Infiniti G37x
Infiniti's luxury Japanese muscle car sets its sights on opposition from BMW and Audi, but does it beat them?
Infiniti has a tough job on its hands tempting owners from their Audis, BMWs and Mercedes – and this flagship performance saloon won’t make that task much easier. The G37x is fun to drive and very fast, but feels off the pace when compared to the class leaders. What’s worse is that it doesn’t seem very upmarket, either. For some, the raft of equipment as standard and the promise of exemplary dealer service might make up for this. Yet for the majority, it won’t.
Meet Infiniti’s flagship saloon. It’s called the G37x – but has it got the X factor?
The four-wheel-drive four-door sits at the top of the Nissan luxury brand’s car range, and is targeting more familiar sporting saloons such as the Audi S4 and BMW 335i.
Its rather bland exterior design is unlikely to turn heads, but a glance at the specification is sure to get any enthusiastic driver’s pulse quickening.
Under the skin lies a 3.7-litre V6 engine delivering 316bhp, as well as a seven-speed paddleshift auto box and a rear-biased 4WD system derived from that in Nissan’s mighty Skyline R34 GT-R.
Although you have to rev the powerplant to get the best out of it, performance is strong. The sprint from 0-62mph is dispatched in six seconds exactly and the car goes on to a 149mph top speed. The V6 emits a pleasing snarl, too – surprising when you consider that the same engine in
the Nissan 370Z (albeit in a slightly different state of tune, with more power) sounds dull by comparison.
The steering is direct and quite light, and the G37x turns into corners impressively. It grips well, too, with the 4WD adding a dose of extra stability, particularly under really hard acceleration. Yet this doesn’t come at the expense of comfort – the ride is quite supple.
The trouble is, the whole experience isn’t especially polished. The automatic transmission is fine when cruising, but it soon becomes flustered when you up the pace. Gearchanges are slow and a bit jerky with the paddles, and when you select Sport mode, the box can hunt around for the right gear.
On a twisty, fast road, it’s all a little disjointed – not a patch on the fluid S4 or 335i. Compounding the problem is the fact that the G37x just doesn’t feel very special.
While our top-spec GT Premium car comes with sat-nav, a 10GB music hard drive and adaptive cruise control, the cabin – like the exterior – should be more upmarket and distinctive.
The result is a curious mix that’s not without appeal, but won’t attract many buyers from established prestige brands.
Rival: Audi S4
German company’s storming supersaloon sends power from its supercharged V6 to all four wheels through a slick S tronic twin-clutch automatic box. Add stunning build quality, and the S4 is a genuine class act.
