Sage Automotive Group
2007 Infiniti M
New Car Test Drive edited by New Car Test Drive
Driving Impressions
The Infiniti M does not drive like a big car at all. Part of the reason is aluminum. The hood, trunk lid and doors are all aluminum, reducing the body's weight and helping lower its center of gravity. Also, the electrically controlled rack and pinion power steering is precise, with good road feel.
The Infiniti M35 has one of the stronger V6 engines available and it propels the M35 at a decent rate. The five-speed automatic transmission works well and shifts quickly. Drivers who want more control can use the manual mode, which works better than similar systems in some cars, thanks to a short-throw shift lever more akin to that of a manual transmission in a sports car.
The V8-powered M45 is a rocket, and it gives you the urge to floor the gas pedal just to feel the exhilarating acceleration. What's more, the fuel mileage is only a couple of miles per gallon lower than the V6.
The Sport models feature what Infiniti calls Rear Active Steer (RAS). This system turns the rear wheels up to 1 degree, which can't even be seen. This helps turn the car into a corner more quickly and helps stop it from sliding out on exit. Without trying two cars back to back it's difficult to determine how effective the rear-wheel steering is on the road. We haven't done that, but we have driven the Sport model and found it to be very stable, handling more like a good lightweight sports sedan in lane-change maneuvers.
The M35X comes with the same all-wheel-drive system found in the G35X and the FX35. We were less impressed with the overall effect of the M35X. The strength of the V6 engine is lots of power and torque, which in turn means good response and acceleration. Yet this is neither the most fuel efficient nor the smoothest V6 on the market, and that bit of not-so-luxurious coarseness seemed to be magnified in the M35X's all-wheel-drive powertrain, or at least in our test car. The AWD system itself is not as smooth or seamless as those in some other luxury cars, like Audis. During hard bursts of acceleration, the front wheels can generate a front-wheel drive-style torque-steer effect, in which power from the engine twists the steering wheel in the driver's hands. Moreover, as power spreads out amongst the four wheels, it can create a driveline lash that comes across to the driver as a jerk somewhere in the bowels of the car. It adds up to a less-than-luxurious experience we haven't noticed in rear-drive Infiniti Ms. However, the M35X could be a good choice for wet or snowy locales.
The optional Lane Departure Warning system uses a camera to detect lane markings and warns a driver with a buzzer when the car starts to wander into the next lane. It only operates above 45 mph and is de-activated when the turn signals are used. It also accounts for the amount of steering wheel movement in order to avoid warnings when purposely changing lanes. The system is valuable, especially when driving late at night on empty freeways or toll roads, although it was tricked once by stripes of tar on the road and thought we were straying from our appointed lane. This is a relatively new technology, however, and at this point there's no empirical evidence that such a system reduces accidents, as there is with other systems like electronic stability control.
The RearView monitor is impressive. It has a camera located in the back bumper that projects a view toward the rear onto the in-dash LCD whenever the driver shifts into Reverse. It's a great safety item as it can help a driver see objects or children behind the vehicle that are otherwise hidden from view. Infiniti's version goes one step further and displays a line on the screen that indicates the course of travel as the steering wheel is turned. It's a neat idea that works. Drivers still need to pay attention to ensure nothing is behind the car using traditional driving techniques, but rearview cameras provide the driver with useful information when
