5-liter VQ V6, giving it better breathing and extra wallop (306hp @ 6800rpm). The company calls the resulting non-flat thrust curve “swell”– which is a bit like calling a The Greatest’s left jab “dangerous.” Plant you foot and the beefier VQ yowls in the time-honored, product sharing tradition. According to our friends at Edmunds, the G35 storms to sixty in 5.6 seconds. Hooked-up to a paddle shifting five-speed smooth and quick enough to make Bimmer's SMG system seem even more ludicrous than it is, the G35’s torque-tastic powerplant (268 ft-lbs. @ 5300rpm) has an answer for every situation: power. Right answer.

In the float like a butterfly department, the G’s got the footwork– to a point. Even with its fatter tires and stiffer suspension, the G35 Sport maintains a reasonably compliant ride. The bigger Brembo brakes may lack initial bite, but they’re plenty damn effective. The power assisted rack and pinion (now with an optional four-wheel steering system) is much sharper than before; turn-in and transitions approach Porsche-levels of prowess, if not feel. If the road is glassine, the G35’s appetite for lateral G’s astounds. If the bitumen’s broken, well, the G35 is still a little ragged at the limit, capable of bumping and jumping off your chosen line at an “inappropriate” moment. It’s a challenge only the truly committed/insane driver will face, but there it is.

If you compare apples to apples, the faster (though faster depreciating) G35 Sport is a more elegant and exciting steer than a similarly-priced 3-Series. Unfortunately, that’s not how most pistonheads see things. The cast their eyes upon the ultimate ultimate flickable sports sedan driving machine– the new twin-turbo BMW 335i– and cede victory to the Germans. On one hand, that’s not fair. In the real world, enthusiasts have only so much money and want it to go as far– and fast– as possible. On the other hand, image demands that at least some version of their chosen ride is top dog, period. Until that day arrives for Infiniti’s dogged G35, until it finds that final measure of poise at 9 or 10/10ths, it will continue to be, in many eyes, the “alternative” option. That sucks.