Test drive Infiniti FX 2002 - 2008 SUV

Sportsman with large wheels

There is no great need to describe the appearance of the FX - the SUV has long become embankment on Russian roads. Maybe he will not seem a handsome man for many, but why FX definitely cannot be taken away, it is identity. The first association, which is born when looking at the SUV in the profile - boot, in the future, spectacular BMW Z3 Coupe pops up in the span. In each line of this Infiniti, you can read a protest against traditions and a bright personality bordering with a rebellion. Many SUV designers are racking their heads over how to make a spectacular front of the machine. In a large car, it turns out high, however, narrow headlights are now in fashion. So you have to invent huge radiator grilles that kill individuality, and use high headlights that visually reduce the height of the front. FX designers decided on an experiment and retained narrow predatory headlights with a fairly large front bumper. If you disassemble in details, then such a solution does not seem very successful, but in general, Infiniti's appearance causes exclusively positive emotions.
Of course, the pursuit of a spectacular silhouette could not affect the size of the cabin - a huge hood ate part of the useful volume, but this is already a matter of priorities. Anyone who wants to get a comfortable and practical car will rather prefer a huge Audi Q7 or something from a line of SUV Mercedes - the benefit of the lack of offers in this segment does not obviously suffer from this segment. But Infiniti has practically no such stylistically bright rivals, except that the new BMW X5 can be compared with its charisma with FX, but this comparison is already more at the level of emotions and brands than appearance.
FX is a special car that is focused on buyers who want to purchase a catchy, pleasing eye of a vehicle. For transportation of boards to the cottage, you can hire a gazelle.
Emphontaneous external design was continued in the cabin - the 3 -spacecraft was borrowed from the Nissan 350Z sports car, and the instrument panel is also fixed on the steering column. The devices rise and fall along with the steering wheel, and by departure of the steering wheel is adjusted separately and for an unknown reason it lacks the range, I constantly wanted to take the steering wheel on myself. Other ergonomic miscalculations were found completely unexpectedly. For 3 days of the dough, I was not able to find the optimal landing - on the bumps a massive headrest regularly gave me slapers, but I could not lower my back to a larger corner, I could not reach the steering wheel. As if apologizing for the miscalculation, when the engine is turned off, the car helpfully draws the steering wheel into itself and pushes the driver's seat back, facilitating the landing and landing. Apart from the hard head restraints, the profiles of the front seats are very good - they are firmly held in corners, they would only be upholstery made of more noble leather, otherwise the gross dressing contrasts with the sophisticated image of Infiniti.
The control system of auxiliary functions seemed not very convenient to manage and not completely thought out. Almost all the functions of climate control and audio systems have their own placers of keys, on familiarization with which they had to spend a significant amount of time. It turns out that the rotating handle and the keys surrounding it are mainly responsible for the on -board computer, and sometimes they duplicate the keys of the audio system, which is more convenient to control on the steering wheel. The on -board computer was surprised by the diagram of the consumption instant flow rate only in the range of 15 liters per 100 km, any excess and it goes off scale. Provided that the declared consumption of gasoline with an Ix in the city is 19.9 liters per 100 km, such a scale can be called a mockery, it only indicates whether the gas pedal is pressed or released.
But the display itself turned out to be very practical, all the necessary information was collected on it, and when parking is the rear view camera, only in wet and dirty weather the camera lens is quickly sprayed, and you have to either go out and wipe it with a napkin, or parked in the sound.
On domestic, pretty broken roads, FX45 behaves as a real athlete. The body seems absolutely hard, and the suspension is not much softer. As a result, a large SUV carefully informs the driver about all the flaws in the work of the road workers, but at the same time it does not deviate from a given course by a centimeter. The large mass and accurate setting of the chassis are affected. It seems that getting an obstacle on his road that you will not have time to go around, sweeps it without even paying attention.
As expected, with such a rigid Infiniti suspension it is perfectly controlled - a compact sports steering wheel from 350z is a little heavy and clearly designed for men, but it lies great in his hands and uniformly performs all the driver’s commands, and the rolls are minimal. Huge 20-inch wheels hold on to asphalt, like glued. If you deliberately overdo it at a speed in a turn (it is almost impossible to do this by chance), then for discharge of gas fx it will be even more grabbed into the asphalt, but the skidding will not allow an active driving, congenital protection against drifts allows you to almost constantly use FX with a disabled stabilization system. Otherwise, the electronics too sharply limits the engine power: if the front wheels slide off the turn, this does not contribute to safety and does not allow to accelerate after passing the turn.
The 4.5 V8 engine develops 328 hp, and with this volume it simply must be traction. At low speeds, he publishes his branded rumbling, which used to be heard only under the hood of a real American. At the same time, the motor easily spins up to 7000 rpm and ends with a 2-ton all-terrain vehicle with excellent dynamics. A 5-speed automatic is very successful. A stretched fifth gear allows when moving along a highway at a constant speed of 100 km/h to consume 9-10 liters of gasoline. But this is only in conditions close to ideal - when under the wheels even asphalt and cruise control is turned on. With a moderately active ride outside the city, the on-board computer stably shows 15-16 liters per 100 km, in the city the consumption jumps to 18-20. Well - powerful cars never suffered from a lack of Apetite, and each time, visiting the gas station and giving almost 2000 rubles for a full tank, I felt that I was crying for my blood.
There was no desire to evaluate the off -road qualities of FX, beautiful painted bumper and a hard suspension on large wheels do not really contribute to the capture of barriers, it is better to leave them for Gelandwagen or Pajero. Infiniti FX - a car for those who want to have a sports car for every day, but for some reason cannot start it. The machine is perfectly adapted for winter, and on the road in front of it parted. FX breakdowns can not be particularly afraid of the experience of three years of operation of a sufficiently large number of gray Infiniti FX in Russia indicates the high reliability of these machines. In addition, now the problems of servicing SUVs should become significantly less official dealers offer their customers a privileged service.
By the way, in the light of the latest car premieres, the prices for Infiniti FX no longer seem to be as sky -high as before. For example, the basic version of the FX35 ELEAGANCE with a 280-horsepower engine of 3.5 liters with xenon headlights, 18-inch wheels, Bose audio system with 11 speakers, chip-circuit chip, leather interior with electroregulations with memory and decoration of the salon with wood costs 69 900 dollars, which is 2000 pre-sophition than a 250-horsepower Audi TT. Do not be surprised that I am comparing an SUV with a sportkup, ideologically these machines are very close, and the technical characteristics are quite comparable.
The Premium equipment is characterized by the presence of a DVD player and a hinged 7-inch display for the rear passengers, as well as 20-inch wheels and a sports suspension. The price is 73,500 dollars. Similar to the equipment of the FX45 is estimated at $ 82,900.
If I had an extra 70-80 thousand dollars in my pocket, Infiniti would be one of the main applicants for my wallet, and I would most likely choose the most modest version of the FX35 ELEGANCE with a more comfortable suspension and, I hope, a slightly lower fuel consumption.
Leonid Pavlov
 
 

Source: Carclub.ru