Test Drive: INFINITI G37 Sedan - 2009

On 8 November, 1989, a new premium car brand was taking its first baby steps into the premium car market. Nissan wanted to take on the big shots of the premium car industry so they came up with the Infiniti brand. Designed from the start to take on the already established BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Jaguar, the world's latest luxury car brand didn't exactly caught on at first.

Curiously, the Infiniti brand was launched at around the same time as two other Asian premium manufacturers, namely Acura and Lexus, which came from Honda's and Toyota's stables. While Lexus got on with a great start and kept its momentum high enough for the two following decades, both Acura and Infiniti were somewhat left in the dust. Infiniti went on to follow a rather confusing way of marketing their models up until the early 2000s, when a spark of enlightenment hit the Japanese premium manufacturer.

Since sales were refusing to catch up with their German, British and even Japanese counterparts, Nissan took a peek at their competitors and finally settled their gun sight on BMW. So, from that time on, Infiniti marketing would only consist of furiously taking cheap shots at BMW. It didn't quite seem to work at first but after the whole car line-up was revamped to suit the new "Japanese Bimmer" philosophy sales began to pick up.

Today, the so-called Nissan FM platform underpins every single Infiniti model except for the humongous QX fulls-size SUV. Every model from the G line of sedans and coupes to the EX and FX crossover/SUVs shares the same FM modular architecture. The "FM" bit comes from the "front midship" location of the engine. In other words, almost every Infiniti engine's center of mass sits behind the front axle, therefore the cars' weight distribution is very close to 50:50 no matter if it's a G37 Coupe or an FX50 crossover/SUV.

Since the end of 2008, the Infiniti brand has also started its invasion of Europe. This is how we got the chance to drive what is probably their best-selling sedan – the G37. Available with a single engine option (but what an engine, some might say!), the G37 sedan managed to win some of us over, but some of its downsides kept it from scoring full marks in every one of our test drive chapters. Read on to find out more.

Unlike the "tuck me in, I'm getting sleepy" designs of the 1990s, Infiniti has jumped quite a few steps in automotive design over the past decade. They now have a brand image which is well connected with the sporty and premium genes found under the metal skin.

Sir May B. Bach's Opinion

"To infinity... and beyond!" This line is one of my favorite lines in... ahem... movie history. Well, that and "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns." Yes, I'm a big fan of Toy Story and The Godfather... ahem... what can I say? Also, when I was younger... and poorer, I had a college friend who used to own a Hyundai with an Infinity audio system. I remember the audio system was the only thing drawing me to ride in that car, since everything else about it was... ahem... poop.
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The 2009 facelift suffered by the Infiniti G Sedan brought very few visual differences to be acknowledged by the naked eye, since most of them happened under the hood, but the interior has been revised nonetheless. From what we heard, the doors received softer side-panels, albeit they didn't exactly managed to impress us that much.

3D Interior Panorama

>> Click to view the interior panorama

A car whose official fuel consumption figures in the city are stated at 15.3 liters per 100 kilometers (US 15.4 mpg) couldn't exactly be nicknamed a... city car, could it? As a matter of fact, during our stint in busy city driving we achieved even worse figures. How do approximately 17-18 liters per 100 kilometers (US 13.1-13.8 mpg) sound? Of course, having 320 horsepower under our hindquarters naturally meant we didn't exactly went "green" with the pedal from the right, so we suspect a lower fuel consumption can be achieved.

Lou Cheeka's Opinion

I must say that I had never heard of this car brand until I arrived in the States after that two week illegal boat ride. And I consider myself a real car connoisur, or whatever you spell it. Seems like they were initially made by Nissan only for Americans, and only last year they decided to ship them into Europe as well.
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In case you haven't noticed by now, we kind of dig the Infiniti G37 Sedan. We didn't exactly appreciate it in the city, nor we were extremely enthused by its rather "conservative" approach to its passenger space, but you can really comprehend its true qualities once you get outside the city and let it stretch its muscles.

Mary's Opinion

Self healing paint? It has self healing paint? You mean that I can scratch the hell out of it in the parking lot and it will repair itself? Oh my gawd that is sooo awesome! I could park this anywhere and however I want, with no consequences. This is truly the coolest thing ever.
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Before actually driving the car, we were inclined to think it might prove to be a bit uncomfortable, especially suspension-wise. Upon seeing the 18-inch alloy wheels engulfed in low-profile performance tires, our opinions strengthened. Truth is, we were a bit wrong. A little more than a bit, actually.

You see, the Infiniti G37 Sedan has one of the most compromising types of suspension setup we've ever encountered. Sporty and stiff during hard cornering, braking or accelerating and mildly... let's not call it exactly soft, but comfortable whenever cruising around town or the open road. Sure, we're not saying that the G37 is the most comfortable medium sedan out there (because it isn't), but it sure felt better than the BMW 330d xDrive on paved roads. Both cars were rolling on 18-inch wheels by the way.

At the limit, it feels every bit as sporty and as accurate as a top of the line BMW 3-Series, but the comfort is much improved. The comfort features inside the car are also on the high side, starting with the heated front seats with no less than five heating stages and ending with the highly intelligent cruise control system.

In other words, our test car had the (mandatory, in this class) dual-zone climate control system, a Bose audio system, the aforementioned heated front seats, reclining rear seats and a leather upholstery of Bentley quality. Too bad the upholstery had been sprayed or oiled with some weird smelling substance by the dealer from where we borrowed the car and it smelled like wet dog inside.

So, apart from the somewhat stiff suspension on really hardcore roads and the interior space which is not exactly as large as you would expect, the Infiniti G37 Sedan is quite a comfortable car. We would go as far as say that it's probably the most comfortable medium sports sedan out there.

