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!

  • Jeff JMII--If I did not get my Maverick my next choice was a Santa Cruz. They are different but then they are both compact pickups the only real compact pickups on the market. I am glad to hear that the Santa Cruz will have knobs and buttons on it for 2025 it would be good if they offered a hybrid as well. When I looked at both trucks it was less about brand loyalty and more about price, size, and features. I have owned 2 gm made trucks in the past and liked both but gm does not make a true compact truck and neither does Ram, Toyota, or Nissan. The Maverick was the only Ford product that I wanted. If I wanted a larger truck I would have kept either my 99 S-10 extended cab with a 2.2 I-4 5 speed or my 08 Isuzu I-370 4 x 4 with the 3.7 I-5, tow package, heated leather seats, and other niceties and it road like a luxury vehicle. I believe the demand is there for other manufacturers to make compact pickups. The proposed hybrid Toyota Stout would be a great truck. Subaru has experience making small trucks and they could make a very competitive compact truck and Subaru has a great all wheel drive system. Chevy has a great compact pickup offered in South America called the Montana which gm could make in North America and offered in the US and Canada. Ram has a great little compact truck offered in South America as well. Compact trucks are a great vehicle for those who want an open bed for hauling but what a smaller more affordable efficient practical vehicle.
  • Groza George I don’t care about GM’s anything. They have not had anything of interest or of reasonable quality in a generation and now solely stay on business to provide UAW retirement while they slowly move production to Mexico.
  • Arthur Dailey We have a lease coming due in October and no intention of buying the vehicle when the lease is up.Trying to decide on a replacement vehicle our preferences are the Maverick, Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 or CX-30.Unfortunately both the Maverick and Subaru are thin on the ground. Would prefer a Maverick with the hybrid, but the wife has 2 'must haves' those being heated seats and blind spot monitoring. That requires a factory order on the Maverick bringing Canadian price in the mid $40k range, and a delivery time of TBD. For the Subaru it looks like we would have to go up 2 trim levels to get those and that also puts it into the mid $40k range.Therefore are contemplating take another 2 or 3 year lease. Hoping that vehicle supply and prices stabilize and purchasing a hybrid or electric when that lease expires. By then we will both be retired, so that vehicle could be a 'forever car'. And an increased 'carbon tax' just kicked in this week in most of Canada. Prices are currently $1.72 per litre. Which according to my rough calculations is approximately $5.00 per gallon in US currency.Any recommendations would be welcomed.
  • Eric Wait! They're moving? Mexico??!!
  • GrumpyOldMan All modern road vehicles have tachometers in RPM X 1000. I've often wondered if that is a nanny-state regulation to prevent drivers from confusing it with the speedometer. If so, the Ford retro gauges would appear to be illegal.
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