Sedan Infiniti G37 - and who is right?
The first cars with the Infiniti sign began to appear on our roads long before the official introduction of the brand in Poland. Watching cars imported from overseas at that time, one could get the impression that the entire Infiniti lineup consisted of one model - the FX light bulb.
And the choice was considerable: the middle-class model G, the top shelf M and, finally, the colossus QX. Interestingly, the choice of private importers almost always fell on FX. Who cares, because they say that the free market is always right and in any case makes the right choice. A manufacturer can present three dozen models in its offer, and the free market will still buy only the best of them. But does the market always correctly recognize the best? Is he missing something really good? In today's test of the G37 limousine, I am looking for the answer to this question.
Good genes
Today, every major car manufacturer wants to have at least one sports car in their range. This is not surprising, because even if the sales of the model are poor, thanks to the hype around it, the rest of the more down to earth models will still have some glamor and associations with sports. And some people have to struggle to get such a machine. But not Infiniti - having an older brother Nissan, you can learn a little from his experience and technical solutions, but most of all from a car brand associated with sports.
Looking at the available gasoline powertrains of the Infiniti models, the weakest of which has 320 hp. and 360 Nm, it's safe to say that regardless of version or model, every Infiniti car is sporty. However, the G37 stands out in a special way - it can be considered a luxurious evolution of the legendary Skyline model. And it obliges! Infinitely binding!
Why infinity?
The English word infinity means infinity. The name is correct, because you can look at the cars of this brand for an infinitely long time. I realized this when I picked up the test G37 - while waiting at the dealership, I could not take my eyes off the Cabrio and Coupe versions on display. But let's face it - drawing the lines of a beautiful coupe, let alone a convertible, is relatively easy, but the silhouette of a comfortable limousine would look just as intriguing. In the G37 sedan, this trick was a success - the body lines convince with the correct proportions, the expressive Asian eyes of the headlights portend a storm of emotions, and the carefully “bloated” silhouette radiates not so much aggression as hidden power. under the hood. Let me remind you once again that this is not about an impractical coupe body, but about a fully functional family limousine.
But it's time to accept this infinity. The formalities are done, the keys finally fall into my hand, and I stop succumbing to the charm of the body and sit in the cozy center of the black limousine.
And who's in charge here?
I respect the gas pedal. The designation "37" reveals the power of a six-cylinder V-twin engine that produces a large (for a family limousine) number of 320 horsepower, and with such a herd of horses, there is no joke. I slowly drive out of the narrow inner streets of the Infiniti Centrum Warszawa. I was right to take care of the gas pedal - every next press from under the hood emitted a menacing purr, and the back of the car slightly squatted, as if preparing to jump. I feel the anticipation of emotions on the road ...
Escaped from Warsaw's labyrinth of renovation surprises, I find myself on a wide and, fortunately, almost empty, two-lane road. I stop the car and finally ... give gas! The gas pedal goes deeper, releasing maximum power, the car waits for a split second, as if making sure that I am ready to survive what is about to happen. Ass habitually dives, and a second later the tachometer starts methodically, over and over again stepping on the limit of 7 rpm. Acceleration presses on the seat (G37 accelerates to 100 km / h in just 6 seconds), and the sound of a clean V6 unit bursts into the cabin. Yes, this is what I expected. The new 7-speed automatic transmission (before the facelift, buyers had to settle for five gears) copes well with such loads, smoothly shifting gears at the last moment - in accordance with the recommendations of the accelerator pedal. In sport mode, the transmission keeps the engine at a higher RPM during acceleration, ensuring that the car responds spontaneously to every step on the accelerator. When speed is reduced, sport mode also provides higher revs by effectively lowering.
Looking at the speedometer needle defiantly going up, I feel that something is missing here, but what? Well, of course ... the tires squeal at the start! This attribute of most fast cars was eliminated in the G37 by the test car's all-wheel drive. Its presence is evidenced by the letter "X" on the tailgate, and its effectiveness is confirmed by excellent grip and ... the absence of a spectacular tire squeal.
