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“Infiniti’s goal is to establish a concept of automotive luxury where a personal and rewarding driving experience is more important than the car alone.” That was part of Infiniti’s original launch announcement in the fall of 1989. It appears that with the all-new Infiniti EX35, the automaker continues to remain true to that goal.
Originally unveiled at the 2007 New York Auto Show as a concept car, the production version of the all new, 2008 Infiniti EX35, which the company describes as, “the fusion of a luxury coupe and a sport utility vehicle,” made its debut at the annual Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach, and should be hitting showroom floors right about now.
Walkaround: The EX35 has some similarities to the much larger FX35, with a long hood and front-end styling that looks remarkably similar to the design of the newly restyled G37 Coupe. It’s a sleek, refined look featuring a waveline flowing from where the hood meets the grille along the beltline to the sculpted, LED-illuminated taillights. The standard 17-inch, and optional 18-inch, 8-spoke aluminum alloy wheels are positioned at the corners with short overhangs. When you first see it, the immediate question in your mind will be, “Is this a tall coupe (the roofline is only eight inches higher than the G37), a sports sedan, or a small to mid-size SUV?” The short answers are Yes, Yes, and Yes.
In terms of basic design, the EX35 looks more like a sports sedan than an SUV. However, based on the same FM platform found under the Infiniti G, M, and FX models, the one point everyone will agree on, is that the Infiniti EX35 is very stylish, and quite unique. Larry Dominique, vice president of product planning for Infiniti, told automotive journalists attending the EX35’s press debut in Santa Monica, “We believe it’s a segment of one.” That just might not be the usual hyperbole automotive PR guys regularly dish out to the press.
One very advanced feature is Infiniti’s exclusive, “self-healing” clear coat, Scratch Shield paint. It’s soft and flexible underneath, so if you scratch it, as the surface warms in the sunlight, paint flows into the scratch, “healing’ it so it looks new again. You have to see this to believe it.
Interior: The sumptuously appointed interior offers a choice of what Infiniti calls “4-Season” colors. The base trim is a handsome black lacquer, with graduated finish maple as an option. There’s plush, comfortable, form-fitting leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel that’s thick and feels good in your hands, and one really thoughtful item — a coat hanger mounted on the back of the driver’s headrest.
The whole cockpit layout, from instrumentation to seating, is driver-oriented — but delivers exceptional passenger comfort as well. The EX35 interior just feels more like a sports sedan than an SUV.
Second row power folding seats are standard, making it easy to access the large, flexible cargo area from the rear doors or the rear top-hinged hatchback.
Being a luxury vehicle, the EX35 features all the usual power trappings — windows, door locks, mirrors, seats, AM/FM/CD, etc., plus a truckload of high-tech, options.
Technology and Options: The EX35 offers a full array of “gee-whiz,” yet intuitive, high-tech features. Perhaps the coolest is the built-in Around View Monitor (AVM) system that has front, side and rear mounted cameras feeding into software that creates a constant image of what’s all around the car. Using the center-mounted console Navigation System screen, the driver can see right up to the mirrors when parking, all but eliminating blind spots.
Infiniti engineers have also taken the concept of Lane Departure Warning to the next level, with a new Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system, that assists the driver in maintaining lane positioning if the car inadvertently starts to drift. It works using the Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system to gently adjust the brakes to bring the car back in line.
Other high-tech features include a welcome lighting system that works off the Intelligent Key. Puddle lamps and interior lights illuminate automatically when the driver approaches, and activates memorized seating and steering wheel positions.
An 11-speaker, Bose premium sound system with 24-bit Burr Brown Audio Converter and 6-disc changer is available, as is an iPod interface, compact flash drive slot, 9.3 gigabyte Music Box hard drive for mp3 storage, a hard drive-based Navigation system, Bluetooth, Homelink garage door opener, and dual-zone climate controls, as well as XM satellite radio and XM’s real-time NavTraffic system.
Under The Hood: The EX35 is powered by the Nissan’s workhorse 3.5-liter, V6 powerplant. It puts 297 spirited ponies to the pavement, with 253 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. It’s married to a five-speed automatic transmission, and is available with both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive (AWD).
Behind The Wheel: It’s difficult to determine if the EX35 is meant to be a sports sedan, an SUV, or a full-blown sports car. It seemingly fulfills all three roles equally well. Handling is excellent thanks to front double-wishbone and real multi-link suspension, with dual flow pass shock absorbers. Steering is responsive without being heavy, and braking is excellent thanks to four wheel-discs.
This is one sweet ride. We drove the new EX35 in a wide variety of situations in and around Santa Monica, as well as freeway driving, on both flat and winding 2-lane country blacktops, and through the canyons above Beverly Hills and Malibu, including the famed Mulholland Drive loop over the hills. It handled and responded excellently, with spirited acceleration under all conditions. It was fun to drive and when pushed really hard, just begged for more, seemingly asking, “Is that all you got?”
Bottom Line: Infiniti has hit another Grand Slam with EX35. Besides being a “right sized” vehicle inside and out, it features all the high-tech goodies, sumptuous luxury, AWD, and all the functionality and room of an SUV, with sports sedan handling and performance. Frankly, I‘m really looking forward to driving it again.
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