This year Infiniti is offering the Q45 sedan in a single trim. The base Q comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, an adaptive suspension with driver-selectable settings, a powerful set of high-intensity discharge headlights, a DVD-based navigation system, a 10-way power driver seat and eight-way power front-passenger seat, front seat heaters, leather upholstery, genuine wood trim, a sunroof, a voice recognition system for various controls, rain-sensing wipers, a rearview backup camera, a 300-watt Bose stereo with eight speakers, an in-dash CD changer and satellite radio (either XM or Sirius). Opt for the Premium Package and you'll get 18-inch wheels, adaptive cruise control (called Intelligent Cruise Control), heated and cooled front seats, power-adjustable and heated rear seats, rear air conditioning controls and a power-operated rear-window shade along with manual shades for the side windows.

Powertrains and Performance:
The rear-drive Q45 is powered by a muscular 4.5-liter V8 that produces 340 hp and 333 lb-ft of torque. This power is routed through a five-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode. The Infiniti Q45 can go from zero to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, about average for the segment.

Safety:
The 2005 Infiniti Q45 features a myriad of standard safety features, including dual-stage front airbags with seatbelt sensors that help tailor deployment to collision severity. Front-seat occupants get front-seat active head restraints, while the seats themselves are equipped with supplemental side-impact airbags. Side curtain airbags protect front and rear outboard occupants. Other features include four-wheel antilock disc brakes with BrakeAssist and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). Stability and traction control are also standard. Every Q45 comes with Infiniti's RearView Monitor, which helps avert parking lot mishaps by projecting the images from a rear-mounted camera to the car's center display screen whenever the transmission is in reverse.

Interior Design and Special Features:
Step inside, and you're greeted with an exquisite cabin draped in soft leather and dark maple wood trim. The electroluminescent gauges are both beautiful to look at and easy to read. Passenger room is ample throughout, and the spectacular Bose stereo fills the cabin with near perfect sound reproduction. Although visually appealing and technologically innovative, the Q45's climate and radio controls are needlessly complicated, routed as they are through a joystick-controlled LCD -- good thing voice command comes standard. Trunk capacity (13.7 cubic feet) is a bit meager compared to the competition.

Driving Impressions:
Our Infiniti Q45 review finds that the V8 engine feels strong once it revs up a bit, though it doesn't feel as quick off the line as competitors' V8s. As you'd expect of a large luxury sedan, the ride is delightfully quiet and comfortable on the highway. The active dampening suspension system provides a nice balance between ride comfort and handling ability, but don't expect the sharp reflexes of an Audi A8 or BMW 7 Series.

Overview

The Infiniti Q45 features new styling and more luxury equipment for 2005. It looks more aggressive than before, with new front and rear fascia, a restyled hood and grille, a new headlight design with integrated fog lights, a restyled rear deck, new LED tail lights, and new chrome trim. Everything about the Q45 is smooth and easy. It's balanced well for driving on twisting roads and it's very stable at high speeds. Yet the ride is smooth, even on bumpy roads. Its powerful V8 engine delivers excellent performance and makes a wonderful growl. The Q45 uses rear-wheel drive, like a BMW or Mercedes-Benz, for better handling. The five-speed automatic transmission has been re-calibrated on 2005 models for smoother acceleration and more responsive downshifts. The active damping suspension, previously optional, is standard on all 2005 models. Infiniti may not have the heritage of BMW or Mercedes, but it offers first-class appointments and craftsmanship. A DVD-based navigation system is now standard. A new system tightens the seatbelts during emergency braking, helping to optimize the position of the driver for emergency maneuvers and crash protection.