As we mentioned before, unfortunately we didn't get to test an all-wheel drive G37, or one with integral steering. Even so, the amount of juicy technical bits is more than enough for the casual techno-freak. Let's start with the platform itself, since it's defining for most of the Infiniti model range.

Just like in almost any BMW, the engine doesn't sit directly above the front axle since it's pushed as far back as possible. That can only mean two things. One: the interior space is a bit more cramped that what you would expect judging from the exterior size. Two: the overall mass is evenly distributed on the two axles, making for a very dynamic behavior when pushed to the limit.

Next, we might as well talk a little about the engine, since its 3.5-liter predecessor was on the "Ward's 10 best engines" list for six straight years. Compared to the 3.5-liter, our test car was fitted with a 3.7-liter V6 mill equipped with Nissan's/Infiniti's VVEL (Variable Valve and Event Lift).

With no less than 320 horsepower (European version) and 360 Nm (265.5 lb ft) on tap, you can probably guess that this thing moves. Its only downside might be the increased fuel consumption in the city, but at least it certainly doesn't disappoint performance-wise. It can rev to over 7000 rpm with no problems and has a very smooth torque delivery, which is probably mostly thanks to the automatic transmission.

Speaking of which, the seven-speed transmission was a surprise almost as nice as the engine. The shifts are almost seamless no matter if you're doing them manually from the magnesium paddle shifters or you just leave it in drive. Sure, changing from the "flappy paddles" gives you a sense of control that is immediately taken away after you learn that it takes forever to shift a gear. All in all though, we were pleasantly surprised by the technical bits on our test car.

Apart from the aforementioned lack of all-wheel drive or all-wheel steering, our G37 test car had it all. By "all" we of course mean "every option ticked". This could only mean that every gadget fan should be pleased with what was on offer in our G37.

Starting with the Xenon/HID light system with day/night/tunnel sensors and ending with the front and rear parking sensors, this car had it all. We're not going to talk about features like dual-zone climate control system, navigation system with a 3d feature and electrically operated front seats since they're pretty much normal in this class and at his price (just under 50,000 Euros, almost fully loaded).

Sure, there were other "little things", like the dashboard dials connected with the steering column, the reclinable rear seats and the somewhat small and unpractical glass sunroof, the self-healing paint, but all fail as truly important gadgets compared to the intelligent cruise control system.

Unlike a regular cruise control system, the one we tested was not only letting you increase or decrease the speed just by pushing a button but it also had an automatic acceleration and braking feature. We know that sounds a bit scary, but bear with us.

If a certain button on the steering wheel is pressed, the cruise control goes from "normal" to "intelligent" mode and it can technically give you a "The Jetsons nightmare" in broad daylight if you're not expecting it. To put it in short, the system works similarly to the ones which until a few years ago were only found on cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse or the Lexus LS.

It uses a small radar built into the front bumper to monitor de traffic ahead of the car so that the computer can "tell" it to either accelerate or brake, depending on the situation. For example, if you're cruising on the highway at 120 km/h (74 mph) and the car in front suddenly slows down then yours will slow down as well, without needing for you to press the brake pedal. The system doesn't brake the car to a complete halt (that's still in your hands), but enough to avoid a serious accident.

The other really cool thing about this system is that you can program it to "follow" a car on the road. You just set a maximum speed and then any car that passes you will be "followed" at a safe distance until the designated max speed is reached. They accelerate, you accelerate; they brake, you brake. Remember, without touching a single pedal. Truth is, it kind of reminded us of the "tractor beam" from Star Trek.

The current Infiniti G37 sedan hasn't yet been tested by EuroNCAP since it's been available in Europe for just a little over a year now, but it was thoroughly tested by both American crash testing organizations (NHTSA and IIHS), so their results should be sufficient from this point of view. Coincidentally or not, both organizations gave it top marks after the G37 passed all the crash tests with flying honors.

Since not everybody thinks that crash tests results are sufficient proof of a car's safety, you should also learn about G37's active and passive safety features. Just like any other modern sedan, the G is fitted in standard with two dual-stage frontal airbags, two side and two side curtain airbags that go from the front to the rear.

As far as the active safety features go, the G37 we tested sports an (usual in this class) anti-lock braking system, an anti-skid system which keeps the rear tires from falling off every couple of months or so from too many burnouts and electronic stability control for those cheerful and maybe too optimistic moments when you're entering a turn with too much speed. All these systems are interconnected and are using the same sensors, by the way.

If this is not enough for you then the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system should suspend your remaining car crash fears. With an ability to brake or accelerate by its own this system alone should improve highway safety by eliminating the chances for a pile-up accident in bad weather.

The G37 is one of the few cars that we had a hard time returning to the dealer. Yes, it's that good. If we had to settle on a single best bit about the G... then it's probably the engine. Or the seven-speed transmission. Or maybe the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system, which kind of befriended each geek in every one of us. There are too many good things about it, but we liked it mostly because it's a proper sports sedan without the inherent lack of comfort or gadgets. Is it a Japanese 3-Series? We say yes; and a bit more actually.

The worst part about the car we drove was most definitely its fuel consumption in congested city traffic or whenever the driver's right foot became heavier. Sure, we should probably forgive some of the fuel consumption figures considering the terrific performance it provides, but it's still no excuse when we remember that under the hood there is a V6 after all, not a V8.

As far as the ugly bits about the Infiniti G37, we found some of those as well. For example, although it's a rather long car compared with its German rivals (3-Series, C-Klasse, A4), the interior space isn't all that great and the luggage compartment doesn't shine either. It's not cramped or anything, it's just that we would have expected it to be a little bigger inside judging from the exterior.