Infiniti goes the distance
Nissan’s luxury flagship sedan turns `voluptuous’ while offering loads of safety and tech controls
Special to the Star
CHULA VISTA, Calif.–Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, is now essentially a one car/two truck company.
The G37 sedan, coupe and convertible make up the bulk of Infiniti’s sales, with the EX and FX SUV/Crossovers roughly tied for second and third.
Nissan understands that to fully compete, Infiniti needs a fuller product line. The mid-size M sedan, aimed at the segment-leading Mercedes-Benz E-class and BMW 5-series, hasn’t broken through yet. With the new-generation 2011 M, the company feels it has a shot.
The M37 (V6) and M56 (V8) models, with rear- or full-time four-wheel drive, go on sale this spring, starting at $52,400, $3,100 less than the previous entry-level M35.
The new car is longer, lower and wider than before, although the wheelbase on this iteration of the “Front-Midship” platform shared with several other Nissan/Infiniti products remains unchanged.
If I had to characterize its appearance, I would say it’s “voluptuous”.
Prominent grille, curvaceous front fenders, sculpted body sides, pronounced haunches over the rear wheels – there’s an almost Maserati-esque Sophia Loren quality to the car. It also yields considerably more room inside. The deeply contoured dashboard carves out visual and actual room for occupants’ knees and also brings the centre stack closer to the driver for easier operation of the multitude of controls.
Multitude? we counted something like 50 buttons on the dash, with another 11 or so on the steering wheel.
And many functions can also be accommodated via the rotate-and-click controller, and/or the touch-screen SatNav system, if so equipped.
If ever there was a car that demanded a nice long evening spent with the owner’s manual, this would be it.
I had to crank the seat well up to match the tilt-and-telescope steering wheel that seems to sprout from high on the dash.
As with an increasing number of cars these days, the side-view mirrors are huge, and can block your view into the corners on twisty roads.
I don’t know that Infiniti – or anybody – yet matches Audi for interior materials, fit and finish, but the real leather and real tree wood of the Infiniti won’t disappoint.
A new optional “Forest Air” air-conditioning system sounds like “forced air” but is just the opposite – a “breeze” mode wafts air gently about the cabin. It also incorporates a filter for various noxious airborne substances and automatically switches on air recirculation if it detects bad stuff coming into the car.
A 16-speaker BOSE 5.1 Surround Sound audio system is available and “spectacular” barely covers it. Choose whatever trim level you have to so you don’t miss this.
The 3.7-litre variable-valve-timing V6 adapted from the G37 offers significantly more power than the outgoing 3.5-litre V6 (330 horsepower versus 303), as well as important reductions in fuel consumption of 0.6 L/100 km city, 1.4 L/100 km highway.
The gains in output from the new 5.6-litre direct-injection variable-valve-timing V8 over the 4.5-litre V8 used in the old M45 (420 hp versus 325) are not that surprising, given the added capacity. But improvements in fuel consumption of 1.7 L/100 km in both city and highway border on remarkable.
Actually, the “fuel” savings start before you drive off the lot. The Ontario gas-guzzler tax drops from $1,200 to a mere $75.
A new seven-speed automatic is standard across the board.
A new Infiniti Drive system allows the driver to select from four-engine calibration/transmission shift programs: Standard; Eco (to optimize fuel consumption); Sport (to optimize performance); and Snow (to minimize wheelspin).
An available “Eco” throttle pedal resists pressure from your right foot to encourage more fuel-efficient driving. you can stomp right through it if you’re so inclined.
Suspension is by double wishbones front and rear. a bevy of driver assistance devices is either standard or optional; some are industry firsts.
My driving partner and I were offered a range of M37s and M56s to try on a variety of loops near the U.S. Olympic Training Centre about an hour east of San Diego.
We decided to book-end the roster, starting with an M37 rear-wheel drive equipped with the Sport package: those paddle shifters, quicker steering, larger wheels and tires, bigger brakes, four-wheel steering (the rears turn one degree in phase with the fronts for quicker turn-in), more heavily bolstered seats and cosmetic upgrades; followed by an M56 four-wheel drive with Deluxe Touring and Technology Packages: pretty much every box on the order form checked.
Seldom have two variants on the same car had a more distinctly different character, almost from the moment you pull away from the curb.
The M56 instantly felt bigger (it isn’t) and heavier (it is, but only by a hundred kg or so), much more a “boulevardier” than a sports sedan. It was notably quicker than the V6, obviously, although the engine got a bit gruff-sounding as revs rose.
The M37 Sport immediately felt more nimble, more connected.
The roads were all well paved, so as far as we could tell there wasn’t much of a ride penalty associated with the Sport suspension.
Ian Forsyth, Nissan Canada’s product guru, believes the current model split (80 per cent V6; 80 per cent four-wheel drive) will be maintained in the new generation.
Too bad: the best combination from my perspective would be an M37 four-wheel drive with Sport package, and they don’t make that one.
All in all, the car has the chops. now we’ll see if the market believes it has the swing.
Travel for freelance auto reviewer Jim Kenzie was provided by the carmaker.jim@jimkenzie.com
Toronto Star