Model Lineup

The Infiniti Q45 is a rear-wheel-drive sedan powered by a 4.5-liter twin-cam V8. This all-aluminum engine produces a very healthy 340 horsepower and 333 pound-feet of torque. The only available transmission is a five-speed automatic with a manual shift mode. Q45 comes in one trim level ($55,900), and it includes everything you'd expect in a flagship luxury car, plus a long list of high-end electronics. Active safety features are among them: electronic stability control (VDC), traction control (TCS), anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), along with the electronically controlled active damping suspension. Also standard: tire pressure monitors, xenon high-intensity discharge headlights, DVD-based navigation, voice control for the climate control system, an eight-speaker, 300-watt Bose stereo with six-disc CD changer, heated front seats. The Q comes with P225/55VR17 all-season tires on titanium-finish cast aluminum wheels with a full-size spare tire. All interior surfaces are covered in rich textured materials, including soft leather and, for 2005, a darker shade of genuine bird's eye maple wood. Options are few: The Premium Package ($5,800) adds climate-controlled front seats, power reclining rear seats with seat heaters, rear-seat audio and climate controls, perforated leather seat inserts, Intelligent Cruise Control with Preview Braking, XM or Sirius satellite radio, rear sunshades (power for the backlight, manual for the rear-door windows), and new 18-inch, seven-spoke alloy wheels wearing 245/45VR18 all-season performance tires. Opt for the Premium Package with Chrome Wheels ($6,800), and you get all of the above plus seven-spoke chrome-plated wheels. The only other options are a set of 17-inch run-flat tires ($400), satellite radio as a stand-alone feature ($400), and some port-installed accessories.

Walkaround

The Infiniti Q45 has presence, with styling that says big luxury. Grille, hood, and front and rear fascia are new for 2005, lending the Q45 a more assertive, if not downright aggressive, demeanor. The headlights are new, with integrated fog lamps and larger bulbs for high beams. The headlamps incorporate a revised version of the Q45's trademark circle of seven xenon low beams that look like a Gatling gun. The aggressive appearance of the headlamps suggests the ability to turn night into day. Infiniti claims they are among the world's most powerful; its low beams are bright and have a dispersion pattern designed for long-range illumination in a narrow beam as well as wide-angle illumination in the foreground. The pattern of the low beams is designed to reduce glare to oncoming drivers by cutting the beam sharply on the left side. A switch on the dash allows the driver to adjust the height of the beams, a feature we liked. Overall, the front view of the Q presents a handsome shape, a sweep, as if the lines were poured on. There's very little chrome. The wide-mouthed grille is fully but sparsely filled by four broad, horizontal slats with a bright Infiniti emblem in the center. Hungry-looking air intakes dominate the lower bumper. In profile, the Q45's long wheelbase and relatively short overhangs suggest solidity and efficiency at the same time. Its drag coefficient is among the lowest of any production car we know, at just 0.30. The roof seems to have more rake when viewed from the rear. The 2005 Q45 has a new rear bumper, deck lid, and LED taillights, the latter reminding us of the lights on the smaller G35, all accented by new fine-line chrome trim. The exterior modifications bring a new sense of power and athleticism to the Q, along with a stronger family resemblance to our other Infiniti performance vehicles.

