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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  Poor Build Quality - 2006 Infiniti G35
  By dennishou - October 29 - 8:16 am

  Fun to Drive if you can stand the rattles from the windows, FSBs on the 03/04/05s but not yet on the 06s, Infiniti denies there is any issues on the 06s and will not repair. Infiniti knew there were problems for 3 years and contiuned to sell these cars and did nothing to fix the rattles.

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  Good but overrated - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By Mark Callahan - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Great Looking Car. Sub-par interior: No armrest, no memory seats, poorly located cupholders, and a barely functional backseat(<= 59"). Pros: dash arrangement, steering wheel controls, and the Seats. "specs" vs "experience": Sedan felt more powerful (with 20 less HP, and AT). The coupe feels heavy. Some may describe the acceleration as "smooth" or "refined", but I would describe it as tame, and truly did not feel like 280HP. While the sedan felt energetic, the coupe felt bloated. The 6-SP shifter is nice, however the clutch was a bit heavy for my taste. Pro: the coupe does handle extremely well, and sticks to the road like glue.

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  Infiniti Q50 is the Worst Car - 2014 Infiniti Q50
  By nick5465 - September 20 - 9:35 pm

  I have been a long time Infiniti owner, I have owned the G37X, M56 and JX. I bought the Q50 when it first came out and has had these issues: 1. Slow responsiveness of touch screen. 2. GPS loosing signal and going to a blank screen. 3. Electric steering locking while in drive (major safety issue!) 4. Doors locking and not able to get into our out of the car! (major safety issue!) I signed a 39 month lease and I am stuck...hopefully things continue to break so the car can fit into the lemon law and I can get rid and break this lease. Based on these issues, I do not recommend the Infiniti Q50...wait 3 years before buying it.

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  Not as fun as expected - 2007 Infiniti G35
  By No - August 23 - 8:30 pm

  I bought this car because it was fast, agile and sleek. The exterior has aggressive styling that recieves many compliments, the interior is not very functional and hard to find a place to get comfortable. This car has so much plastic in it I am afraid it may melt if I leave it out too long. Even though I know the car is well built, I dont feel a sense of quality to it. The car has a rather potent engine but it does not grip the road well enough for having AWD.

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  G37, Amazing car, till it starts giving you a trouble - 2011 Infiniti G CONVERTIBLE
  By anoopa - May 20 - 12:08 am

  Issue with this car: the convertible feature is very delicate. My experience dictates that once the roof starts giving any kind of trouble (and chances are it will, multiple customers reporting issues), there is very little a user or the company can do. I am struggling with multiple roof issues for past 2 years, including rattling noise (now it makes noise even driving on interstates with perfect roads), irritating alarms, false coding on the sensors, timing disturbances of the motor mechanics etc. Its literally one after another. Contacted DOM service, and Infiniti consumer affairs, no real success. Seems like its a new technology for Infiniti and needs significant improvements.

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  Wait for the 2006 - 2005 Infiniti QX56
  By Infiniti driver - March 30 - 5:43 pm

  I believe Infiniti makes a good automobile. I think because of the newness of this vehicle there are a lot of problems that need to be adjusted. I have had 2 blow out tires. Ive had shaking when I apply brakes. (Rotors were recalled in the middle of winter - thats scary) Problems with Heat turning on and off, problem with seat warmer.

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  Not the quality we expected - 2014 Infiniti QX60
  By Merrill - March 14 - 8:21 am

  Let me start by saying we loved this car the first year we had it. Its beautiful and comfortable and we loved the safety features. However, we have had this car for less than two years and it is literally falling apart at the seams. Our transmission failed at 50k miles, the seals on the roof came out and started flapping in the wind, the front console trim cracked in multiple places, the seals around the vents are coming out (not even sure how!), the driver visor broke and now just hangs, the latch for the storage compartment broke. The car is also under powered with poor acceleration. We got the car fully loaded and it has failed to meet our quality expectations for a $60k+ car. Were now hoping to get rid of it before it completely falls apart.

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  Electrical problems with our Q - 2001 Infiniti QX4
  By QX4me3434 - March 3 - 12:10 pm

  We thought this was one of the best values on the road as we previously had good experiences with Nissan Pathfinders. Unfortunately, electrical problems have ruined an otherwise good ownership experience with our QX4. We should have seen the early warning signs. Had to replace the entire radio/CD player at 25,000 miles (under warranty), have replaced batteries once a year for a non start - completely dead issue - something creating a slow draw from the car when it sits parked. The longer it is parked, the more chance it wont start. Now that were out of the warranty, CD player is again not working and the car needs to be jumped once a week. Take it to the dealer and no problems can be found.

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  Dont buy a QX56!!! - 2005 Infiniti QX56
  By Diana - February 8 - 8:50 am

  I bought my QX56 12/04 and it has been in the shop 8 times for rattling from the headliner!! 3 times for brake repairs and I only have 7K miles on this thing!! The dealership is worthless and I am frustrated. Its not fun driving a car that has the most awful squeak/rattle coming from above constantly! Even my 2 small kids and the radio cant drown out that noise! It has also been in for the gear shifter sticking twice. Please think twice about this vehicle....its not worth it!

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  Carowner - 2002 Infiniti G20
  By Carowner - January 12 - 2:00 am

  Good car, absolutely need more power