QOTD: What's the Best Infiniti Ever?

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

There have been some rumblings around the TTAC virtual newsroom lately about Infiniti, and consideration of the company’s best-ever product. The best of their product is certainly not found in their present lineup, which I took time to lambast in late 2020. We bring this question to you today, dear readers: What’s the best car Infiniti ever made?


No doubt many of you will expect me to heap praise on the M45 pictured above. While that sporty hardtop sedan was an interesting offering (JDM product lightly edited for America), I don’t think it was their best work. In a first-ever for a QOTD I’ve asked, I’m not going to give you my answer right away. 


I feel strongly enough about said answer that it’s going to be a separate, full-length post. Look for that soon (tomorrow), in a new type of post I’ve titled The QOTD Answer.


[Images: Infiniti]

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Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Marty S Marty S on Aug 29, 2022

    I thought that the original G35 was a great looking car. My daughter had one with a nice wing on the rear. Great engine sound. Interior was OK and OK to drive as I recall. A step up from the 350Z at the time.

    • JMII JMII on Aug 30, 2022

      My wife's intrest in the early G35 is what got to me to buy a 350Z since we didn't need the back seat and I am fond of hatchbacks. Years later we got a Q60 (that odd year the G37's badge changed) which was a much more refined Z and a great driver's car. Basically the G37 is a cheaper and more reliable 3 series BMW before they became a bloated mess. Infiniti never made an "M3" ...the Q60 Red Sport is as close as they got.

  • Smicallef427 Smicallef427 on Aug 30, 2022

    J30! I loved this as a kid. Hell, I still love it today. It was one of the first cars I remember seeing projector headlamps and they were gorgeous!

  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
  • Mike-NB2 2019 Ranger - 30,000 miles / 50,000 km. Nothing but oil changes. Original tires are being replaced a week from Wednesday. (Not all that mileage is on the original A/S tires. I put dedicated winter rims/tires on it every winter.)2024 - Golf R - 1700 miles / 2800 km. Not really broken in yet. Nothing but gas in the tank.
  • SaulTigh I've got a 2014 F150 with 87K on the clock and have spent exactly $4,180.77 in maintenance and repairs in that time. That's pretty hard to beat.Hard to say on my 2019 Mercedes, because I prepaid for three years of service (B,A,B) and am getting the last of those at the end of the month. Did just drop $1,700 on new Michelins for it at Tire Rack. Tires for the F150 late last year were under $700, so I'd say the Benz is roughly 2 to 3 times as pricy for anything over the Ford.I have the F150 serviced at a large independent shop, the Benz at the dealership.
  • Bike Rather have a union negotiating my pay rises with inflation at the moment.
  • Bike Poor Redapple won't be sitting down for a while after opening that can of Whiparse
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