Fallsgrove

Ok folks, I just got back from driving the Infiniti M35x AWD.

First let me say, that the car is good looking and the the interior is larger than the GS300. I also noticed that there is no extra bulge in the drivers side leg area.

When I first saw the car at the DC auto show (up on a pedestal), the dash looked weird and would not normally be my preference. Its done in 2 tiers and I much prefer the slanted dash with the right arm able to have fluid movement to all the controls.

That aside, when actually sitting in the car, its very comfortable and the controls are accessible easily. The voice command seems to control more features of the car than on the GS, however I have not had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time in the GS playing around. The big thing I was able to do is tune into any station I wanted using my voice. I really liked that. It's very convenient. I was also able to set the navigation destination completely with my voice commands and also control all the climate controls via voice.

The wood in the car is very different from Lexus or from other cars I've driven. It does not have that lacquer glossy coating, its a matt / flat finish that is very nice is its own right.

I notices that there was in in-dash 6 disk CD player along with the a DVD/Video player in the armrest compartment (this is a strange place for the player, it takes away storage room) and there was another DVD player in the glove box (presumably for the navigation system).

The car also had XM and I did not see any external antenae for it, maybe its built into the antenae on the rear windshield fin.

Ok, everything up to this point was suprisingly very nice. I really did not expect the looks, comfort, features, and dash arangement to be this nice, but this is where the tone of my story changes considerably.

I pulled the car out of the dealership and took it out going towards Tuckerman road. The car felt extremely slugish, like I was in the wrong gear, or an emergency brake was on. I stopped the car in a parking lot for a minute and checked it out, and I did not have the break on and I was indeed in Drive.

I got back on the road and it still felt very sluggish and when I gunned it, it gave me a rain check. Years ago I had a J30t with rear wheel stearing and it was nothing like this. This car just would not go. Maybe it needs broken in for a few decades, I'm not sure but it just felt all wrong. When I gunned it, the car siezed up, roared, struggled to change gears and lurched. I was very dissapointed and it left me believing that this specific car needed some maintenance, because I can not believe that this is what Infiniti designed.

I really can't wait to drive the GS300 AWD, hopefully next week sometime. After (Rockville's) review and subsequent time with me in the car, I know that the GS experience must not be like this.

I may go back to test the M45 RWD just to see the difference, but if this is the kind of "driving experience" Infiniti is selling, count me out and anyone who wants to enjoy driving.!!!!!

flipside909

Wow great write up. Will definitely make for a good comparison post.

Fallsgrove

Rockville,

Go over to the dealer and drive this car so we can compare the experience. If you want to go over together, I'm sure we can arrange it. It was the strangest drive I've had. I expected different, more like my J30t of years past, but this.....

LexFather

It might just be that car. Though the M35 uses an old 5 speed automatic, its a very solid tranny. Our 3rd gen forum is much much busier than the M35/45 forum so its hard to see if others have this issue too. It couldn't be the VQ, that is a strong V-6.
Great writeup.

Rockville

Hey Falls Grove, don't say I didn't warn ya. (just kidding) Shame on them for not noticing such a problem. Do you think someone has already fried it taking a liberal test drive? It wasn't me, I swear. I've just added it to my things to do list. I'm off this Friday so maybe I can fit that in after dropping my son at school in the AM.

Fallsgrove

Friday's I work in my Fallsgrove office. Let me know what time and maybe we could meet up. It would be interesting to drive both the 35x and the 45.

pbm317

The M45 is a different beast altogether. Great smooth power. I like the Aluminum trim in the sport package and the Sport Package Wheels. Great throttle blip on downshifts with the sportshift tranny. I need to drive the GS and see how they are. But I was impressed by the Infiniti.

Fallsgrove

That's why I'm interested in driving both. But I'm still bothered by the M35x experience. It just wasn't right....

Maybe there was a child safety lock mechansim I turned on.....Or maybe the electronics are so sophisticated that it tries to automatically attempt to do the opposite of what the driver wants...A true driving experience.....for the car..the driver is left empty...

BugattiT59

I think I can trump that.
About a year ago i test drove an Acura TL with a salesman on board. The car was like jerking around and seemed to be stuck in first or starved of fuel. That was the first 50 feet of a normal start. Salesman hugely embarrassed. This was around 20mph.
We changed cars, took 2nd TL on the freeway and I complained of torque steer on the on-ramp.
Not a good day for Acura.

I decided to keep my 97-Prelude, much better ride/feel.

I am mildly interested in Acura TL with SH-AWD, which might come out later this year as a 2006. My wife however just said, it looks too small. The GS is a better (bigger) size.

SpoonSport

Great write up. Regardless of our personal preferences I think we all want both cars to do well. It isn't often that there are two great Japanese built cars to give the Germans competition. Its the buyers market now! We all can freely choose between Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, MB and also Caddy now. I drove the STS V-8, E500 and 545i while on my two-week R&R leave. After all the test drives I chose the GS 430. It was the best overall package. All were truly outstanding and I can't take anything away from the others. Truthfully I don't want everyone to have a GS :-) There were 530i and CTS everywhere in Alabama.
Again great write up, I'm let down by that report. I wonder what they're saying about the M35x over in freshalloy.

Spoon

Fallsgrove

It's possible that the car had a real problem. I explained the experience to the salesman and he told me that nobody that has tested the car came back with this. On the other hand, he did not go with me and someone else was waiting in the wings and took the car right after me. I asked the rep to talk to them and see what they say.

I was going to test the m45, but when I returned from the m35x run, the owner of the dealership had come and driven the m45 home.

Rockville

I have on my to do list to drive the R/L if possible tomorrow. The TL FWD had terrible torque steer. It can build up your forarms on the way to work I guess. The TL's a decent sized car. The GS is very generous in the front and room for two in the back. Center hump still a form of torture is you are the smallest and 5th person aboard. BTW, I was sitting in the GS last night with a family of four showing them the interior features. I asked them what the dash and interior reminded them of. They said Airplane! Bingo. For those of you who think Green backlighting is conservative or boring it has been proven that it is less stressful and makes recognition of controls easier on the retina. That's what the Jet Pilots use and the Heli's too. Red and Orange should always be used sparingly for warning Icons. We tried the Orange lighting experiment on the IS300 and it was a accused of not being a Lexus. Optitron lighting is a Lexus trademark. The new GS interior abounds with White LED lights to help you at night. The GS takes on a different character when you are doing night ops.............

flipside909

Highly agreed!

On a sidenote, the biggest pet peeve I have with my IS300 is the amber dash lighting.

dseag2

I would have suggested it was the AWD, but my FX35 w/ AWD hauls butt and never feels sluggish. It does roar, but that's actually a built-in benefit.

saabfan

If I didn't say this I wouldn't be a true 'fan' :

Saab has been doing the green lights for a long time, and pulling design cues from their aviation division (I realize they were separate entities even pre-GM) like the overhead 'fasten seatbelt' sign and spotlight on the 9-5. They have also always angled the dash towards the driver to give it a more 'cockpit' feel. This is especially apparent in the 9-5. The 9-3 is more generic, but with all the tiny buttons it still gives the feeling. I especially like the nightpanel feature where all major dash lighting is extinguished save for 0-90 on the speedo (and 90+ lights up if you get in that range, as well as any indicators that become necessary to see, like low gas).