Test drive Infiniti M45 2003 - 2005 Sedan

Representative sedan with V8 engine

In February 2005, the Infiniti M45 car appeared on the US automobile market. The analogue of this car in Japan is Nissan Fuga, and we can say that the FUGA lineup was replenished with a new modification equipped with a 4.5-liter engine. In anticipation of the appearance of Infiniti M45 on the Japanese market, it was tested by the journalist Navi Suzuki Mahito.
You can't take sports alone
2004 marked the appearance of new generations of Toyota Crown Majesta and Honda Legend, as well as a new model in the Nissan - Fuga line. Thus, the three-assemblers presented to the public court of their vision of what should be and what the highest class car should look like. And it is very significant that the greatest recognition (I judge only by sales!) The Toyota Crown Majesta car achieved.
What played a decisive role here? Is it not the fact that Crown Majesta is equipped with an 8-cylinder engine? For this circumstance, Honda and Nissan tried to find an adequate, as it seemed to them, reply, making the main bet on giving their cars a more sports look. But, as the further course of events showed, in order to win the dispute between the representatives of the representative class, only sports alone is clearly not enough.
Whatever you say, but you can’t particularly argue with the customer choice. And therefore, it is not at all surprising that among the modifications of Fuga there is an option with the V8 engine. The appearance of this machine in the Japanese market is planned for the summer of this year, although it has already been sold in North America since February under the Infiniti M45 label. Thus, in the near future we will be able to observe the fight of the Infiniti and Lexus brands already in Japanese territory.
After all, as everyone knows, Lexus cars will begin to be sold in Japan in the order of reimport in the summer. And now, Nissan, apparently, also decided to put his luxury brand on stage. Moreover, if earlier the Lexus brand fought with the Toyota brand and its representative model Crown Majesta, now the struggle will unfold in a slightly different plane: the V8 sedan against the same sedan from Nissan.
Interestingly, the first machine, which overcame the notorious threshold of power of power of 280 horsepower, was the Honda Legend with its 300 hp, but it is not she entering the battle of 8-cylinder engines, but the FUGA V8, which in power has significantly surpassed the legend. After all, the engine installed on Infiniti M45 develops a power of 335 horses. And although, in all likelihood, the variant of this machine, which is prepared for Japanese buyers, will have a power level that is slightly underestimated against the basic model, it will still be something extraordinary. No wonder for Fuga, as you know, the Shift Performance advertising slogan is selected (which can be approximately translated as exceeding efficiency). So, we can say with confidence that the new M45 follows this installation.
Internal equipment similarly fuga
At an external examination, the M45 immediately striking four nozzles of a double muffler. In addition, as you remember, the modification with a 6-cylinder engine (V6) is standardly equipped with 17-inch wheels. But for modification with V8, discs have been prepared in size at 18 inches. And if someone is not enough for someone, he can be offered wheels and 19th size. Exactly the same option will also act in relation to the Japanese version of the car.
Since I was forbidden to travel to public roads, the Infiniti M45 test drive had to limit myself to the test track of the Nissan tochiga plant. And so I first overcame the section of the highway, having a rise and descent (the so -called high -speed circle). Then it was the turn to go through the segment of the track, where the uneven road surface is complemented by steep turns (the site is called the road to evaluate quality). The Nissan Fuga V6 of the Japanese configuration also turned out to be here, so I had the opportunity to compare how both cars behave in exactly the same conditions.
It is clear that, sitting behind the wheel Infiniti M45, I was on the left. But this is perhaps the only difference between him and Nissan Fuga. Well, perhaps the Start button is located on the right side of the steering wheel, and not on the left. Another difference - for some reason in the American version of the car, there is no adjustment that allows you to protect the interior from the sound and vibration of the engine, but it will be provided for a Japanese buyer. Slowly and smoothly press the gas pedal. And just as slowly and smoothly, the car moves out of place. And after that someone will continue to say that Nissan has all the cars with a hole? Although what am I talking about? After all, such smoothness is the necessary attribute of the representative of the representative class.
Will the price of the machine exceed 5 million yen?
First of all, I go out on a high-speed segment of the test route and give a full move in a straight line. I admit, at first I decided that acceleration to 100 km/h is going too slowly. But then I realized: after all, the speedometer scale is marked in miles!. In this case, I can say: the speed is not felt at all while I am thinking about 100 km/h, it is actually approaching 200. I will immediately describe my impressions and the first sensations at the wheel of Fuga V6. They can be designated in one expression: quite noisy. Judge for yourself: you feel that the engine is trying with all his might, and it is clear that the result of these efforts does not force itself to wait long, but the feeling that you are leading a representative of a representative class does not appear. In a word, a completely different car, and that’s it.
However, when my M45 went to the site with cubble turns, I immediately felt the severity in the front of the body. This severity did not allow the car to jump on the road uncontrollably, as it took place with Fuga V6. And, which is characteristic, the M45, shod in 19-inch wheels, exactly reproduced all the bumps of the road surface and did not allow me to completely relax at the wheel. However, I felt the same in Fuga V6. Therefore, I have a persistent belief: I always need to choose wheels that are included in the standard equipment, unless, of course, you put the external gloss at the forefront.
There are still no specifics in terms of detailed equipment and all amounts requested for this. But judging by the price at which the M45 is sold in the USA, it can be assumed that in Japan it will be well sold even at a price of 5 million yen (about $ 48,000).
Of course, when evaluating the M45, it cannot be avoided by its comparison with Toyota Crown Majesta. And in whose side will this comparison be? On the one hand, the Fuga V8 seems to cannot but be cheaper than Majesta with its amazing noiselessness and a huge volume of salon. On the other hand, if you evaluate this pair from the point of view of a person buying a car, in order to drive it himself, the power that is laid down in the new Fuga with an 8-cylinder engine makes it quite a worthy competitor. And since a 280-horsepower power restriction is no longer required, Japanese cars as a whole will only benefit from the fact that 8-cylinder engines will begin to put on them. And the point here is not only in increasing power, but that the field is formed where you can seriously compete with cars, which until recently have always been imported from abroad.
Technical characteristics Infiniti M45
Dimensions (length / width / height) 4840 mm / 1795 mm / 1510 mm
Wheel base 2900 mm
V8 DOHC engine, 4.5 liters, 32-valve
Power 335 hp at 6400 vol./min.
Torque 47.0 kg/m at 4000 rpm.
The rear drive
 

Author: Suzuki Mahito
Photo: Arakawa Masao (Arakawa Masao)
March 2005

Source: webcg