INFINITI M30d Review

Before we begin, we have to remind you that, since Infiniti is Nissan’’s luxury division, the M’’s history is closely linked to that of Nissan models. Infiniti said its first ‘“M’” in 1990, with the vehicle (codenamed F31) being based on the JDM Nissan Leopard (we are talking about a coupe). The M was offered as a coupe and was also Infiniti’’s first attempt of creating a convertible. Why? Because the brand itself was about one year old...

Due to certain drawbacks, such as the lack of a proper powertrain, the vehicle registered poor sales. Subsequently, Infiniti criogenyzed the M nameplated until the early 2000s’, when the M received its E (midsize luxury) segment identity.  The Infiniti M45 (Y34) borrowed the JDM Nissan Gloria’s appearance and was only available with a petrol V8 engine.

In 2005, the second generation (Y50) arrived, with “M” standing for maturity this time. In fact, this was necessary, as the competitors offered impressive packages. By the time, the company realized that more than one engine was necessary in order to be competitive, thus offering multiple engine choices, as well as allowing customers to choose between RWD and AWD models. However, the efforts were not enough to allow the vehicle to enjoy a hefty slice of the market share, as they were not accompanied by a strong identity, both from the visual and brand point of view.

Thus, for the third generation (Y51), which landed on planet Earth last year, Infiniti decided to to really up the ante on all fronts, creating a tempting design, as well as heavily extending the tech goodies. The company is determined to make its E segment model leave the “second to Audi, BMW Mercedes and even Lexus” area once and for all.

Is this enough for the third generation of the M to be able to offer a desirable package? The answer can be found in the chapters that follow - We and a M30d (the oil-burner of the range), with the GT Premium trim level (the 3rd equipment level in the range, with 1 being the least desirable one and 5 the top one) exchanged temporary vows in order to be able to answer this.

Infiniti placed a lot of its eggs in the M’’s design basket, with the carmaker emphasizing this even before the vehicle was launched - the vehicle previewed by the bewildering Essence concept and was teased with an image that offered you a sporty mood. Fortunately, the designers kept their promise, creating a feline-ish exterior. Well, not entirely, but we’’ll talk about this in a paragraph or two.

When you make eye headlight contact with the car, your first instinct is to move out of the way, as it seems to be coming towards you. The sweetest visual trick used by the designers was to create a hood that reminds beholders of those featured on race cars. This uses beefy styling cues for the lateral parts and a low profile for the central one, as if the engine wasn’’t mounted in the front.

The logical part of your brain allows you to chill out and then the emotional one takes over again. After it creates a bit of self-irony (linked to the foolish aforementioned reaction), it determines you to move to the side and to the rear of the vehicle. The car’’s profile acts as a motion blur, giving you the impression that the vehicle is passing by.

The design has been seriously diluted towards the rear of the vehicle, with the fourth quarter of the car reminding us a bit of a saloon built by adding a boot to a hatchback. Everything looks alright, but for the aforementioned ambition, this just won’’t cut it. It’’s as if the designers experienced what is known as “tunnel vision”, concentrating on the details and missing the big picture. Want an example? Zoom in on the headlights and your eyes will be pleased, but take at look at their overall shape and you’’ll become bored.

Infiniti paid a lot of attention to the exterior details, with certain elements, such as the door handles, being a story within the story. And there’’s another thing: the aerodynamics engineers had something to say too, as the vehicle comes with a drag coefficient of 0.27.

This is a car that really knows how to push human buttons when it comes to the interior. The company has paid a lot of attention to this area, so you can't sit in the M without being invaded by positive emotions. However, when you want to do more than that, things stray from the A+ pathway, as the overall ergonomics and luggage space aren't all that brilliant.

The M raises to its Infiniti flagship sedan status in terms of fit and finish. The vehicle we tested came with a perforated leather finish that made the interior look like a frappe jacuzzi, with the color of the hand-polished wood trimming matching this.

You feel that you're in a premium car when you climb aboard and your attention is grabbed by the massive center console, which comes with just the right amount of buttons and the company’s trademark analogue watch.

The front seats allow you to easily found a position that can offer you the possibility to tackle a trip around the country if you... keep the doors open while adjusting them. Yes, as silly as it may sound, the designers forgot that your hand has to fit between the edge of the seat and the interior door panel in order for you to play with the buttons that control your position.

