"So you CAN get the options from the Premium Package separately? I'm actually looking to go the other route and forego the DVD in the back but still get the heated/adjustable rear seats and sunshades. I'm guessing this is possible?"
Actually, you can get the DVD separately, but not the reclining/heated back seats and sunshade. I am not sure why Infinity does not let you purchase more options separately.
I found the post from the person that had used Costco to buy an Infinity at $2,500 over invoice, and the following is the area/dealership he went through.
"The particular dealer I'm referring to is Motorwerks in Barrington, IL"
The grey interior (Infiniti says stone) is also weird in it's application. The seat is grey but it's lower side is black - the seat should be all grey. The center console is all black - should be grey. It should be called grey and black piecemeal. Compare the Infiniti grey to other grey interiors and I think you'll agree Infiniti needs to fix this.
The bourbon turned me off completely - it might grow on me over time....nah! Probably one of those colors you either love or hate. It's a pity that they sent over so many cars with this interior color.
I attended a reception my local Infiniti dealer had this evening. I've always respected the brand as a pleasing blend of BMW sportiness and Lexus reliability. I've not been active on any Infiniti board, though, as I've never really seriously considered one before. I've got two German cars now,an '01 Catera and Passat,that have been the loves of my live,but I can't deny that they've both been shop queens. I've tried to like Lexus, but they have always left me a little cold-just uninvolving for some reason. I was totally taken by surprise what a positive impression the M cars made on me this evening-and I didn't even drive one(yet). Really spacious back seat,which is important to me. The driver's controls seemed perfect-the car really struck me hard. I'm going to have to research Infiniti's relialibility. If it's anything like Lexus this car would be fantastic! I was really,really impressed....
Just got my M35 sport, coming off a BMW 5 series lease...this M is an awesome car!
Drives incredible! I just may never drive a BMW again! My first infiniti, couldn't be happier with the ride, style, and overall fit and finish of the car.
Even the 35 packs the power and sounds just as mean!
Either way you can't loose 35 or 45...Infiniti has a true winner!
PS. Don't make the same mistake I made...if you want satellite radio, get it from the factory, my dealer wants $300 more to add it at the dealership!
Richcream---IL sales tax varies by county, but generally is in the 8% to 9% range. Instead of a "use tax" like many states charge on an auto lease, it's a full blown sales tax added to the capitalized cost and amortized over the life of the lease. It really sucks, and makes the lease decision less compelling financially. Before moving here, I leased 4 or 5 times. Since coming here, I've purchased my last 3 cars.
I moved to Illinois from Oregon, so I went from one extreme to the other. In Oregon there is zero sales tax, so the lease (and purchase) deals are the sweetest. But the OR state income tax is a killer, so one way or another, you get to bend over and say thank you.
I'm not sure about the costco program, but I had a dealer in Scottsdale, AZ offer me a M35 for $1500 off MSRP and a M45 for $2500 off MSRP. I'm not sure which one I will buy.
I think these will be selling at $500 over invoice by the end of the year, like the G35.
One point that concerns me with the M35 is the gearing. 2500 rpm at 60 mph scales up to 3,300 rpm at 80 mph, which is typical speed on local FL turnpike. Any new M35 owners care to comment on engine noise at 80 mph?
Worried that I might make a horrible mistake after reading the comments pertaining to the bourbon interior on the new M's, I called the closest dealer and asked if he had any in that color.
Fortunately he has one outside his building -- on my way to the office this morning, I stopped and peered in the M35 so equipped.
I like the color, the combinations and the contrasts.
Like everything else, such things are a personal taste.
I do think this color and treatment could be a love it or hate it kind of thing though -- I simply fall into the latter category.
Don't fear it or love or hate it until you see it in person.
As I said before I (personally) did not like the rosewood and the bourbon together. They seemed to clash. That said, I didn't have a problem with all the other colors or the bourbon itself. (I actually liked the bourbon itself very much, a very masculine color.)
Bottom line: this is very subjective and if you like it, go for it.
I like it. I was actually going to order an A6 4.2 with the Amaretto interior, which is very similar. Any luxury vehicle I buy will more than likely have an interior in that hue. I think it makes the car more distinctive and different from every other luxury car on the road with their black or gray interiors.
“Don’t fear it or love or hate it until you see it in person.”
