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Infiniti Q45
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Comments
Oh and next week the dealership I work for flies me down to Texas moter speedway to do hot laps in the Q45 along with side by side comparisons to the Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, and Jag.
Thanks
Greg
Are they really as troublesome as this town hall makes them out to be?
Exterior
Bottom Line: This is not a pretty car. The pictures on the Infiniti website are, in my opinion, artist enhancements. The actual car has a shorter, more lopped off front end as well as the same for the back end. The website pictures make the car look lower and more sleek than it actually is. I think most people will have a hard time getting past the car's looks and this will undoubtedly hurt sales.
Interior
Again, it looks cool on the website but when you actually sit in the car, the dash/console design appear to intrude into the driver area, rendering it not as classy as the previous design. This might just be a perception on my part but the interior felt strikingly similar to the Lexus GS300. The leather, however, was top grade.
The Ride
No surprise here that the car had plenty of power and the ride was extremely smooth and quiet. I pressed it hard through several 90 degree left and right turns and while there was noticeable body roll, the tires did not break. This was the standard model equipped with Bridgestone Turanzas. It was definitiely more fun to drive than the Lexus LS430. I'd like to see how the performance package handles.
If nothing else Infiniti drew some of its styling from the S-class and some from its own imagination. The car looks even better in person than on the web site. Although I must admit. People who loved the look of the '97-'01 Q's may not like this one. The idea of this car is the same as the original Q. Which is to present something interesting in a class dominated by conservative design.
Don't listen to the post about the high maintenance costs...Yes, repairs can be high if something major like a trans or shocks need replacing, but if you use an independent garage it will be a lot less then the dealership.
I am on my 2nd Q45 and besides the routine oil changes at $39.00 a pop at the dealership, and the 60,000 mile service check...it still dosen't add up to $4,000. This is why I bought the a foreign car. Repairs are less frequent and cost less then a Mercedes or BMW.
I am even considering selling me 94Q and purchase my third Q45 (2001 because of the great dealer incentive they are currently offering.
Hope this helps,
Matt
1. Throttle response is not as responsive as '98 Lexus LS 400. The 2001 I30 rental car I drove felt more responsive. I had expected it to snap off line. But, I think I can live with this 'problem' (better for smoothness).
2. Door slam with typical Nissan car door sound. I expected it to sound more like Mercedes or Audi or even Volkswagen's doors when shut. The doors feels light too.
3. Love the rear styling. Very Audi A6 like. Car looks smaller than the size suggests. Hate the front.
4. love the rear view camera when reversing. Love the interior. I think it's designed more for 4 people than 5 people.
Verdict so far: Will wait 2 year for it to be face lifted the front style, or buy the 2002 model used then if the used price drops significantly.
I will evaluate more when I have a chance to test drive it longer.
With drop in 2000/2001 to $40K, what is a realistic price to pay for a 97 with approx. 30K. Thanks in advance. Any comments about buying this car on-line would also be appreciated.
Faster than a banshee. Funny thing is the car is so quiet you don't realize how fast it is. Much stronger low end response than anything in its class. Acceleration is smooth as silk. If you want the sport features without the smoke wood buy the Premium Pkg.
There were plenty of exterior photos. The interior ones were not quite as revealing. I saw the car at the DC auto show in December, and I could swear the tail looks slightly different now vs then. Interestingly, Infiniti told Autoweek that the headlight system was designed to illuminate the frontal area sufficiently so that fog lights were not necessary.
Autoweek also seemed to be impressed with the price/content equation when comparing it to a few of it's competitors. It'll be interesting to get some objective test results of handling numbers in order to see exactly which cars it measures up to (or outclasses). They were VERY impressed with the high-speed stability of the car.
The only nit they had with the car was the manumatic transmission shifting (should've tried it Don!). The upshifts were very slow, but the downshifts were fine. Using the transmission in automatic mode was judged fine as well.
Denny
Just to clarify my earlier post. Real wood trim is standard issue at 51,045.00 However if you want all the sport pkg. goodies without the smoke wood trim you would have to buy the premium model.