Want to switch the gear lever into another position? No problem, just don't ask the car subsequently about this, as the poor illumination won't allow you to see anything.

Probably realizing this only when it was too late, the designers tried to compensate by installing one of the largest instruments our eyes have ever met - through their humongous size, the rev counter and the speedometer make you feel like you're a little child. Fortunately, on top of them, we find a nicely individually shaped design that tries to save the day. The same illumination issue is shared by a part of the buttons that can be found on the center console.

Moving to the rear, we are treated with the same premium feeling, both in terms of space and emotions, with the wide rear center armrest strongly contributing to this.

However, if we move one more step towards the rear end of the M, we become a bit disappointed, as the 450 liters of the luggage compartment are even less then what some players in the lower segment offer.

The M’s length, which sits just shy of 5 meters, recommends it for anything but city driving. Its overall width, which exceeds 2 meters if we also consider the mirrors, doesn’t help either. We can’t even say anything positive about the amount of fuel used while trying to navigate the agitated urban waters.

The engine isn’t even close to being the most frugal in its class. The six cylinders of the 3.0-liter diesel unit asked us around 13 liters of fuel in return to taking us through 100 km of city roads (18 mpg).

Not even the “Sport” position of the drive select knob teaches the seven speed automatic how to behave when the driver needs power “NOW!”, but this doesn’t bother you so much when you’re driving inside the city.

We are forced to end the negative part of this story, as certain parts of the car have gathered outside our office and are threatening to tar and feather us.

The demonstrators are led by the suspension, which manages to keep the potholes and irregularities from getting too up close and personal with the occupants’ bodies. Even speed bumps are handled with ease. Another important face belongs to the “feel-good” factor, which comes from the shape and feel of the interior, that make you imagine you’re in your own mobile city fortress.

The overall visibility is average for the segment we are talking about, so you’ll some time to get used to the vehicle before you can dance through the crowded traffic. Fortunately, the exterior mirrors offer a good visibility, keeping you from becoming a paint trader.

As for the assistance systems, the parking sensors and rearview camera really do their job well, while the Low Speed Following system comes in handy, but we really wished it would handle 100 percent of the... following and not ask the driver to step in. Another psychological advantage for city driving is offered by the Scratch Shield of the paint. We never got to test this, but maybe it was better this way.

If you want to use the M30d as a city ride you can do it, but don’t expect the car to excel at this - it’s not meant to and no, the diesel is not as economical as it should be.

The open road is the M’s favorite playground, but the presence of the “30d” and the lack of an “S” in the car’s designation keep it from offering the driver much more than comfort.

The ride is a top quality one, with the vehicle offering a peaceful state of mind, regardless of the type of road used. Not even certain famous B road portions didn’t manage to bring the word “unsettled” to our minds.

However, all these assets come with a downside when tackling corners becomes a priority. The body roll is pronounced and the rear-wheel drive doesn’t offer the sporty feeling it should.

In fact, for the type of customer this car targets, the handling at the limit becomes intimidating. This is because the ESP doesn’t entirely manage to keep things under control when all the 550 Nm are thrown to the rear wheels. You’ll have to bring a certain amount of prompt countersteering to the game if you want to drive this thing fast, even with the ESP on.

The M can’t live up to Inifiniti’s dynamic ambitions without the sport suspension and the 4 Wheel Active Steering of the S and S Premium equipment levels. We probably wouldn’t have been disappointed by the car’s handling if it had been fitted with the aforementioned systems, as well as with the Dynamic Cornering Control system, which is some sort of an ESP 2.0. (this is only offered on the S Premium).

Now that that we’ve seen what the M30d knows and doesn’t know about ride comfort and handling respectively, it’s time to get to the straight line part.

The top speed of 250 km/h/155mph (Infiniti respects the Germans' top speed Gentlemen's agreement) is enough to make you want to aim the M30d at no-matter-how-long trips. Fire and you can be sure that you’ll hit the target, killing it on the spot, even though the numbers don’t entirely back this up.

Infiniti claims that the M30d needs just under 7 seconds to hit 62 mph from standing starts, but the vehicle doesn’t feel that fast in the real world. However, standstill sprinting ambitions aside, the 238 hp and 550 Nm of the 3-liter oil burner are enough to allow you to decently play with the car on the open road.

Play a bit too hard and you’ll need to use the brakes, which have the ability and determination to rescue you. Both the stopping power and the fade resistance allow you to cruise without having to worry about the deceleration process.