This is generally true of 3D objects like cars, for me. The new M is probably the most dramatic case for me, at least in quite some time.
I saw exterior pictures early on and ‘yawned’. I saw interior pictures, and thought: “Huh?”
Then I saw the performance numbers (particularly acceleration and handling) published in R&T and C+D. Looked like it deserved a viewing in person.
My reaction on first seeing the M-s in person (Outside and Inside) was dramatically different than my previous impressions based on the pictures.
I find both the exterior and interior styling quite to my liking.
I have not yet seen a Bourbon interior, but I will probably have an opportunity before I reach a final decision on colors. My personal interior preference to this point would have been the Stone (Gray) with Rosewood – only a mythical creature at this time.
- Ray Waiting for M45 Sport inventory to build at dealers . . .
When my wife saw the bourbon interior at the auto-show, she was a little dismayed because I had already ordered it (black exterior), and she thought it looked orange. I think the orange was only due to the bright lights at the show. My concern (now) is how it looks with the light-colored pillars and roof. I did not notice it as a problem at the auto-show, though. I also did not feel that it clashed at all with the wood.
I've had the car for around five days in all kinds of driving. I don't remember the actual RPM at 80 MPH, but it is barely working. I find the care to be very quiet and ready to jump whenever I need it at any speed.
I like the sound of the car and the four tailpipes look great too. I look forward to every time I get in the car.
Ready the manual is like Christmas morning. There are cool little features hidden all over this car.
Maybe most navigation systems do this, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I used the voice recognition, gave it a telephone number, and made the location it looked up a destination.
The aluminum pedals are a nice touch too. I'd like to meet the guys and gals that designed this car and buy them a beer or a sake.
I know the nav system has voice recognition, like the TL. Is it incorporated into the a/c and radio unit, too? For example, in a TL w/ nav, you can say "Temperature 72 degrees" and the car temp settings will change accordingly. Same if you say "Radio 96.5 FM". Does the M work that way, too?
Do you have any first hand experience with how Infiniti dealers priced the G35 when it first came out. I suspect the M will pretty much follow the G in pricing history.
I believe that right now Infiniti is restricting the flow of cars. When they get to their normal production, deals will abound. There are just too many luxury sedans available in this price range chasing the same customers. Not everyone can afford a $50K car.
Voice recognition works with radio, a/c, and phone as well. I just tried it out this morning on a 2nd test drive. The nav address entry is slick. You say "Navigation Street Address", and then it goes through prompting you for state, city, street, and number. Worked flawlessly. Saying "Radio 94.7" and "Radio 2" worked great. You don't have to say FM or AM or preset number. It knows based on the number you say what to do. It only fumbled 1 of my attempts in about 25 tries, and I was speaking naturally.
I just checked out the bourbon interior in person today for the first time. It is what I had ordered too over a month ago, and some of the pictures out there concerned me, as well as the comments on the light colored headliner. After seeing it in person, all my worries are gone. I really like the bourbon/rosewood combo. The headliner is not really noticeable. It is such a neutral color it just blends in. That and while sitting in the front seat, there is very little of it to see. I can see how the 4 various colors (black carpet/dash/steering, rosewood trim, bourbon seats/inserts, gray headliner) would turn some people off, but I thought it was very distinctive and refreshing.
I also looked at the a stone/aluminum interior, and I really like that combo too. This color combo is probably the most seemless of all without being bland, as the aluminum looks great with these color seats.
I also live in Florida and 80 is the norm on the turnpike. Why does the cars rpm go up to 3300 at 80, I have a 01' TL and it only does around 2600 rpm at 80. I did test one but not up to that speed. How noisy was it? I was considering it but I only have 29K miles on my TL.
when entering a nav address, I know you can say a business phone # and have the car look it up (which is amazingly cool!), but do you have to hand-type a streat name or business name if you don't know the number? Can you say "3422 South Washington Ave" or "3422 S-O-U-T (etc)" and would it recognize it as such?
You do not have to type an address in. For the example you gave, if you did not specify last city in your voice command it will ask for state, then ask for city, then will ask for street name. You can speak each of these names.
After speaking the street name it will ask you for the house number. You have a lot of flexibility in how you speak the number. You could say "thirty-four twenty-two" or "three" "four" "two" "two". They recommend the latter for accuracy but I have yet to have a problem speaking the whole number.
