Test drive Infiniti QX4 1997 - 2001 SUV
Leather. Wood. Infinity
We continue the story about the tops of SUVs. This time - Infiniti QX4. Under this brand, Nissan acts on the American market. All Infiniti cars are characterized by increased luxury and prestigious image - whether it be a sedan of the highest class Infiniti Q45 or easier - Infiniti i30 and Infiniti J30. 
Most of the models of this brand have the ancestors in the Nissan gamut. So, for Infiniti i30 it is Nissan Maxima, and for Infiniti J30 - Nissan Leopard. The Infiniti QX4 SUV that appeared in the 1997 model year is not an exception, which is adapted to the requirements of today's Nissan Terrano market, known in the United States as Pathfinder. We will not dwell on the description of the body - a large number of Terrano/Pathfinder of different ages are successfully operated on Russian roads, and you can easily find out a car with the handles of the rear side doors, which are characterized on the framework of glasses. The creators of the machine emphasize the unusualness of its design, which they call Monoframe - it combines the advantages of the frame and the carrier body.
At first glance, the Infiniti QX4 differs from Terrano only by nameplates on the hood and wheeled disks and a slightly changed front bumper, into which four additional headlights were cut - headlight and fog. Carefully looking at, you can find the differences in the deposits of the extensors of the wheeled arches and the moldings above the thresholds. The fact that the car increased all its dimensions by good ten centimeters does not immediately catch the eye. Maybe because the main impression that QX4 makes is stability and solidity. 
At first, it seems that the car can be put on a par with Jeep Grand Cherokee and Opel Frontera - the discreet body design does not seem to meet the concept of luxury. But you open the door - and everything is immediately clear. The salon is solid skin, not only the seats, the steering wheel and the head of the checkpoint, but also the door panels, and partially the tunnel on the floor are sheathed. 
A wide footboard passes along the entire body, called, according to the plan of designers, to facilitate the entrance to the salon. The idea was not fully implemented, since only women in skirts or men of small stature use it for its intended purpose, everyone else strives to step into the car immediately from the ground, inevitably smelling of the bandwing. But it perfectly protects the lower part of the body from water and dirt flying from under the wheels. 
When opening, doors are recorded in three positions. Before climbing inside, it is worth turning on the heating of the seats: the skin on them is luxurious, but it is painfully cold to the touch. The heater is double -mode, extremely effective - after a couple of minutes at the maximum it is already hot, you need to switch. The joysticks that control the front seats are successfully performed and the keys that regulate the tilt of the backs. By configuration, they correspond to the shape of the chair, so that, moving them up and down and back and forth, you can easily achieve perfect landing. The steering column is regulated only in height, but in such a wide range that the driver of any complexion will not feel. A steering wheel with a built-in airbag and a cruise control keys lies perfectly in his palms. Despite the chubby central insert and a small diameter, the steering wheel allows you to easily control the instrument panel. It is somewhat ascetic, but everything you need is, even a tachometer. It seems to be strange: why is he by car with a clinic box? Probably, in order not to twist the motor when driving on low gear on off -road.
In the center of the torpedo, crawling onto the beard, there is a chic walnut panel. It frames the climate control control panel with automatic and manual modes and the Bose music center. This very serious device consists of a CD player, radio and radio. Six multi -lane columns sound great. Under the music, a switch is installed that allows you to choose a full or only rear -wheel drive on the go and block the center differential. The reduction of the reduced row of gears is carried out by a lever to the left of the checkpoint selector. The selected transmission mode displays the icon on the tachometer scale. Above the intra -axial rear view mirror is a liquid crystal display showing the temperature in the cabin and overboard, as well as time. There are also the buttons to control the hatch in the roof and individual bulbs for sitting in front.
When the front seats and I moved back, we even took a little taken aback. The difference is colossal. How thoughtful and carefully executed the front seats are so formally made by the rear. Of course, the pillows are perfectly sewn, the back is adjusted according to the slope, there are armrests with walnut inserts, but in general - a completely banal sofa, harsh, with undeveloped relief, without heating - nothing luxury. But it is spacious here. Places for comfortable placement of even three tall men in excess. However, with QX4 dimensions, this does not surprise.
In the large cargo compartment for the jack and a certain number of wounds, special niches are provided. The trunk can be fenced off with a net in a set, for example, for example, the dog there does not climb into the salon. Unsuccessfully - for Russian conditions - a spare wheel is placed. It is suspended on the lowered bracket in the rear overhang of the car and is not protected from either road mud or thieves. True, the bracket castle is located inside the cabin, but this is unlikely to stop a person armed with scrap, and rubber of 245/70 R16 is in sustainable demand.
The back door rises in an almost vertical position, allowing you to approach the car close when loading or unloading. In a fine day, moving along an overly road, you can raise the rear window - for ventilation or transportation of long items.
Looking under the hood, you understand that the times when the driver could independently, on the side of the road, eliminate any insignificant breakdown, irrevocably went into the past. The engine (3.3 liters of V6, 168 hp) is covered with a web of hoses, wires, tubes, covered with sensors, relay, some boxes with clearly electronic filling. All this is the intricacies of current-material-banzo and hydraulic pipelines resembles the insides of a computer, not a car. Of the acquaintances of each item, only a battery, a distributor cover and an oil probe. It's time to try the car on the go. On the ring next to the ignition key, there is a remote control key control and a central lock. Two buttons with understandable characters are controlled openly and openly covered. A successful solution - there are no familiar fluids in the upper part of the door cladding, the locks are combined with the inner door handles and are not visible through the glass. Forgetting once again to use the footboard, I easily fall into the salon. The key to the lock, turn, and the even and bass sound of the revived engine becomes heard. To enable the R or D mode, it is necessary to squeeze the brake. The transmission is turned on softly, with distinct fixation. When the brake pedal is released, the car is slightly supplied forward, as if strain, but until you touch the gas - it stands still.