Note another attribute of fast cars: fuel consumption. Obviously, 320 horsepower must be drunk. And they are. Depending on the driving style and the presence of traffic jams in the city, fuel consumption is from 14 to 19 liters, and on the highway it is difficult to go below 9 liters per 100 kilometers. If you've recently driven a car up to 1,4 liters or up to 100 horsepower, you might not find this car fuel efficient enough, but let's check out the fuel consumption of other players in this league! I looked at the fuel consumption reports of no less sporty competitors from Europe with all-wheel drive (BMW 335i, Mercedes C-Class with a 3,5 V6 engine) and it turned out that each of these cars had comparable fuel consumption (albeit lower than the G37 , but at least Infiniti) honestly lists these higher values in the catalog).
sentinel
In order not to exceed the so-called sound barrier, I stop accelerating, to which the engine responds with a long high-speed squeal, thus emphasizing my readiness for further rally. There is a sporty spirit in this car, a constant readiness for effort and high speed, but also something else - I would call it caring.
Already after the first hours of driving, the car can be recognized as a good and attentive assistant, whose strength is the willingness to cooperate with the driver. There is a complete mutual understanding - the car leaves no doubt that the driver is here, but tries to support him with all his mechanical senses. The suspension is surprisingly comfortable to soak up the bumps in the road while remaining very springy, compact and ready for immediate tight cornering. The steering, even under heavy loads and light ruts, is completely neutral and does not pull the steering wheel out of the hands - while not completely isolating the driver from the road. Stopping power is easy to dose, and the brakes make me feel like I can count on them in moments of horror. After sunset, you can see that the rotary xenon headlights obediently follow the movements of the steering wheel, illuminating the turns. Finally, active cruise control ensures a safe distance from the vehicle in front.
Add to this the aforementioned all-wheel drive, which can also be used in winter mode, and it becomes clear that this is a car that gives a lot of driving pleasure, pleases the senses with a great engine sound. , and also protects, leads, prompts and helps.
Rich interior
The changes that happened to the G37 during the last facelift did little to change its interior appearance. Maybe there was nothing to improve in this luxurious interior, or maybe all the energy went into technical changes? With the naked eye, it is easy to see the seat heating controls, which now have as many as 5 levels of intensity. The press release recommended a softer finish on the door panels, but I'm not sure I've ever lacked softness there.
It is spacious inside - even a tall driver will find a place for himself, but there is not enough space for another such giant in the back. Despite the sporty silhouette of the body, the ceiling does not fall on the heads of rear seat passengers, and the seat is comfortably profiled for two passengers. Rear legroom is clearly defined by the middle tunnel, so a comfortable long journey for 5 adults will be difficult.
Going back to the front seats, they don't look like sports buckets, but they don't lack lateral support when cornering. An interesting solution is to combine the clock with the steering column - when adjusting its height, the steering wheel never closes the clock. At first, the problem for the driver is the many buttons on the center console and the inconvenient placement of the on-board computer change buttons.
Once in the driver's seat, it's the large paddle shifters for manual gearshifts that catch the eye, as if jerking them were the car's primary action. After a while, the mystery becomes clear: the paddles are permanently attached to the steering column and don't rotate with the steering wheel, so they need to be large to keep the paddles close at hand for most maneuvers.
In fact, you can get used to all the little things and after a while they stop bothering you. The only ever-annoying downside to the G37's trim is the computer display, whose resolution doesn't match either the car's luxurious nature or the manufacturing country making TVs so small and thin that they can be used as bookmarks. So I don't understand why Infiniti engineers don't use something modern with the G37 and still use technology straight from the Gameboys of the turn of the century?
Is the market right?
It's time to answer the question asked at the beginning of the test. Was the market doing the right thing by ditching the Model G when importing from overseas? The answer is not so simple. If we decide that a car needs to drive and look great, but at the same time be practical and safe, the Model G will fully live up to these expectations. If this is supposed to be an extraordinary vehicle rarely seen on the road, there aren't many alternatives for the G. In this regard, I believe that the market is wrong.
On the other hand, having the choice of a sports car that has competitors in Europe (for example, the BMW 335i X-Drive or Mercedes C 4Matic, both of the same power) or the flashy and fashionable FX SUV, which had analogues in Europe at that time (sort of BMW X6), the market is not surprised that he invested time and money in the latter, because due to the lack of competition, the demand for FX in Europe was guaranteed. The market was here, of course - so if the Model G is good on its own, when is the best time to trade FX?
Luckily, today you don't have to go abroad to buy this car. So if your most important criteria is to drive fast, not sell fast... think about this Japanese guy and maybe you'll agree that... the market is wrong.
