By the CAR road test team
Long Term Tests
11 November 2010 09:30
Life... with a G37 saloon â€" 11 November 2010
While waiting for my G37S coupe to arrive, Infiniti very kindly loaned me a G37 saloon to break me into the Infiniti way. And despite not initially being bowled over by the styling â€" I thought it looked a bit frumpy and glutinous â€" I quickly warmed to the G. It was different for a start. Not being a default German saloon counts for a great deal. I liked the fact that it wasn’t trying to be European, either. Despite not being sold in Japan, Infiniti makes much of its origins â€" it’s inherently Japanese, and proud of it.
The saloon rode with a well-damped compliance â€" firm enough to relish tackling corners, but comfortable enough to waft along and sponge away all but the worst of intrusions.
It was exceptionally well equipped, its 3.7-litre engine was thirsty, but it rocketed the Infiniti along with a snarling aggression, and it steered with a lovely precision and accuracy. The one weakness was the seven-speed automatic transmission which was occasionally abrupt and a little uncouth. My appetite for the more athletic and sleeker coupe was well and truly whetted.
During this warm-up period, I also took the opportunity to visit Infiniti’s superb new dealership in Reading. If only all car showrooms were like this. Rather than walking in to an echoey and flair-free aircraft hangar-sized room stuffed with fast-talking shiny-suited blokes with bad facial hair, the Infiniti dealership is laid out like a top-end boutique hotel.
There’s a welcoming reception desk, bespoke artwork on the walls, expensive-looking and very comfortable sofas, excellent coffee and subdued lighting. The sales staff occupy glass-walled offices without doors â€" the idea being that you don’t feel locked in and trapped when discussing your order. The overall feeling is one of comfort, quality and professionalism. I was made to feel valued and appreciated from the moment I arrived. Bring on the coupe…
By Ben Whitworth
Ordering my new Infiniti G37 long-termer â€" 2 September 2010
After a great deal of thought, I think I have finally settled on my ideal spec for my Infiniti G37 Coupe long-termer. I’ve gone for the S Premium model, with seven-speed automatic transmission. Colour? Well, no contest there â€" the metallic Athens Blue (£565) wins hands down. I would have liked to have opted for the tan Stone leather interior, but I know that it would only take a few trips ferrying my two young daughters about to leave the cabin looking a little worse for wear, so stain-hiding Graphite black leather complemented by brushed Shodo aluminium trim it is. I’ve deleted the standard sun-roof. I hate sunroofs. They are such pointless things. They create a lot of noise when open and they rob me of headroom when closed. Wheels? The big 19-inch 10-spoke alloys are standard, but I have gone for a glossy black front grille (£485 including fitting) which I think tones down the glitz factor and gives the Infiniti’s face even more visual muscle.
So the final bill comes in at £41,865. Compared to its German rivals, that conspicuously good value. The Infiniti’s phenomenally comprehensive spec list includes goodies such as Intelligent Cruise Control, active bi-Xenon headlamps, a 3D navigation system with integrated Michelin guide, 'self-healing' paint and a stunning 11-speaker Bose audio system complete with a 10GB storage system. Impressive, no? Try and spec an 300bhp+ E-Class Coupe or an Audi A5 to a similar spec and you’ll need much deeper pockets. The only downside is now having to wait for it to arrive.
By Ben Whitworth
How would you spec your Infiniti? â€" 24 August 2010
We like Infiniti. Ask anyone in the CAR office and the Japanese newcomer â€" well, new to Europe and the UK, that is â€" gets the thumbs-up. We like the fact that it’s proudly Japanese, with a successful design and engineering ethos that embraces its culture rather than trying to emulate something generically European.
We like the intelligent way the company has set about tackling the European market. It hasn’t waded into the executive sector â€" arguably the world’s most competitive marketplace â€" and thrown around a lot of flashy figures and made a lot of hollow promises. It’s been refreshingly realistic â€" almost painfully so â€" about it’s sales ambitions and dealer rollout.
We like the way they look, too. From the manga-inspired madness of the FX50 to the voluptuous Essence concept car, from its slick website to its sumptuous hotel-style showrooms, Infiniti’s design language can be heard loudly and (mostly) mostly proudly above its key rivals. So, a company with an astute approach to breaking into Germany’s stranglehold on the premium sector, back-up by a rapidly growing line-up of distinctive cars.
But perhaps the thing we like most is the unequivocal answer we received from Infiniti’s European boss Jim Wright, when we asked him what was Infiniti’s core value. His immediate one-word answer? 'Performance.'
Which is why I’m about to take delivery of a new G37 Coupe â€" the most dynamic car in the current Infiniti line-up. However, I have a bit of time to play around on Infiniti’s on-line car configurator before the order goes in, so I'm open to suggestions as to the colour combinations. Click 'Add your comment' below and let me know what you would choose...
By Ben Whitworth
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