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:

• 

  This car is amazing! - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By r8rfan - December 31 - 7:03 pm

  Full of raw power, hugs the road and curves like a rollercoaster, and is absolutely exhilarating to drive. This car is so much fun to drive that I consider it to be therapeutic to get behind the wheel. It drives just as smooth at 120 mph as it does at 35 mph. It is an eye catcher as well. I have had people stop me in the middle of the road to tell me how beautiful this car looks. I am 64" and it is a very comfortable car to drive, with all the amenities of a luxury car (including an awesome BOSE stereo system). Infiniti hit an absolute home run with this automobile!

• 

  The second owner - 2002 Infiniti QX4
  By dblazzinhot - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Bought this qx4 used with 193k miles on it-yes you may think Im crazy but this car had all that I was looking for and the price was workable. One owner all maintenance records, just need new tires and wiper blade-so I thought. Needed oil rings replaced- $2,200.00! Running like brand new. Now at 196,114k on it will drive to Miami in a New York minute! I want to hit 300k then maybe I will trade it for a pathfinder le since they stopped making these in infiniti.

• 

  Great SUV but Handling and Brake Issues - 2006 Infiniti QX56
  By time4akshun - December 31 - 9:10 am

  I have owned my QX56 for about 5 years now and love the size, love the navi, loive the back up camera, love the interior and love the entertainment system. Driving this car though, has always been a challenge. I have had constant alignment and suspension problems and the brakes...oh the brakes. This super heavy truck warps brakes yearly!!! I am on a final set hopefully, slotted and drilled but wish I didnt have to go aftermarket! You would think Infiniti would have matched their rotors to the weight of the car!! Questioning getting another although I love the styling.

• 

  Loved my Gs, but the Q50 is a beaut! - 2015 Infiniti Q50
  By rogue36 - December 30 - 11:54 pm

  Ive owned 5 Infiniti G-Series vehicles over the past 12 years, starting with the original G35 in 2003. Needless to say, I love the car. Ive always preferred its styling, comfort, and value compared to other entry luxury sedans. I was hesitant to get a Q50 after reading the bad press it received, but the new styling really appealed to me and the technology in my 2012 G37 was feeling old (particularly the audio/navigation system). After several test drives of the Q50 and its competitors, I liked the Audi A4 the best, but only slightly more than the Q50 and the lease deal on the Q50 was so much better there was no way I could pass it up. Looking back, Im glad I didnt get an A4 -- its styling is so boring compared to the Q50. Overall I really like the Q50. The powertrain is excellent - smooth acceleration and quiet at highway speeds. The cabin is comfortable with nice feel to the materials, supportive seats, minimal wind and road noise, and good visibility. The Bose "studio on wheels" is thankfully just as good as it was in the G37. I didnt get the Technology Package (which I somewhat regret) so I cant comment on all the cool ADAS features. I like the car, but I do have two reservations: the steer-by-wire system, and the infotainment system. I wanted Around View Monitor to help with parking in my cluttered garage, and I really like entry/exit assist where the seats and steering wheel move out of the way to make getting in & out of the car easier, but to get these two features I had to take the "direct adaptive steering" system. Im not a professional driver, but even I can easily feel the difference between DAS and the hydraulic steering gears used on the G-series in the past, and I prefer the old steering feel. That said, it wasnt a deal breaker for me. I use this car for my daily commute on boring mostly-straight highways. After three months I can honestly say Ive gotten used to the DAS feel and it doesnt bother me anymore. In fact I appreciate the lightness of the steering while making low-speed maneuvers. I did however have one incident where I was taking a tightly curved on-ramp at excessive speed just for the fun of it (which I did all the time in my Gs) and in the middle of the maneuver I felt the car turn in slightly without me moving the steering wheel. It scared the heck out of me. I dont know if it was the DAS system making an adjustment, or something else happening, but it was very disconcerting. Bottom line: DAS makes me nervous and I would prefer not to have it. As for the infotainment system, it has a nice set of features but the execution is bad, not terrible, but bad. I have a lot of complaints about the system, but Ill limit myself to just mentioning two of them: 1) When listening to HD Radio the song title and artist name do not appear on any screen anywhere. Not on the radio screen, not on the navigation screen, and not on the instrument cluster screen. Its ridiculous. I eventually found that information buried two levels deep in the "controls" menu, where it makes no sense for it to be and is basically useless. When you listen to music from your phone or iPod the song title, artist name, and even album art are prominently displayed -- why wouldnt they do the same for HD Radio? Even more crazy, if you turn HD Radio off you do get the song title and artist name displayed - though in the old style scrolling text format. Its really frustrating and I hope Infiniti offers a software update to fix it. 2) I like to put my iPod or phone into random mode and just manually cycle through my songs. Weirdly, in the Q50 there is a span of time where you cant hit "next" to go to the next song -- the system says "retrieving album art" and wont respond no matter how many times you hit the button. That window of time seems to be from 1 - 3 seconds after a song starts playing, which can really be annoying when I hear a song I rather not listen to and want to quickly skip to the next one. I either have to hit "next" immediately or wait 3 seconds. Its a minor thing, but still, didnt anyone do user testing on the system? Anyway, it is a great car and I am happy with my purchase. I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a sporty rear-wheel drive (or rear-wheel biased AWD) sedan and wants something that looks more elegant and interesting than the boring German sedans.