You do not need to spell anything either. When asked for the street name you would say "South Washington Avenue". You are required to give the full street name(i.e. - south) or it won't guarantee full accuracy finding the street.
There have been some posts much earlier saying that the voice recognition was not very good and it became more of a hassle than it was worth. I have not found that to be true at all. I think that this particular implementation has a high degree of accuracy and that once you learn the quirks of some pronunciations you will find it to be nearly flawless.
Like Mark from Cincinnati, I've been a German only guy for 20 years but I currently own a G35 Coupe and now the M45. In my opinion, people who still base their opinion of Infiniti from the past are doing Infiniti and themselves a great disservice. This company is building wonderful cars right now.
One of my best friends is a Mercedes mechanic of over 20 years and he basically affirmed the statement I made earlier. A huge smile came over his face when he saw the M45 Sport and after giving it a close inspection said "I'd hate to be a car manufacturer right now." He was referring to the need to compete against a company that could build such a car and sell it for $15,000 less than a comparable Mercedes.
It doesn't hurt that Infinitis tend to visit service very infrequently. An earlier post mentioned that they were getting close to Lexus but latest reports indicate that Infiniti has actually proven to be more reliable at many junctures in a car's life.
To those who make the decision to buy an M, I don't think you'll spend one second regretting it.
I agree with the concerns others have posted re the cruising RPM on the M. 2500 at 60mph and 3300 at 80mph seems excessive and given the five speed automatic transmission, one wonders why Infiniti did not make 5th gear a lower (numerically) number to slow down/quiet down the engine. No one is still on the throttle flat out in fifth gear in any real world circumstance (what does fourth gear get you? - 130+mph before shifting up to fifth gear??), so keeping the fifth gear at such a high ratio seems only to bring about more noise and higher fuel consumption while highway cruising. Why? If someone wants balls to the wall top end performance, they aren't buying this car anyway.
How can the front passenger use the voice recognition system? Is there a button to press or is the microphone always on? Which features of the NAV system can be operated while driving (Driver versus Passenger)? Is there a list of voice commands?
There is a button to the bottom right of the center controller that is labeled 'voice'. This is how the passenger can access voice commands. Push the button, and the system will prompt you to enter a command (although I think you can speak the command immediately after pressing).
I'm not sure about which features can be operated while driving. I was able to do zoom and change some of the views (normal to split-screen), but I didn't play around much more than that.
You can find all the info you want and the list of voice commands in the M owner's manual:
Actually, the passenger does not have access to the voice recognition function. The voice button on the controller to which m45 refers is for repeating voice guidance in navigation only.
The driver is the only party who can access voice input and that is done by pressing the talk/phone button on the steering wheel.
I haven't used the V551 but it is on Infiniti's Bluetooth compatible list. I currently have a Motorola V710 and the setup and pairing of the phone took 2 minutes and it works flawlessly.
"I agree with the concerns others have posted re the cruising RPM on the M. 2500 at 60mph and 3300 at 80mph seems excessive"
My current car (Lincoln LS V8 Sport – 2003) turns approx. 2,000 rpm at 60 in fifth gear.
The M45 turning 2,300 at 60 was initially a concern for me.
One thing I find particularly interesting is that with the motor (larger 4.5 L vs. my current 3.9 L) turning 15% faster at any speed in fifth gear, the M45 still achieves essentially the same EPA city / highway numbers as my LS.
That’s pretty impressive to me.
I think that the rpm is likely more of an issue for mpg than motor longevity. The Infiniti longer / extended warranty period on the powertrain of 6 years / 70,000 miles would seem to imply to me that Infiniti has confidence in the motors ability to turn these rpm – for a long time.
Would I sacrifice the acceleration for a 10% or 15% reduction if rpm at cruise, if an optional final drive ratio were offered. Dunno. I’d have to drive one. I do reject the 1SD and 1SE versions of the Caddy STS V8, largely because of the difference in final drive ratios between these and the 1SF. (For those not familiar with the general GM / Caddy PEG Stair step, in this case 1SE = “V8 Luxury” Option Group and 1SF = “Luxury Performance” Option Group) The “Base” and 1SE come only with a 2.73 to 1 final drive. 1SF (in addition to a bunch of additional equipment) substitutes a 3.23 to 1 final drive ratio.
