Once upon a time I thought the BMW 5-series, Audi A6 and Acura TL&RL were mind-blowing automobiles. No longer. They all have their pluses and minuses, but in comparison to the new M35, they just cannot compete. Or so I thought after a showroom visit and a test-drive with a friend.
Nowhere near the sportiest of the bunch in terms of design or personality, the M35 has a somewhat muscular, yet unobtrusive design. For people who don't want a car that begs for attention, this might be a good fit. The Xenon HIDS make the M look even better from the outside. I loved Infiniti's commercials for the M a few months back. They showed a paintbrush making a distinctive n-like stroke on a white background, and soon thereafter the M appeared underneath the stroke - fitting perfectly underneath. It's a very aerodynamic-looking car.
As much as I'm a fan of the G35 - with its gorgeous exterior, purring engine and sporty character - I liked the M35 more - although I should mention I've never driven the G. Of course, there's a totally different market for both of these cars. Our M was pretty much fully loaded with more gadgets than I could dream up. Let's start with the seats - both the front and rear seats were heated, and boy did they ever heat up quickly. There's also cooling functions, but with the cool weather I didn't dare to put them to the test. The front seats are power-operated, and the back seats also have power functions for raising or lowering the seats. All of the seats had leather trim, which was very,very comfortable. The leather was as supportive and comfortable in the back as it was in the front, which is not usually the case from my experience. There was plenty of legroom and headroom in the back seat from my vantage point. I believe four adults will be very comfortable. A fifth adult might start to make things cramped. In a car like this though, you'll have people you don't even know lining up to sit inside.
When it comes to cars, besides the engine, I'm all about the gadgets. The M delivers. I thought I was well above the crowd to have automatic headlights and wipers with my 3, and although that is true for compact cars(although several are starting to introduce auto headlights), many luxury cars have these features as options. The M is one of them, and that's just the beginning. Another one is the intelligent key system. As long as you have the key in your pocket, you can walk up to the car and it will unlock for you. Push 'start' and the engine will engage and wait for your right foot to begin its journey. The Toyota Prius, Lexus IS and a few others that aren't coming immediately to mind already have this feature. If you ask me, for the price one would pay for the Infiniti M, that feature should be standard. I believe the car is also Bluetooth compatible, for handsfree cellphone usage. The navigation system not only gives visual directions but also reads them out. One of my favorite features was the backup camera. The screen in between the driver and front passenger is clearly visible from the back of the car. Not only does it show you objects and people directly behind the car, but there are also lines that approximate exactly where the car will end up when parking. So stall parking and parallel parking just became that much easier for those of you who have difficulty. Luxury car drivers are not necessarily professionals, as some of us already know. :) However, just because you have a backup camera, does not mean that you don't have to shoulder-check when backing up or parking. I should also mention that the backup camera only starts to work when the car is placed in reverse.
Inside, the audio and climate controls are nicely laid out. Personally I don't like the way German designers style the interiors - there's something about the feel of the knobs and the layout that doesn't appeal to me. Being an Infiniti, this is obviously not a German car. All the knobs and levers felt fine to the touch, and responded instantly. All that being said, the way the buttons are clustered will definitely take some getting used to. Two dozen buttons grace the center stack, and some are colored differently to distinguish them.
We didn't push the car hard during the test drive, and come to think of it I regret not doing so. However, the engine was willing to rev when tested, and on other occasions shifts were smooth and hardly noticeable. From my experience in cars of this class, the M35 did not feel as fast as its 280 horses would suggest. It's smoother and more refined instead. Put to the test, I'm certain that 0-60 runs would not disappoint driving enthusiasts. Keep in mind that this is a large luxury cruiser! I've driven the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum, both which 3.5L V6s more recently than the M35, and I found both to be peppy, but not as refined as the Infiniti, which is to be expected.
The rear-wheel-drive M35 that we tested handled well, and cornered well too for a car of this size. Our test route was a bumpy, quiet collection of streets outside the city limits. It consisted of mostly straightaways, with narrow shoulders. There was not much room for error, and I was only too glad that there was very little traffic. The M soaked up bumps and other road imperfections competently. It took a lot of space to do a u-turn in this beast, but I'm used to doing a U in a compact, so what do I know!
You might be surprised to learn that the M's only available transmission is an automatic. Even more surpising is the fact that said tranny only has five cogs to choose from. When a Honda Civic that's roughly 1/4 the price of this car also finds itself with a 5-speed transmission, something needs to change. Mercedes are now pumping out 6 and 7 speed automatics. Is more better? I can't say for sure. But from personal experience, I can certainly tell you that I've often wished for an extra gear for my car's 4-speed tiptronic automatic .
If you're buying a car with a price-tag such as this, fuel economy probably isn't your biggest worry. Expect to fill up with premium or better gasoline. Fuel efficiency in the city is rated at 13.2L/100 KM and on the highway, 8.6L/100 KM.
The M35 should be ahead of the pack in terms of safety as well. Besides the standard two airbags in the front, there are also supplemental curtain airbags that extend from the front to the back of the car, and two side airbags in the front. ABS is standard, of course, as is brake assist and traction control. We never had reason to slam on the brakes, and there was no rain to ensure the traction control was in order.
Overall, I like the M35 a lot. This car taught me that, sometimes, engines can be overrated in terms of importance. The quality of the M's interior put everything else we sat in on that day to shame - including the Audi A4 & A6, Acura TSX,TL and RL and BMW 5 series. I tested the TSX just over a week ago and was still quite impressed with the interior, so that tells you something. Consumer Reports also seems to be enamored with this car. They rated it as their top midsize luxury sedan, with a score of 97/100. According to their report, the first model year of this car has been exceptionally reliable, and the only real downside to the M is its fuel economy. Considering the competition it is up against, namely the RL, GS 300 and STS, CR's recommendation is noteworthy indeed.
