Overview & Reviews

Infiniti is an upscale automaker from Japan. Though most of its products are related to those sold by parent company Nissan, Infiniti looks to achieve a premium status by infusing its cars and SUVs with spirited performance and additional luxury content.

The brand was launched for the 1990 model year. Its purpose back then, as it is now, was to create premium vehicles for America that wouldn't have otherwise fit in with Nissan's more mainstream image. This was the same tactic Honda used for the creation of Acura, and Toyota for Lexus. In its first full year, Infiniti started out with two vehicles, the Q45 sedan and the M30 coupe and convertible. The compact, entry-level G20 was introduced soon after.

As the 1990s moved along, Infiniti slowly added more vehicles to its lineup. The Q45 luxury sport sedan found its market. The car's 278-horsepower V8 was class-leading in its day. On top of that, the Q45 offered cutting-edge technology such as an active suspension system. By the late '90s Infiniti had rolled out the QX4, an SUV based on the Pathfinder. The sport-ute's truck platform gave it a leg up in off-road performance relative to competing car-based SUVs.

Although Infiniti's sales grew steadily, the marque still fell short of both Lexus and Acura in terms of popularity. The early 2000s saw Infiniti making a determined effort to sharpen its focus and upgrade its products. But it was the introduction of the entry-level, midsize G35 in 2003 that finally gave Infiniti the boost and identity direction it sorely needed. Based on the same platform underpinning the Nissan 350Z, the G35 coupe and sedan met with immediate sales success. The FX35/FX45 soon followed -- a crossover SUV that provided spirited acceleration and sports-car handling with the utility of a wagon.

Today, Infiniti's lineup has expanded to include the G (now a sedan, coupe and convertible) and FX as well as the midsize M sedan, the EX small crossover SUV, the JX midsize crossover SUV and the QX large SUV. Infiniti has also introduced the M Hybrid sedan, its first hybrid vehicle. No matter the model, shoppers will find Infiniti's latest vehicles to be focused on luxury, sport, quality and value.

User Reviews:

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  Uncomfortable - 2001 Infiniti I30
  By garydona - December 17 - 10:00 am

  Nice car, but very uncomfortable on long drives. Cannot adjust seating to maintain comfort. Im not an old guy either.

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  Does Not Compare to 3 Series or A4 - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By G35 is Junk - December 12 - 9:10 pm

  After owning an Audi A4 and a BMW 325i, I was excited to step into the G35 as the company bills the car as a faster, more reliable alternative to either vehicle. Sadly, I was completely hoodwinked by the marketing department of Infiniti. While I will grant the point that the vehicle is very fast, its handling, fuel economy, build quality, and reliability are far worse than I experienced with either Audi or BMW. Maybe I got a lemon, but the list of problems with this car is ridiculous. On top of that, the brakes wear out every 15k miles and arent cheap to replace. Im very disappointed with Infiniti and now realize that I shouldve stayed with German cars or purchased a Lexus instead.

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  DONT DO IT - 2001 Infiniti I30
  By NEVER!!!! - November 22 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car 6 months ago. It has had a total of 14 trips to the shop. I bought it new!! I bought this because I needed a new car quick. I was comtemplating over this and a jaguar XJ but I am retired and I could not afford a jag. I should have saved this is a peice of junk!!!

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  Good SUV - 1997 Infiniti QX4
  By djlarroc - November 7 - 12:48 am

  Had this vechicle for about 3 years/30k. It was reliable, and maintenance was not bad. Ride was a bit stiff, and MPG was terrible. About 14-15MPG. 3.3 V6 struggles badly to move this heavy SUV. But it was a nice luxury SUV, and in the snow, it was among the best. Great winter vehicle. Radio went out, starter, and some other minor things, but no big deal. My full size Tahoe gets better MPG and with a lot more power.

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  Not quite as good as they say. - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By 96740 - November 4 - 2:00 am

  This car has the performance, but there are some inherent problems. 1. The headlights jiggle (very noticeable on rear of the car in front of you at night.) 2. Lots of interior squeeks. 3. Scary electrical problems. And the dealership I purchased it from (Thousand Oaks Infinity) has really let me down. I asked them what was causing the eletrical problems? "We dont know" . And as for the jiggling headlights...they dont want to admit that its a problem, even though it does it on all of the G35 Sedans on the lot. My wife has a Coupe. Its perfect. If I had to do it over, Id get the Lexus. Even though its slower.

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  Go for the BMW 325xi - 2004 Infiniti G35
  By Lefty - September 29 - 7:36 pm

  I bought a pre-owned 2004 G35x loaded, Nav, xenon, premium package, etc. I had it for 3 weeks before trading it in for a 2002 BMW 325xi, which is the car I should have purchased in the first place. The Infiniti got horrible gas mileage (13mpg) and within one week of purchase it needed new front brake rotors. Car has too much torque and cant get out of its own way. The car creaked and rattled. The BMW is a much better built car, fast, better gas mileage and a more sporty ride.

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  My new G35 - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By Kevin Beasly - September 3 - 2:00 am

  I honestly expected more out of this car. I expected far more than Nissan gave me. But thats not to say this car is awful because that it is not. I needed a second commuter car with more room than a normal sports car and its done its job.

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  Love it, BUT...wont buy it again - 2017 Infiniti QX50
  By Kim N - June 12 - 11:39 pm

  This SUV offers a great smooth ride and accelerates better than any car Ive owned, including other luxury cars. I had hoped to own it for many years but I am highly disappointed in some things that are important to me that will prevent me from keeping the car. The fuel economy does not exist, the SUV is a gas guzzler and in a time of fuel efficiency, its really poor. The navigation system is the absolute worse. You cant see the current traffic status unless you set/enter a destination, thats so 90s. Just to simply drive to work/home you cannot observe current traffic, so Im stuck using Google Maps or Waze on my phone after spending nearly $2k for navigation. You cant get Bluetooth without the navigation pkg., and you must have a Sirius XM package for the system to work, again this is archaic. Only 1 USB port, and all information is in a list which is incredibly unsafe & a huge distraction so you cant use it while driving. The directional compass is a tiny arrow, you never know what direction is N,W, S or E without searching while driving for the arrow. There is no power button for the trunk, there are no cup/bottle holders in the doors and the duel cup holders in the center console are too small for more than one cup at a time and it blocks the gear shift!

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  Just Sold - 2005 Infiniti QX56
  By HappyNow - May 23 - 11:06 pm

  I was greatly disappointed with my QX56. The car rattled the entire time I had it, 10 months. The overhead console had to be replaced. There were rattling issues with the front end.... I sold this SUV at a loss, but I was happy to get rid of it. I wish i had read these reviews before i bought this suv. To think i traded my lexus lx470, i wanted more room, for this big rattler.

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  Looks nice but many faults - 2012 Infiniti G Sedan
  By sherm624 - May 21 - 7:11 pm

  We hated this car so much that we returned it 9 months before the end of our lease and paid thousands just to be rid of it. The car looks great but driving is a chore. Steering requires effort, engine noise will wake the dead. Everyone thought the car had an exhaust leak. Transmission is horrible - difficult to launch smooth. Gas mileage is around 22 combined. It misses the mark in luxury by neglecting amenities found in competitors, such as cooled seats, front sensors (only has rear), rain sensing wipers, wood steering wheel. On trips longer than 30 minutes it is not comfortable and the cabin is very cramped. No wonder they stopped making this car.