I drove both last fall. Each was the first of that version to arrive at my dealer. I was initially disappointed in the acceleration of the V8 in the 1SE – and was pleasantly surprised with the immediately apparent acceleration improvement resulting from the 18% or so increase in mechanical advantage provided by the higher (numerically) final drive ratio.
I mention the Caddy not to suggest that it is in all ways comparable to the M45, but rather it is at least comparable in the weight and motor size categories – and it is the only car in this general category that I am aware of where you can drive (and buy) otherwise very similar versions (same motor, similar weight, same five speed trans., etc.) with substantially different final drive ratios.
I believe that the only other M ratio is the one on the M35. And this is even higher (numerically) as appears to increase the 60 mph rpm to 2,500. M35x is even higher . .
[[ Final drive ratio (:1) M35 = 3.538 (AWD 3.692) M45 = 3.357 ]]
The RL (some others consider this a competitor, at $50K-ish) has a rather wide ratio range in the five speed automatic – the maximum speeds in first and second gears at peak rpm are very similar between the RL and M45 (RL: 40 / 69, M45: 42 / 68), but the RL runs at 1800 rpm at 60, where the M45 runs at 2300.
This is clearly not the only factor in any mileage equation, but I believe that the much lower rpm at cruise is a contributor to the RL posting 3 more highway MPG than the M45. I expect that the GS430 (25 mpg highway) with a six speed automatic will similarly be utilizing lower cruise rpm to help achieve better mpg at steady freeway speeds.
If lower rpm at cruise (for largely psychological reasons) is an overriding concern, there are other available cars in the price class that offer this. But I do not believe that any offer the posted acceleration numbers I have seen published for the M45: – 0 – 60 in the mid or low 5s and SS Quarter in low 14 to high 13 second bracket. Mighty impressive.
Would I prefer a six speed automatic (as so many other manufacturers are now providing on their premium lines) that would have a wider overall ratio spread and thus provide both the acceleration of the current M45 and the lower rpm and higher mpg cruising ability? Yup. Maybe for 2007?
Do you use Verizon with your V710? Given that they don't support the OBEX profile with the V710, I was wondering if there was any problem in transferring numbers to the car. Any problems with sending or receiving with the voice recognition?
"It doesn't hurt that Infinitis tend to visit service very infrequently."
Not to split hairs here but someone posted a link to the M's service manual. The recommended service interval was 3750 miles with 5000 being the normal.
My E320 has averaged between 11K and 12K miles between visits. When it goes in it's there for on average 4 days while they fix all the other problems. However, the long interval provided by the FSS system is the only thing that keeps my sanity w/this car.
rayinsw, can you please tell me what the "SS" in "SS Quarter" that you always say means?? It's making me physically ill trying to figure out what the heck you're talking about! Most people simply say "quarter" or "quarter mile." This "SS" you keep referring to is literally driving me nuts to figure out.
" This "SS" you keep referring to is literally driving me nuts to figure out. "
Not my intent to obfuscate, Sorry!
As guessed above, SS in this context = Standing Start. I include this (by habit) only because some published reports also now include some rolling, or 'Street Start' acceleration numbers (C+D comes to mind). Though they are typically to 60 mph, and I don't think I have seen quarter mile times. And these numbers, derived by accelerating from a ‘rolling start’ – typically 5 mph – the intent is to eliminate potential issues with launch technique, including torque converter ‘pump up’ / loading by running the motor up to the torque converter stall speed before launch. And for all but the most powerful street cars available, this approach also typically eliminates (or greatly reduces) tire spin as an issue.
For indicators of street performance, such launch procedures and variations in traction at specific venues on specific days are largely eliminated by the rolling start method.
Such numbers are a more useful indicator of acceleration, since I rarely “leave a patch” of tire rubber in street driving or brake torque at a stop light. I am personally much more interested in spirited passing and merging acceleration. Say 30 – 50 mph and 50 – 70 mph, etc.
Quarter mile times are of some interest to me for comparison purposes, though I rarely now take my cars to the drag strip. Again, the results obtained by different test drivers at different strips are often more useful when looking at terminal velocity, rather than elapsed time, as this is also far less dependent on launch than on acceleration ability once moving.
Just my 0.02 seconds worth . . . - Ray Knowing now, in any case, that the M45 Sport is quick enough to be ‘entertaining’ – for me . . .