• 

  Loved my Gs, but the Q50 is a beaut! - 2015 Infiniti Q50
  By rogue36 - December 30 - 11:54 pm

  Ive owned 5 Infiniti G-Series vehicles over the past 12 years, starting with the original G35 in 2003. Needless to say, I love the car. Ive always preferred its styling, comfort, and value compared to other entry luxury sedans. I was hesitant to get a Q50 after reading the bad press it received, but the new styling really appealed to me and the technology in my 2012 G37 was feeling old (particularly the audio/navigation system). After several test drives of the Q50 and its competitors, I liked the Audi A4 the best, but only slightly more than the Q50 and the lease deal on the Q50 was so much better there was no way I could pass it up. Looking back, Im glad I didnt get an A4 -- its styling is so boring compared to the Q50. Overall I really like the Q50. The powertrain is excellent - smooth acceleration and quiet at highway speeds. The cabin is comfortable with nice feel to the materials, supportive seats, minimal wind and road noise, and good visibility. The Bose "studio on wheels" is thankfully just as good as it was in the G37. I didnt get the Technology Package (which I somewhat regret) so I cant comment on all the cool ADAS features. I like the car, but I do have two reservations: the steer-by-wire system, and the infotainment system. I wanted Around View Monitor to help with parking in my cluttered garage, and I really like entry/exit assist where the seats and steering wheel move out of the way to make getting in & out of the car easier, but to get these two features I had to take the "direct adaptive steering" system. Im not a professional driver, but even I can easily feel the difference between DAS and the hydraulic steering gears used on the G-series in the past, and I prefer the old steering feel. That said, it wasnt a deal breaker for me. I use this car for my daily commute on boring mostly-straight highways. After three months I can honestly say Ive gotten used to the DAS feel and it doesnt bother me anymore. In fact I appreciate the lightness of the steering while making low-speed maneuvers. I did however have one incident where I was taking a tightly curved on-ramp at excessive speed just for the fun of it (which I did all the time in my Gs) and in the middle of the maneuver I felt the car turn in slightly without me moving the steering wheel. It scared the heck out of me. I dont know if it was the DAS system making an adjustment, or something else happening, but it was very disconcerting. Bottom line: DAS makes me nervous and I would prefer not to have it. As for the infotainment system, it has a nice set of features but the execution is bad, not terrible, but bad. I have a lot of complaints about the system, but Ill limit myself to just mentioning two of them: 1) When listening to HD Radio the song title and artist name do not appear on any screen anywhere. Not on the radio screen, not on the navigation screen, and not on the instrument cluster screen. Its ridiculous. I eventually found that information buried two levels deep in the "controls" menu, where it makes no sense for it to be and is basically useless. When you listen to music from your phone or iPod the song title, artist name, and even album art are prominently displayed -- why wouldnt they do the same for HD Radio? Even more crazy, if you turn HD Radio off you do get the song title and artist name displayed - though in the old style scrolling text format. Its really frustrating and I hope Infiniti offers a software update to fix it. 2) I like to put my iPod or phone into random mode and just manually cycle through my songs. Weirdly, in the Q50 there is a span of time where you cant hit "next" to go to the next song -- the system says "retrieving album art" and wont respond no matter how many times you hit the button. That window of time seems to be from 1 - 3 seconds after a song starts playing, which can really be annoying when I hear a song I rather not listen to and want to quickly skip to the next one. I either have to hit "next" immediately or wait 3 seconds. Its a minor thing, but still, didnt anyone do user testing on the system? Anyway, it is a great car and I am happy with my purchase. I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a sporty rear-wheel drive (or rear-wheel biased AWD) sedan and wants something that looks more elegant and interesting than the boring German sedans.

• 

  A Wide Choice - 2006 Infiniti G35
  By Joshua - December 27 - 10:40 pm

  I just bought a 6-speed G35 and have to say I am so glad I did. I looked at all the vehicles in this class (C230, 325, Zephyr, 9-3 Aero, and TL) and traded in my 03 CTS and am really quite happy. Outside it looks like a million dollars. I am 66" and weigh 235 and fit fine. I am a BP agent in AZ and drive three other guys with gear to work in absolute comfort. The get up and go is tremendous, the drive taut and agile, and it stops on a dime (luckily for both my new car and a javelina outside of Bisbee). It is really a nice option if you are looking to spend 30K-35K on sporty ride that can transport four adults around comfortably.

• 

  Best car Ive ever owned!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2003 Infiniti M45
  By cjeder - December 27 - 2:00 am

  If you are looking at cars in the $35,000 or higher price range you MUST drive this car before making a purchase. I leased mine from Infiniti of Kirkland and my payment is less than most cars in the $35000 range. What a deal! Driving this car is like driving a hand- made, top of the line Bentley. And the 340hp V-8 is truly magnificent. Dont cheat yourself by paying more for a BMW of Lexus....drive this car first.

• 

  Very Satisfied - 2000 Infiniti I30
  By Torpman - December 27 - 2:00 am

  Bought this new and so far I have had no problems. I still enjoy driving it almost as much as when it was brand new. Still looks stylish for a 4 year old car. People still compliment it even though I dont keep it real clean.

• 

  Why buy German? - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By James Peterson - December 27 - 2:00 am

  Tested BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Mercedes C class, Lexus IS, and Acura TL. Size and power of larger 5 series Bimmer, and A6, and at much better price point than their lower priced series cars. Lexus was too small, Mercedes too slow, and Acura too much like my Accord. In my view, after driving the competition, there really was no comparison. This car is a rocket, brakes on a dime, corners on rails, and has a distinctive look. Great job Nissan!

• 

  Americas Skyline - 2003 Infiniti G35
  By Omar - December 27 - 2:00 am

  After driving a 330i and A4, we decided on the svelte G35 Coupe. Car is perfect balance between sport and luxury and is closer to M3 in performance than 330i. Favorite features are exterior design, interior design, steering, handling, sexy idle sound and exhaust note. Worst features are horrible sounding Bose sound system and poor paint quality. The black paint scratches extremely easily and is left with permanent stains after a few minutes of contact with bird droppings.