Interior Features

The Q45's plush interior is swathed in Italian leather and bird's eye burl maple, a darker wood than last year's trim. Our 2005 Q45 came in Graphite leather with sort of a reverse piping in silver on the seats. It was quite nice, though no one seems able to do black interiors as well as the Germans, so we prefer the tasteful Latte on this car. An interesting choice is the sporty Firebrick. Lots of glass, including the big sunroof, brightens the cabin by day. Cool, functional, white-on-black electroluminescent gauges come out at night. Two slightly retro touches add richness for 2005: white faces for the gauges, and genuine metal knobs for accessory controls. The seats are new for 2005, and have been contoured for a sportier feel. We found them quite comfortable. The driver gets 10-way power adjustments, including lumbar, great for long freeway trips. Eight-way power helps the front-seat passenger get comfortable. Both have a memory function. The climate-controlled seats (included in the Premium package) have a low-profile fan in the bottom to draw in cabin air. A thermoelectric device in the seat back heats or cools the air before sending it out through distribution channels in the seating surface. Controls for the seat heaters are on the inboard side of the seat bottoms. We found the seat fans nice for running errands on a particularly hot Southern California day; they'd be an even bigger relief on steamy summer days in the South, East Coast or Midwest. Big plush armrests and two sizes of concealed cup holders complement the firm seats. Infiniti is better than the Germans at cup holders. There's a hatch under the center armrest for flat things, below which lies another, deeper compartment. The center dash is dominated by the navigation system with a seven-inch LCD screen and climate and audio controls. Infiniti put a lot of effort into making its navigation system more useful. Among its features is a three-dimensional bird's-eye view, like looking down at an illustration of the ground from a hang glider. Like most navigation systems, it offers a choice of routes: shortest time, shortest distance, it can even point you to the nearest ferry, should you prefer to travel by sea. It will also tell you the location of the nearest ATM, hotel, restaurant or rest area. When running low on gas, it will ask you if you want it to find the nearest gas station, a feature we've found useful. A Previous button next to the toggle used to control some of the mapping functions gets you back to the previous screen, a very good feature. Shift into reverse and the screen displays what's behind the car, eyed by a tiny camera over the license plate. Unlike the video on shuttle buses, it's in living color. The backup lights aren't bright enough for the camera to work at night, and in the sunshine it's hard to see the screen. Still, this gadget can be useful for spotting children on tricycles, short posts and other objects you want to avoid. The climate controls use the screen as well and we found this to be fussy at times. To lower the fan speed, for example, you must press the Auto A/C button, then look at the screen to determine which of six buttons to press to lower the fan speed. Adjusting the temperature is easy: Simply turn a big knob on the left. Fortunately, there is an Off button to shut the climate control off. The stereo rocks. Operating it requires a little familiarization, however. The volume control is the big Audio knob on the right (rather than on the traditional left). Tuning stations is accomplished by a toggle in the center. Other functions demand pressing the big Audio button, then pressing the appropriate buttons indicated on the screen. (The map reappears after a few moments of inactivity.) Audio controls on the left side of the steering wheel help here. The new satellite radio systems can be great companions on long trips, delivering high-quality sound nearly everywhere. Not having to change stations on a cross-country trip has distinct advantages. We enjoy being able to keep up on current events, especially when traveling, by listening to FoxNews and CNN. Finding AM/FM stations is easy with RDS (radio data system), which clearly identifies programming on the radio's display. The climate control, stereo, and some navigation functions also respond to voice commands. Press a button on the steering wheel, wait for the beep, tell the dashboard what you want, and a woman's voice replies in the perfectly efficient tone of a super-secretary: "Climate control temper-a-ture, six-tee seven degrees." You can program all sorts of things to set themselves when you get in or out. The steering column lifts, the driver's seat adjusts, interior lights illuminate. Also handy is the tire-pressure monitor. The back seats are roomy and very comfortable. Back-seat passengers are provided with their own center console, plush armrests with cup holders, separate climate controls and sunshades. The Premium Package includes a power sunshade for the rear windscreen and manually pull-down sunshades for the side windows. Trunk space measures 13.6 cubic feet, a bit small when compared with the 17.5 cubic feet in the Lexus LS 430.