I drove both last weekend. The sport is somewhat stiffer on rough roads, not bad on good ones but the biggest difference we noticed was much greater road noise on the sport. It seems to be mostly the tires but it was annoying enough for my wife ( this will be her car if we buy it ) that she ruled out the sport package even though she wanted the stone interior.
The dealer up here in Northern Cal told me that the Costco deal on the M was $500 off. I told him I'd wait until he gets real on pricing. I'm in no hurry. My sister-in-law does finance for a big Lexus dealer in Florida. She told me that the new GS will be sold at list for a while but, in a couple of months, they will be dealing. I suspect the same is true for the M.
Comments
Actually, you can get the DVD separately, but not the reclining/heated back seats and sunshade. I am not sure why Infinity does not let you purchase more options separately.
I found the post from the person that had used Costco to buy an Infinity at $2,500 over invoice, and the following is the area/dealership he went through.
"The particular dealer I'm referring to is Motorwerks in Barrington, IL"
The bourbon turned me off completely - it might grow on me over time....nah! Probably one of those colors you either love or hate. It's a pity that they sent over so many cars with this interior color.
I've got two German cars now,an '01 Catera and Passat,that have been the loves of my live,but I can't deny that they've both been shop queens.
I've tried to like Lexus, but they have always left me a little cold-just uninvolving for some reason.
I was totally taken by surprise what a positive impression the M cars made on me this evening-and I didn't even drive one(yet).
Really spacious back seat,which is important to me. The driver's controls seemed perfect-the car really struck me hard.
I'm going to have to research Infiniti's relialibility. If it's anything like Lexus this car would be fantastic!
I was really,really impressed....
Just got my M35 sport, coming off a BMW 5 series lease...this M is an awesome car!
Drives incredible! I just may never drive a BMW again! My first infiniti, couldn't be happier with the ride, style, and overall fit and finish of the car.
Even the 35 packs the power and sounds just as mean!
Either way you can't loose 35 or 45...Infiniti has a true winner!
PS. Don't make the same mistake I made...if you want satellite radio, get it from the factory, my dealer wants $300 more to add it at the dealership!
I moved to Illinois from Oregon, so I went from one extreme to the other. In Oregon there is zero sales tax, so the lease (and purchase) deals are the sweetest. But the OR state income tax is a killer, so one way or another, you get to bend over and say thank you.
I think these will be selling at $500 over invoice by the end of the year, like the G35.
stick to your guns, they'll give in.
Fortunately he has one outside his building -- on my way to the office this morning, I stopped and peered in the M35 so equipped.
I like the color, the combinations and the contrasts.
Like everything else, such things are a personal taste.
I do think this color and treatment could be a love it or hate it kind of thing though -- I simply fall into the latter category.
Don't fear it or love or hate it until you see it in person.
As I said before I (personally) did not like the rosewood and the bourbon together. They seemed to clash. That said, I didn't have a problem with all the other colors or the bourbon itself. (I actually liked the bourbon itself very much, a very masculine color.)
Bottom line: this is very subjective and if you like it, go for it.
This is generally true of 3D objects like cars, for me. The new M is probably the most dramatic case for me, at least in quite some time.
I saw exterior pictures early on and ‘yawned’. I saw interior pictures, and thought: “Huh?”
Then I saw the performance numbers (particularly acceleration and handling) published in R&T and C+D. Looked like it deserved a viewing in person.
My reaction on first seeing the M-s in person (Outside and Inside) was dramatically different than my previous impressions based on the pictures.
I find both the exterior and interior styling quite to my liking.
I have not yet seen a Bourbon interior, but I will probably have an opportunity before I reach a final decision on colors. My personal interior preference to this point would have been the Stone (Gray) with Rosewood – only a mythical creature at this time.
- Ray
Waiting for M45 Sport inventory to build at dealers . . .
I've had the car for around five days in all kinds of driving. I don't remember the actual RPM at 80 MPH, but it is barely working. I find the care to be very quiet and ready to jump whenever I need it at any speed.
I like the sound of the car and the four tailpipes look great too. I look forward to every time I get in the car.
Ready the manual is like Christmas morning. There are cool little features hidden all over this car.
Maybe most navigation systems do this, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I used the voice recognition, gave it a telephone number, and made the location it looked up a destination.
