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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  Breaks Squeal - - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By Sad G35 owner - February 19 - 4:36 pm

  37k miles and the brakes have made noise the whole time. They tried new pads & rotors. They say it is normal. Now out of warranty and still squealing. Buyer beware.

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  Over Rated - 2008 Infiniti G35
  By Fergus - February 18 - 1:20 am

  Held off on commenting until I hit the 5000 mile marker. First interior is well done and attractive. However, I find the engine with the automatic is poorly done. The sport shift is comical with down shifts that dont make sense especially at lower speeds. Handling is ok, but not great, the review in edmunds is bang on - artificial. Brakes are spongy and translate road feel through the wheel which I find disconcerting. Fuel economy is brutal. I drive mostly highway and I havent broken 18 MPG even with heavy use of cruise control. There is a reason why everything is compared to the BMW... it is far superior. Finish is suspect. Already have rubber coming off my driver side door.

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  To many bugs - 2005 Infiniti QX56
  By Karlsson - February 13 - 10:00 am

  I bought it in 2007 and since then have had to many bugs in the car like, backup camera failure, seat belt tensioner replacements, airbag light blinking,air pressure leveler failing, brake problems, rear hatch opening by its self, front axle joints making noises, tire air valves failing and so on. I spent like over 5000 big ones already on a car less than 5 years old.

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  Nice Vehicle but Limited Music System - 2008 Infiniti QX56
  By Dave - February 6 - 6:20 pm

  This is a great vehicle if you need / want a large SUV and dont mind the poor gas mileage. My only major disappointment was to discover the only method of getting a song onto the hard drive is to rip it directly from an audio CD. Anyone who has spent the time to move their music collection to a computer understands the amount of time this requires and would find it ludicrous to have to do this again in a car one CD at a time. In addition, the Compact Flash slot will only read up to 500 songs regardless of the size of the CF card (A cheap 4 gigabyte CF card will hold approx 1000 songs). These issues limit the usefulness of the music system, but if that is not important, the car is great

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  2002q45 - 2002 Infiniti Q45
  By bently - February 6 - 10:00 am

  360h.p great.voice commands need refinement. Needs a better and better placed clock. Needs a compass. Acomfortable car that wont cry out for someone to key it or steal it.

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  Still dont see many of these - 2004 Infiniti G35
  By kernszys g35 - February 4 - 4:53 am

  I have had my coupe for 2 years now and never get tired of driving it. other than short brake pad life and brake dust the car is an absoulute gem It has handled the tough new england winters with out a hitch (the 4 ws50 blizzacks were an absolute must) Gone through 2 sets of rear tires and one speeding ticket.an absolute pleasure to own!I plan to go for the 2007 model!

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  Fun To Drive - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By spotty - February 1 - 10:00 am

  Sporty and stylish, really gets the looks. Great fun to drive. Best auto buying experience in my forty years of buying cars.

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  2 year old and 45,000 miles - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By Mark Turner - January 28 - 10:00 am

  Overall a good car for the money. The navigation works well but the sound quality from the Bose is average. The drivers seat shows signs of excessive wear. The car chews up brakes. Working on the second set of pads and rotors $850 from dealer. Infinity has offered free replacment but only up to 36,000 miles. Dealer cannot find a squeek in the dash.

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  Charlotte NC - 2006 Infiniti M45
  By JP - January 26 - 3:36 pm

  Fun car to drive, AC seats are awesome, my wife says everyone stares at the car when she takes it out but its really her. I have the sport package and it is great, I also have a 1 yr old and do not suggest the car as a alternative to the minivan

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  My experience - 2001 Infiniti QX4
  By Craig W - January 20 - 2:10 pm

  Fun little rig to drive. The MPG is a tad low but the pep somewhat compensates for it. I bought it with 90K on it and for the most part it is in new condition. My biggest complaint is with the Bose/Clarion 6 CD/Cassette stereo. I had the car 4 months and got what is known as the dreaded err 2 message on the CD screen. With a bit of investigation I found this is a very common problem. This problem is peculiar to the 2001 model. There is a plastic gear in the CD changer that strips out. I have read of dealer quotes to $500 to fix this.