Driving Impressions

Everything about the 2005 Infiniti Q45 is smooth and easy. The ride quality is smooth and sophisticated. The suspension levels out the bumps really well on a straight road. Unlike many European cars, there's no jostling or head toss here, even on bumpy roads. The speed-sensitive power-steering feels very light. Its handling is responsive. This car feels long and is indeed a couple of inches longer than a Lexus LS 430. Though it handles well, we had little doubt of its size when driving quickly on winding roads. Still, it's easy to control when the tires squeal, and when you pitch this big baby it stays with you. The active damping suspension (standard) can be set in Sport mode, but we couldn't feel much difference between the Normal and Sport modes when the driving was sporty. Normal mode was firm enough to be good in the twisties. But we did feel a big difference over sharp bumps. You don't want to be in Sport mode over potholes or at slow speeds. So we couldn't find much use for Sport. If Normal were softer, then having two modes would be more useful. Run-flat tires (17-inch only) are available ($400). Nissan says they can run 50 miles at 55 mph after a puncture. They might significantly change the feel of the ride, making it harsher, but this is speculation as we have not tried them out. Run-flat tires have very stiff sidewalls, but tire makers continue to improve the ride quality. The most responsive handling comes from the Premium version with its 18-inch wheels and tires. The engine and transmission are very responsive. The Q's V8 engine provides lots of power: 340 horsepower. That compares with 290 horsepower from a Lexus LS 430. The 4.5-liter V8 feels particularly strong starting at 3000 rpm. The mid-range response is great, with a whopping 333 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. Its full-throttle upshifts at about 6500 rpm are exciting. A final-drive ratio of 3.13:1 adds to the Q45's lively character. The 32-valve, four-cam engine makes a wonderful growl, which you can mostly hear only with the window down. This is, after all, a luxury car. Shifting is silky smooth. The five-speed automatic transmission was very responsive, so we preferred to leave it in Drive. However, it does offer a manual mode: From Drive, push the wood-trimmed shift lever into a separate gate to the right, then move it fore or aft to change gears. The shifter engages with a satisfying click. The system is programmed to override the wishes of the driver when those wishes don't compute, however. The four-wheel anti-lock vented disc brakes are big, over 11 inches front and rear. The system includes electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), which balances front and rear brake force depending on the load. Passengers and cargo upset the brake balance in any car, as does the forward shifting of weight as the car stops, and EBD is designed to correct this, stopping the car quicker and more controllably. There's also Brake Assist, which reduces pedal effort under hard braking. Infiniti uses a simple mechanical system that reduces pedal pressure during panic stops when ABS is activated, unlike the German electronic systems that take over your brake pedal, presuming to know better than you what you want your car to do. Infiniti says that during testing of its system, stopping distances were reduced by more than 10 percent, which can make the difference between hitting and stopping before hitting the rear bumper in front of you. Vehicle Dynamic Control reduces power and applies the brakes at individual wheels when traction is lost at any wheel. We pushed the Q45 until the VDC corrected us, which it did subtly on a hard, sharp curve with loose gravel over pavement; we would have slid a few feet, but VDC caught the car. There's also a traction control system, which we liked better than the Mercedes-Benz system because it doesn't cut the throttle so radically or for so long. Intelligent Cruise Control (included in the Premium package) will maintain a set distance between your Q45 and the car ahead of you, slowing your car down when the car ahead slows down. Look ma, no feet. And if you close on the car ahead too quickly, the Preview Braking feature pre-pressurizes the Brake Assist system, optimizing brake response when you do finally wake up and step on the pedal. It works very well, but we recommend that you still pay attention to your driving.

Summary

The 2005 Infiniti Q45 is a superb performance luxury sedan, with awesome horsepower, unique styling, quality appointments, and a long list of clever conveniences. It's sportier than the Lexus LS 430 and it's bigger and sportier than a Mercedes E-Class. The Q45 is smooth and sophisticated and a terrific companion out on the open road.

New Car Test Drive editor Mitch McCullough is based in Los Angeles; Sam Moses contributed to this report.

www.nctd.com

Introduction

Infiniti has been the luxury arena's sales growth record-setter for more months than I can count. The G35 has multiplied like mosquitoes, the new M is doing 1,100% better than the last, and for the "bionic cheetah" FX it's looking like a victorious catfight. That's what happens when you boldly invade three fiercely competitive vehicle segments, look every competitor in the eye, and overpower and underprice the lot of them. Works every time. As the sole survivor of Infiniti's original cast, the Q45 has been around long enough to know that it wasn't always this way. It has definitely seen darker days; times like 1990 probably conjure up depressing memories of 12,000 annual unit sales. 15 years later, the Q45 is still the top dog, and it even learned some new tricks for 2005. In this enlightened era of redefined luxury, does it still have what it takes to stay atop the Infiniti heap?