The aluminum pedals are a nice touch too. I'd like to meet the guys and gals that designed this car and buy them a beer or a sake.
Well now I feel a little better. I believe it was 7.25% where I leased it.
I believe that right now Infiniti is restricting the flow of cars. When they get to their normal production, deals will abound. There are just too many luxury sedans available in this price range chasing the same customers. Not everyone can afford a $50K car.
I also looked at the a stone/aluminum interior, and I really like that combo too. This color combo is probably the most seemless of all without being bland, as the aluminum looks great with these color seats.
JMO
After speaking the street name it will ask you for the house number. You have a lot of flexibility in how you speak the number. You could say "thirty-four twenty-two" or "three" "four" "two" "two". They recommend the latter for accuracy but I have yet to have a problem speaking the whole number.
You do not need to spell anything either. When asked for the street name you would say "South Washington Avenue". You are required to give the full street name(i.e. - south) or it won't guarantee full accuracy finding the street.
There have been some posts much earlier saying that the voice recognition was not very good and it became more of a hassle than it was worth. I have not found that to be true at all. I think that this particular implementation has a high degree of accuracy and that once you learn the quirks of some pronunciations you will find it to be nearly flawless.
Like Mark from Cincinnati, I've been a German only guy for 20 years but I currently own a G35 Coupe and now the M45. In my opinion, people who still base their opinion of Infiniti from the past are doing Infiniti and themselves a great disservice. This company is building wonderful cars right now.
One of my best friends is a Mercedes mechanic of over 20 years and he basically affirmed the statement I made earlier. A huge smile came over his face when he saw the M45 Sport and after giving it a close inspection said "I'd hate to be a car manufacturer right now." He was referring to the need to compete against a company that could build such a car and sell it for $15,000 less than a comparable Mercedes.
It doesn't hurt that Infinitis tend to visit service very infrequently. An earlier post mentioned that they were getting close to Lexus but latest reports indicate that Infiniti has actually proven to be more reliable at many junctures in a car's life.
To those who make the decision to buy an M, I don't think you'll spend one second regretting it.
Which features of the NAV system can be operated while driving (Driver versus Passenger)?
Is there a list of voice commands?
I'm not sure about which features can be operated while driving. I was able to do zoom and change some of the views (normal to split-screen), but I didn't play around much more than that.
You can find all the info you want and the list of voice commands in the M owner's manual:
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/infiniti/refgh0v/og/infiniti/m45/2006-Infiniti-M45.zip
M
The driver is the only party who can access voice input and that is done by pressing the talk/phone button on the steering wheel.
My current car (Lincoln LS V8 Sport – 2003) turns approx. 2,000 rpm at 60 in fifth gear.
The M45 turning 2,300 at 60 was initially a concern for me.
One thing I find particularly interesting is that with the motor (larger 4.5 L vs. my current 3.9 L) turning 15% faster at any speed in fifth gear, the M45 still achieves essentially the same EPA city / highway numbers as my LS.
That’s pretty impressive to me.
I think that the rpm is likely more of an issue for mpg than motor longevity. The Infiniti longer / extended warranty period on the powertrain of 6 years / 70,000 miles would seem to imply to me that Infiniti has confidence in the motors ability to turn these rpm – for a long time.
Would I sacrifice the acceleration for a 10% or 15% reduction if rpm at cruise, if an optional final drive ratio were offered. Dunno. I’d have to drive one. I do reject the 1SD and 1SE versions of the Caddy STS V8, largely because of the difference in final drive ratios between these and the 1SF. (For those not familiar with the general GM / Caddy PEG Stair step, in this case 1SE = “V8 Luxury” Option Group and 1SF = “Luxury Performance” Option Group) The “Base” and 1SE come only with a 2.73 to 1 final drive. 1SF (in addition to a bunch of additional equipment) substitutes a 3.23 to 1 final drive ratio.
I drove both last fall. Each was the first of that version to arrive at my dealer. I was initially disappointed in the acceleration of the V8 in the 1SE – and was pleasantly surprised with the immediately apparent acceleration improvement resulting from the 18% or so increase in mechanical advantage provided by the higher (numerically) final drive ratio.
