Short Take Road Test
Infiniti calls the I35 a luxury performance sedan. We wonder if that isn't really an oxymoron. Seems to us the more luxury you pour into a car, the more performance it displaces, and vice versa.
But Infiniti has reinforced the formula for 2002 by face-lifting the I-series model (with a new grille and xenon headlamps, a new rear lamp treatment, bigger badges, and body-color door handles) and by bolting in a bigger, more powerful engine.
Although it's a familiar shape, the car certainly looks fresher now. Nonetheless, the most seductive part of the I35 remains its new engine-the performance component of the two-part recipe. For 2002, the mid-level Infiniti gets a new 3.5-liter V-6 producing 255 horsepower at 5800 rpm and 246 pound-feet of torque at 4400 rpm.
The 3.5-liter V-6 is based on the previous 3.0-liter VQ engine family, but it now has continuously variable intake-valve timing, a silent cam chain and structural reinforcements for quieter operation, and a drive-by-wire throttle system. First thing you notice is that it's quieter than the previous car, although there is now a hint of big-bore rumble from the exhaust system, which has equal-length headers and a variable-capacity muffler adapted from the Nissan Skyline GT-R.
The thrust from this motor has a hint of big bore about it, too, as it whisks the I35 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds (1.1 seconds quicker than the outgoing I30) and through the quarter in 15.3 seconds (versus 16.1) at 92 mph. This from a prototype with just 1400 miles on it.
The new engine also highlights the somewhat vintage origins of the I35 chassis, which evidently has suspension geometries that allow a fair bit of torque steer despite the strong and taut feel of the structure when going down the road. With this much torque, at least the Infiniti has a good excuse, but full-throttle hunting and darting is not exactly a luxury attribute, nor is the sudden locked-up, zero-centering action you feel at the wheel when exiting bends under full power.
At more moderate speeds, the smooth, powerful engine and seamless electronically controlled transmission team with a reasonably compliant ride to impart a strong sense of luxury. But where the machine meets the driver-at the various control interfaces-the I35 is pleasantly sporty. The wheel has a nice weight to it, and the brake pedal is firm and communicative. Even with electronic brake-force distribution replacing the old apportioning valve and ABS fitted as standard, stopping from 70 mph is only fair at 189 feet.
Available as basically one model, known as the I35 Luxury, the Infiniti we tested had an optional Sport package (costing $1700), which includes unique alloy wheels fitted with 225/50R-17 V-rated tires, a sport-tuned suspension, side-sill extensions, and stability-enhancing vehicle dynamic control. Those optional tires provide 0.82 g of skidpad grip and contribute to the car's remarkably stable handling attributes.
Inside the I35 we find lashings of sweet and strong leather (albeit with a substantial center seam on the driver's-seat backrest that can make itself felt against one's spine) and just small dabs of fake wood. We like that. It stops short of gilding the lily. We also like the elegant simplicity of the interior layout, and that the remote access fob produces just a subtle flash of the lights instead of the obnoxious beeping now nearly ubiquitous in the luxocar business.
An electroluminescent instrument panel is an Infiniti item not found on its Nissan Maxima cousin, and it is clear and easy to read even on a bright day. And if good sound is your idea of luxury, get the salesperson to demonstrate the standard 200-watt Bose stereo with an in-dash six-CD changer and seven speakers. It rocks.
Not standard is the $2000 Infiniti navigation system with the Birdview three-dimensional perspective, mounted in a flip-up panel above the dash where it does not interfere with any of the other controls. That integration typifies the no-nonsense approach Infiniti has taken with its mid-level car. If that's what performance luxury is, we'll buy it-especially at its little-changed base price of $29,295. Now, let's see who else will.
