KenJack

I just looked at the specs on the new Infiniti Q45 and it says that the standard package has 340 horsepower and 333 torque...??? Say it isn't so !!! That's a big leap ahead of my piddly little GS430. The Q45 also seems to have a longer wheelbase, wider track, and smaller turn radius.... What gives....?? Are we getting trounced by a DATSUN??? Tell me it's all typos! Has anyone driven one of these things or have any feedback on them ??? !!!!!!!



The tone of concern above is in jest, however, I am a little curious as to what the car is like when looked at through the eyes of Lexus owner/drivers.

jahdish

road and track test between the new q and the ls430 showed the extra power wan't good for too much- "However, at the track we discovered that the Lexus leaves the line more efficiently than the Infiniti, the latter launching with slightly less engine speed. Still, the fact that the LS outran the Q to the 60-mph mark, albeit by only a tenth of a second (6.4 and 6.5, respectively), caught us by surprise. Why? Because not only is the Q45 about 80 lb. lighter than the LS 430, its 32-valve 4.5-liter V-8—equipped with Nissan’s version of variable valve timing—is more powerful than the Lexus’ 32-valve 4.3-liter VVTi-equipped V-8. The Infiniti produces 340 bhp at 6400 rpm and 333 lb.-ft. of torque at 4000, while the Lexus generates 290 bhp at 5600 rpm and 320 lb.-ft. of torque at 3400. So what gives? We can only deduce that the LS 430’s more aggressive launch character and its sportier gear ratios were making up for the dif- ferences in weight and power."

Ha-Ha

Here's my take on Infinity, Niassan, whatever. I've owned 3 nissans and an Infinity. I must admit that the Nissan engines are more efficient and have more hp than Toyota/Lexus (The BMW 528/540 isn't all that hot either) especiallyy their 6's. Frankly, I don't understand why, but its my only complaint wih LEXUS.

The Q is a nice car. I drove it a few times. My previous Infiniti dealership really tried to lock me into one. But I drove the BMW 528, the 540 and then a GS430. Then I drove a pre-owned GS300. I mainly chose the GS3 because of price and the fact that I will be modding my vette. But if I were to get a new car, I'd take the GS430 over the Q anyday. But they are different cars.

As a Corvette owner, I've learned that HP/Torque does not a car make. What does the Q do on the Skid Pad?
How quickly does it get off the line? How about 0-60 ft?
How's the lat g, the braking ( In my mind, the GS430 is superior when it comes to braking - those Anti-BMW commercials are for real!)? Don't forget about the comfort. The Q does NOT handle like the 430 - don't know about the LS cause I'm a performance guy which is why I chose the GS. You also have to consider who is as reliable as Lexus? The Q is a great car and Infinity has come along way but the Q is not a LEXUS, at least not yet.

With that said, I would encourage LEXUS Engineers to perhaps add more displacement or some other method to compete on th HP/Torque scale. They should also try to make them more efficient. But staying #1 on HP alone won't happen - they'll always be another manufacturer that has a bit more HP/TQ. 2003 could be Lexus's year where they pass the Q in this area, who knows?

SCWells72

Infiniti originally claimed a 5.9 second 0-60 time, but everything I've read seems to say that they were overly optimistic and that the mid-6s are more like it (as confirmed by the R&T article).

Having said that, the "New Q" is a VERY nice car and I strongly considered waiting for it when I got my GS430. Aside from acceleration it's more in line with the LS430 in terms of luxury and gadgets than the GS430. It has heated, reclining rear seats, dynamic laser cruise control, voice controlled radio/nav/etc., and so on.

I don't think you could go wrong with either car...

SCWells72

...one other comment: please don't put down Nissan by saying it's just Datsun, even in jest. Lest we forget, Lexus is "just Toyota!" Seemingly hypocritical statements like that seem more appropriate for bimmer.org than in our forums.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be controversial; that statement just hit me a little wrong...

SCWells72

Swap out "Infiniti" for "Nissan" above and I think I'm finally through making my point...ugh...

Concept GS430

I have to say that I am surprized that the Q can not even beat the LS.

RacingAristo

Stock to stock, Q45 will not threaden GS430. I remember I ran G-tech on my stock GS430 before and I got 5.7 second from 0 - 60 under normal road, 2 p.m. in winter, 3/4 tank of gas, and 2 people in the car.

mooretorque

Infiniti seems to be trying to find their way back from wherever they got the rocks, bonsai and waves in those early commercials. And in some ways, they are succeding. The interior of the Q if very nice but that exterior.............BO-ring. I'd still take an LS with Sport suspension.

Istill haven't figured out what all the lenses in their HIDs are for........maybe the more adventurous Infiniti buyer could replace them with genuine miniguns and eliminate obstructing traffic at 6000 rounds per minute!!!!:eek:

Manaray

mooretorque - hmmmmmmm....you might have something there....

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

mooretorque, i agree those lenses look like gattling guns.

I saw a Q45 on the road the other day - BUTT ugly. The latest Taurus looks better.

Ha-Ha

You got that right!!! I don't know what it is but nissan/Infinity can not produce exterior design worth a damn. Plain vanilla is the best that they've ever done and that was the ALTIMA!!! They need to hire new design engineers.

D-MAN63

A couple of months ago, I finally inspect this guys Q45 (he was a stranger on the street ) and I just love the interior. The exterior sucked like crazy but the white interior is awesome. The back seat though was cramped as hell. Though with $50k+ you can definately do better !

dgangi

I still think the best Q45 ever made was the original model. At the time, that car was a gutsy statement to the de-facto "snob" standard of the time - the Germans. My friend's dad purchased one of the first Q's back in 1990 and WOW what a ride. The car looked different, drove fast as hell, and rode very nice. Sure kicked the crap out of every German luxmobile that was made at the time.

So, I am not surprised that all of the subsequent Q cars have been ho-hum. This is SOOOOOOO typical of Nissan -- they get the guts to produce a great car and then fall back on their laurels and get trounced by the competition in a few years. The Maxima is another perfect example of how Nissan operates. They "redefine" the mid-market sedan in 1995 with a fast new Maxima (SE model w/5 speed really kicked ***), but then they sat around and did absolutely nothing to the car for years and now the new Maxima is another has-been. Boooring.

Didn't Renault acquire Nissan a few years ago? I thought those wacky Frenchmen were going to at least help Nissan make different and exciting cars (Renault is about as wacky as they come - but at least you don't mistake one!). Looks like the vanilla engineers at Nissan still reign.

Thx...Doug

Ha-Ha

I beieve they did. In fact, when the Infinity sales manager, who I know personally, tried to coax me into a Q a few months ago, he told me that the French purchased Nissan so we can start anticipating great cars. I said, "You know, personally, I wouldn't be using that as a salespitch. The french never could make good cars and the Renault Aliance was no better than the YUGO, or should I should say YU DONT GO.