Road Test

Reflecting the breakneck of change within the company, the all-new-for-02 Q45 is Infiniti's oldest design. Addressing one slip-up of the car it succeeded, this third-generation Q45 again lives up to its name now that the engine has been punched back up to 4.5 liters. Even in today's horsepower war, this 340-horse, 333-torque Infiniti outpowers and outgrunts competitors like the Audi A8 (330 HP), BMW 745i (325), Jaguar XJ8 (294), Lexus LS430 (290) and Mercedes S430 (275). Clue: that's all of them. In terms of specific output, it's also more efficient than all save the Audi. Okay guys, this blowing-the-doors-off-all-competitors thing is getting old! When you're fastest in a pack of V8 elitists, no request for speed goes unfulfilled, whether at rest, in the suburbs, or on the freeways. A more aggressive final-drive ratio (as of the 2003 model year) should have the Q45 easily beating Infiniti's 5.9-second 0-60 claim. There's certainly enough torque to snap your head back, but despite those racy TV ads you might have seen, the Q45 is a gentle giant. Its cabin lets in very little roar despite all the underhood fury, and the transmission's kickdown is nearly imperceptible even when you nail the pedal to the floor. How do you like that: a car so well-mannered, it compensates for your uncivil behavior. It likes to keep a calm order to pretty much all the proceedings. The ride is comfortable at absolutely all times and the steering, which retains the road-speed-sensitive variability of all past Q45, is definitely on the light side. That also goes for the gas pedal, contrasting noticeably with the rock-hard pedal in Infiniti's new M. The brakes, likewise, are the opposite of both the M and G35, responding gradually instead of suddenly to your foot's signals. I expected all this to leave me a bored motorist with an aching leg over the course of a week but was proven wrong on both counts. The steering always kept up, and if there's one Infiniti that provokes no complaints about either of its pedals, it's this one. "Intelligent" cruise control maintains a set distance between you and the car ahead. While suppression of road noise falls just short of world-class, the otherwise hushed Q makes a great cruiser. If the Infiniti Q45 is trying to be a Lexus LS430, it's doing a pretty good job.
But when you attack a mountain road in a Q45, you'll find yourself surrendering in short order. Taking twists and turns anywhere close to 40 MPH summons a chorus of squeals and skids from the front tires, with the stability control cutting in every few seconds to break your stride. This, by the way, is with the optional 18-inch wheels. When I drove through similar adventures in a 2006 Infiniti M35 Sport, the car just nudged me with "is that all you've got?" while all the Q45 had to say was "HAVE MERCY!" Switching the two-way (or 1.5-way) electronic adjustable suspension from Auto to Sport had no effect on handling or ride through the seat of my pants. Since the Q45 is neither under-tired nor grossly imbalanced, I couldn't help but wonder if the decision to use simple struts for the front suspension had something to do with this. By nature, struts are a cost-cutting compromise with inferior camber control, not conducive to letting tires reach maximum roadholding potential. You also have to wonder if the already-comfortable ride could be made even more exceptional. Infiniti's downmarket M and G cars get multiple links in their suspensions; why not the Q? Bigger question: do the words "cost cutting" belong in association with a $57,000 flagship? There isn't much sport in the transmission, either - what appears to be a manumatic shifter isn't. You can't choose what gear to be in; you can only specify the maximum gear it will shift up to, hence why you can put it in "5" even when stopped. In light of the Q45's alleged performance mission, this was even more disappointing than coming across the same scam in the Toyota Avalon. It also lacks the match-rev downshifting program that has made its way into other Infinitis. At least it doesn't upshift for you in manual mode, and when you let this automatic think for itself, it reeks of the usual genius Nissan programming, which matters more. Here's the bottom line: for all of you fans of the invigorating 90-93 Q45 waiting for the sequel, don't hold your breath. This third-generation model may be the fastest in history, but in every other way it's closer to the second than the first. As far as the Q45 goes, Infiniti stopped chasing BMW a long time ago.