I mention the Caddy not to suggest that it is in all ways comparable to the M45, but rather it is at least comparable in the weight and motor size categories – and it is the only car in this general category that I am aware of where you can drive (and buy) otherwise very similar versions (same motor, similar weight, same five speed trans., etc.) with substantially different final drive ratios.
I believe that the only other M ratio is the one on the M35. And this is even higher (numerically) as appears to increase the 60 mph rpm to 2,500. M35x is even higher . .
[[ Final drive ratio (:1)
M35 = 3.538 (AWD 3.692)
M45 = 3.357 ]]
The RL (some others consider this a competitor, at $50K-ish) has a rather wide ratio range in the five speed automatic – the maximum speeds in first and second gears at peak rpm are very similar between the RL and M45 (RL: 40 / 69, M45: 42 / 68), but the RL runs at 1800 rpm at 60, where the M45 runs at 2300.
This is clearly not the only factor in any mileage equation, but I believe that the much lower rpm at cruise is a contributor to the RL posting 3 more highway MPG than the M45. I expect that the GS430 (25 mpg highway) with a six speed automatic will similarly be utilizing lower cruise rpm to help achieve better mpg at steady freeway speeds.
If lower rpm at cruise (for largely psychological reasons) is an overriding concern, there are other available cars in the price class that offer this. But I do not believe that any offer the posted acceleration numbers I have seen published for the M45: – 0 – 60 in the mid or low 5s and SS Quarter in low 14 to high 13 second bracket. Mighty impressive.
Would I prefer a six speed automatic (as so many other manufacturers are now providing on their premium lines) that would have a wider overall ratio spread and thus provide both the acceleration of the current M45 and the lower rpm and higher mpg cruising ability? Yup. Maybe for 2007?
Hope this helps . . .
- Ray
Admitted acceleration junkie.
Do you use Verizon with your V710? Given that they don't support the OBEX profile with the V710, I was wondering if there was any problem in transferring numbers to the car. Any problems with sending or receiving with the voice recognition?
Thanks.
Thanks in advance.
Not to split hairs here but someone posted a link to the M's service manual. The recommended service interval was 3750 miles with 5000 being the normal.
My E320 has averaged between 11K and 12K miles between visits. When it goes in it's there for on average 4 days while they fix all the other problems. However, the long interval provided by the FSS system is the only thing that keeps my sanity w/this car.
Regards,
BigRob.
Please enlighten me.
Yup!
Not my intent to obfuscate, Sorry!
As guessed above, SS in this context = Standing Start. I include this (by habit) only because some published reports also now include some rolling, or 'Street Start' acceleration numbers (C+D comes to mind). Though they are typically to 60 mph, and I don't think I have seen quarter mile times. And these numbers, derived by accelerating from a ‘rolling start’ – typically 5 mph – the intent is to eliminate potential issues with launch technique, including torque converter ‘pump up’ / loading by running the motor up to the torque converter stall speed before launch. And for all but the most powerful street cars available, this approach also typically eliminates (or greatly reduces) tire spin as an issue.
For indicators of street performance, such launch procedures and variations in traction at specific venues on specific days are largely eliminated by the rolling start method.
Such numbers are a more useful indicator of acceleration, since I rarely “leave a patch” of tire rubber in street driving or brake torque at a stop light. I am personally much more interested in spirited passing and merging acceleration. Say 30 – 50 mph and 50 – 70 mph, etc.
Quarter mile times are of some interest to me for comparison purposes, though I rarely now take my cars to the drag strip. Again, the results obtained by different test drivers at different strips are often more useful when looking at terminal velocity, rather than elapsed time, as this is also far less dependent on launch than on acceleration ability once moving.
Just my 0.02 seconds worth . . .
- Ray
Knowing now, in any case, that the M45 Sport is quick enough to be ‘entertaining’ – for me . . .
M35x with Journey package, MSRP $46000
39-month lease: $684 per month
42-month lease: $672 per month
Nothing down.
This includeds 6% PA sales tax and 3% PA lease tax. Is this a good deal?
All the "advertised" specials in our regional and local papers for Infiniti are lease deals.
I only wanted to know what you were referring to with "SS."
But no magazines are doing a rolling quarter mile times. They do publish Street Start 5-60MPH times, though.
Ask me what time it is and I will gladly tell you how to build a Swiss watch factory.
(sigh)
- Ray
Still waiting for a surge in unsold M45 Sports on local dealer lots . . .