Well, if you think the New Q is ugly (an opinion with which I totally disagree) wait until you see the new 7 series.
John
Back: Audi A6
Side: Lincoln Continental
Front: J30 on steroids
I saw the Q45 in the showroom today and I think it's a good looking car from all view points. Many great features and a real bargan.
From one last picture of the AutoWeek magazine article, the black car, if viewed straight from the front looks like the Peugeot 504.
So, I guess when the designer mentioned that it's not American nor Japanese nor European, he must refer to France (European also, but, not in a Germanic way).
I received the old 2001 Q45 from Infiniti yesterday, even though I filled up the request after the site was updated with 2002 model already.
I think in this area (e-commerce), Lexus handled it better.
I actually prefer the sleek "Jaguar" looks of the 96's better than the uptight "Bentley" looks of the 97s and newer models, but do the newer models drive much better or are they more reliable.
In a way, I like the ES300 because it looks good, is easier to handle and park and gets better mileage. I can imagine horrific MPG on the Q45s.
I don't like the old-style I30s at all, so that's not an option.
I took the car in to the dealer for an oil change today and learned that when the odometer reaches 45,000 miles, the car will be due for a check up @ $369 ! At 60,000 miles, the checkup will cost $849 ! Is there a more economical alternative to maintaining my Q45 without defaulting on the bumper-to-bumper warranty agreement? What are my options? Thanks to one and all who respond.
Betty
Extended warranties do not *usually* cover scheduled maintenance, although they may. Like original warranties they cover broken components. To cover the maintenance you describe you would need a "service contract".
What you need to determine is if your extended warranty has specific language that requires you to have the 15k interval services done in order to keep the warranty valid. If so, then you should have them done. But there are plenty of shops that can perform the service for much smaller prices than you were quoted at the dealer. The warranty should NOT require you to have the work done at an Infiniti dealer, but make sure.
With my Q I ignored the 15k mile intervals and had the 30k and 60k services done (with oil changes and a few other services done outside the dealer in between those intervals) The car should not need the 45k service, IMO. The 60k service includes a tuneup, but again, you should shop around (make sure the shop is experienced with Q45s) to see what you can do. The major services (every 30k miles) do important things such as changing brake, transmission, and cooling fluids. Hope this helps some.
Denny
Basically my $400 paid for an oil change, brake fluid flush, intake system cleaning, radiator drain & refill and the replacement of the air & fuel filters. I don't really feel that I got my moneys worth, especially since I had a cooling system flush and a transmission flush done by another shop afterward.
I also have a 90 Q45 and the 60K service for it was approx $1000. At least they changed the plugs that time!
BRACE YOURSELF.....THE Q IS BACK!!!!
I typed Q45 in the search box and it finds nothing. I have to manually scroll through the sedans community to find it.
Thank you one and all for your helpful responses to my query.
Betty (bettyb1)
I don't see that $400 for the 30K service is out of line. If the shop charged $60/hour for labor you got prolly $225 in labor charges. For parts and supplies for all that work prolly cost close to $125. With tax that's close to $400. Who's gonna do it cheaper yet with the same expertise? The 30K service on my QX4 was $350 and I got all the same services. If you're leasing the vehicle it may not pay to have all that work done, but if you're keeping it $400 is cheap in the long run.
Also, if you are at the main discussion list for Sedans, you can use your browser's own Search feature (usually under Edit on the title bar of the browser) to find within the page "Q45" or whatever you are looking for. If you use this method, just be aware that there is a second (and occasionally a third) page to the board - you would use the "More" button at the bottom of the page to get to the succeeding pages. (And I have found that with Netscape, it is necessary to "select" some text at the top of each page before using Netscape's "search" feature to make it start searching from the top.)
Hope this helps.
Pat
Host
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After test driving the new Q, I really appreciated driving home in my Q!
Infiniti had competitors to drive, closest match was the 540i, but still 65 fewer ponies and much less room and amenities. Be sure to check out the Voice Command option when you visit the dealer, quite interesting.
To quote a previous post, "The 2002 Infiniti Q45 is an amazing vehicle.
BRACE YOURSELF..... THE Q IS BACK!!!!"