The QX4 starts confidently and smoothly, sensitively reacting to the power of pressing the pedal. A fairly powerful and very painful engine makes the car in sporting temperamental. The programs switch completely imperceptibly for riders, somewhere around 3-3.5 thousand about/min., When moving uphill-closer to the 4th thousand. In addition to the standard lower positions of the machine, blocking the inclusion of the second and third gears, on the lever under the headman there is an Overdrive button that turns off the highest gear. The character of the car at the same time changes noticeably - you can shoot quite sharply, promoting the engine to 5.5-6 thousand about/min. On the highway, this is useless, and the fuel consumption increases, but in the city, when you need to make someone quickly, just right. For an American car, Infiniti QX4 is a completely non -characteristic suspension. All pure Americans previously tested by our magazine sinned with excessive softness, wolfness, due to the fact that they are designed for good highways. This car is a pleasant exception. Its hard and elastic suspension is great for domestic roads. When overcoming coating defects, tram tracks, snow bruises and other obstacles, shock absorbers instantly extinguish any impetus. Entering a steep turn at considerable speed, I automatically strained my back muscles, preparing to compensate for the body's roll. He tensed in vain. The body almost did not roll, only the centrifugal force made it possible to make sure the safety belt once again made sure.
No less confidently the car overcomes a bunch of several multidirectional turn and is rebuilt in the stream. The maneuver is facilitated by the fact that the surrounding environment is well controlled due to high planting, large glazing areas and large mirrors.
The tests were carried out during the thaw, the roads were covered with porridge from the water, snow and some rubbish, which is sprinkled with snow instead of cleaning it.
It quickly became clear that the suspension raised by the wheels of passing cars is very willing to settled on the rear window. I had to constantly turn on the janitor and washer. Meanwhile, the supply of fluid in the tank is limited, the unclean rear window with its transparency resembled a plywood sheet.
Some air flow deflector would be quite appropriate here.
Another feature is that if the car drives into a deep puddle at high speed, the water from under the front wheels covers it with the head, filling the windshield and overlapping through the roof. Future owners, remember: if the road is large puddles, do not open the hatch completely, or move more precisely, because drying and cleaning the leather salon are unpleasant procedure. And expensive.
Picking up the streets, for which the car is mainly intended, they decided to try it in a situation close to the combat one. To do this, in mind there was a place where we took Ssangyong and Pajero a year ago in our hands. The conditions are the same - under the wheels melt snow, all -season rubber, there is no insurance, but this time they took the shovel.
Off -road arsenal of a car: an intended viscose coupling with the possibility of blocking, a differential of high friction from the back. Turn on all -wheel drive, the box selector in position 1D. The car carefully moves off the rut and, falling down the hub, slowly rolls along the virgin lands. Right at the course of the hill of degrees at 30, at the beginning of the rise - the snow is deeper. The main thing is not to make unnecessary movements, do not change the speed and not twist the steering wheel. In the middle of the slope, the car begins to slip. We do not let him seduce - we roll back and, turning on a low gear in the handout and d - in automatic, resuming the rise. We get to the place achieved on the first attempt, the engine rumbling like a well -fed cat, no more than 1.5 thousand turns. Having advanced on the case, weakes again. To the top of the hill - only two meters. It's a shame, but you have to return. The third attempt. The selector - 2D, lowered transfer, and almost complete gas. Having slipped through the old traces and spraying the fountains of snow, we fly up. Encouraged by success, we climb the hill again - now in a spiral. A couple of times, when the size of the side roll reached a critical magnitude, it was necessary to go down, losing hardly conquered meters. Having made one and a half round, we again find ourselves at the top. We feel like the Papanis at the pole, only the flag is not enough. However, the delights ended when, on the descent that had not been foreseen to the troubles, we drove into a ditch covered with snow. The front bumper buried himself in a snowdrift, the wheels turned, and the car lay down on the belly in heavy and wet snow. The audience gathered gloomily grinned: jumped? Cool.
Psychological study. Two years ago, a village tractor driver for 5 hours pierced my VAZ -2107 road - 10 kilometers through the snow -covered field. For the labors I took a bottle of Smirnoff. The passengers of the black SUV agreed to help 5 people - 2 meters had to be overcome. They requested $ 20 for a brother, however, they would have to work manually.
In the budget of our editorial office there is no article, extracting tested cars from snowdrifts, so they decided to get out on their own. They tried different gears - to no avail. They started digging. We pierced the trench behind the front wheels, installed a jack in it. Hinging the right and left sides alternately, they threw the hole with found boards, branches and old tires. The front wheels received support. Further - easier: they dug up a likeness of a ramp for the rear axle, turned on the lowest gears and, on the first attempt, got out of the snow trap. Conclusion is the first: not knowing the ford .... Conclusion is the second: in winter, the tires should be winter. The third conclusion: you often go to nature - do not be too lazy to equip the car with a winch. The return to civilization was calm and ordinary. Cars habitually parted, it was worth only turning on the turn signal when leaving the park alley. Familiarly pressed into the back of the seat, it was worth only to press the gas pedal.
Impression. Infiniti QX4 is a beautiful car. The most obvious advantages - the work of suspension and handling - are best manifested on the highway or city streets. The interior decoration fully meets the requirements for the luxury category. It’s in vain by J. D. Power included this car in the list of the best compact SUVs of America in 1997. But it seems that the car is quite suitable for operation in Russia. Evgeny Romantovsky
Source: Motor magazine [No. 2/1998]