 Inside and Out

The easiest thing to notice about the 2005 redo is the view from behind. Family resemblances are all the rage these days, and the new, more attractive L-shaped taillights mimic Infiniti's golden-child G35. "The world's most powerful" HID headlights still decorate the Q45's face in Gatling-gun style.
Did 2002 mark some kind of outbreak of ergonomitis in the world's interior styling departments? The Q45's dash isn't as maddening as iDrive, but it makes a lot less sense than it could, or once did. The radio, air conditioner, and navigation fight for attention within one screen and one set of buttons, so inputting any command entails first pressing the AUDIO, AUTO, or MAP buttons, which are scattered. There's the choice between having it stay in the most recently selected mode or always reverting back to the nav screen after X seconds, but the lack of flexibility is annoying either way. Lastly, the central all-purpose knob tilts around and presses down a little unsteadily. And of the four other knobs, three are in the wrong place. Aside from the driver's AC button, the others should be rotated clockwise: the hazard button should be way on the far side since no one needs it, the passenger's AC knob should be a right-side mirror image of the driver's, and the stereo control should be next to the driver. Common sense, folks. Something worth celebrating: the interior stylists have been rescued from their 1985 mental time warp so that the cassette deck, formerly enshrined as the dashboard's shameful centerpiece, has been banished to the glove compartment. In its place sits a proper 6-disc CD changer. And above that, of course, is Infiniti's timeless analog clock, no pun intended. You can operate most of this stuff with voice commands. So once you memorize a new language and unlearn the habit of speaking in complete sentences, you can do such things as: tell all passengers to shut up, press the VOICE button, shout "RADIO PRESET THREE!", wait for the computer to take a few seconds, repeat "RADIO SELECT PRESET THREE!" back to you, and change the station. I think I'd rather just press the button marked "3" directly, thanks. At least Infiniti didn't (yet) try to reinvent the key as it did on the new M. Here, the remote fob itself doubles as the key and a traditional ignition slot sits on the dash, just as God intended. If you're in the process of parking and there's a great song on the radio, you can still turn off the engine without killing it. No one-way push-button starter nonsense here. Most other driver's news is positive. The old-style steering wheel controls are just like the 2002 Nissan Altima's - intuitive, symmetrical, perfect - and beat Infiniti's newer designs any day. If you like to mix dead cows with dead trees on your steering wheel, know that Infiniti's wood is real, and the leather is soft and plush. The interior is airy and grand, and the seat coolers take the sweat out of summer. While the driving position is mostly comfortable, I couldn't get rid of the sharp protrusion stabbing me right in the spinal cord no matter how I set the lumbar support. This car lost a few points with me there. Whoever's in the center-rear faces a similar problem. Because the armrest that serves as his backrest also houses an auxiliary set of AC and climate controls (on Q45s with the Premium Package), he's basically resting on a hard block of electronics padded by a thin layer of leather. I imagine this would get old after about half an hour. So would straddling the center driveline hump.
The Q45 makes a better four-passenger car, but still not ideal: outboard passengers must deal with power seats that clamp down on toes. The seats are comfortable otherwise, and they recline. They also have sunshades for their windows; the driver controls the power sunshade for the back window. The pretty good sound of the 300-watt, 8-speaker Bose has little chance of rivaling the Lexus Mark Levinson as the world's supposedly best stereo. And where's my MP3 playback, DVD playback, or digital 5.1 surround-sound processing? Speaking of which, where are my Bluetooth cell phone hookups? Swiveling headlights? The M35 can get all this stuff; why not the Q?

Other Thoughts

With the Jaguar XJ8, Audi A8, BMW 745i, and Mercedes S430 at $61,995, $67,310, $70,595, and $77,020, Infiniti still looks like the affordable one (relatively speaking). A slight 2005 price increase puts the Q45, long the least expensive in its class, just a smidge above the Lexus LS430: $57,010 vs. $56,875. Brave. There's one main option: a Premium Package that adds 18-inch wheels, Intelligent Cruise Control, perforated leather, front seat heaters/coolers, reclining heated rear seats with climate/audio controls and sunshades, power rear sunshade, full-size spare, and XM or Sirius satellite radio, for $5,800.

With one glance of those numbers, the Q45 seems to share the bang-for-buck advantage of its G35 and M little brothers. But think back to the Q45's interior: does "generally comfortable" cut it? Take one ride in the back of a BMW 7-series and you'll feel like you're sitting in the Astrodome; no one will feel that way in the Q's quarters. Despite the vast dimensions, inefficient packaging keeps it stuck in the EPA "mid-size" category while all others, save the Jaguar, graduated to "large" some time ago. Aside from snobbery, super-roomy seating is the only point of stepping up to this class, isn't it?
That's the peculiar thing about the Infiniti lineup: they've got a trio of sedans with vastly different sizes, vastly different prices, and pretty much the same interior space. That reflects honorably on the G35, which ends up being a BMW 5-series for $20,000 off, but it's not so stellar for the Q45, which gets knocked down to that league despite aspirations of competing in a higher one. If you agree with this assessment, the Q45 is only a fair deal, and most of its competitors make better driver's cars. That goes for Infiniti's own as well. If you look at the 2006 M45, you'll be looking at a faster, smaller, lighter, more modern piece of work with more room, more comfortable seats, more trunk, much better handling, a more capable suspension, DVD audio, all the latest gadgets, a much smarter driver interface, and a price ten grand south of the Q45's sticker. Here's a question that should draw your mind blank: what does a Q45 do better than an M45?

Last Word

Infiniti has three sedans. Two of them reek of class-leading excellence and unparalleled value. This is the third. It's time for a new leader.

www.automotive.com