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Infiniti Q45
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Comments
To drive this "ultra luxury" car and have a phone, it apparently means a cell phone sliding around the seat or something on one of those silly mounting stalks. What a joke.
I was very impressed with the Qs ability to handle turns as well as acceleration though it does not charge off the line. And its looks are growing on me. It clearly outperformed the 540 in the noise and power areas and went head to head with it in handling. I'll still wait for the prices to drop.
Small trunk with no split fold down rear seat;
Pseudo tiptronic (that shifts for you in manual mode);
Cassette tape in the middle of the dash?!?! where's the single CD-I dislike glovebox changers - put the tape deck in the box - sheesh.
Rear and front passenger controls are not separated;
Radar based cruise not yet available;
didn't see passenger seat memory (could have missed this)
I liked everything else, even the guppy front end is starting to grow on me....
Can this be true?
Anyway, I did not drive the car today due to poor weather. My first impression was joy, however I was turned off immediately when the salesman told be MSRP was the only way buy one.
So, I told him that I was not in the market for at least six months. Then I sat inside and stared at the center dash for awhile. I did not care for position of Navigational system and radio controls
If the dash was set back a little more than I think I could take it all in a little better. I did like this car more than its predisessors. I loved the soft leather and sport level trim pkg.
The instrumentations was clean and simple. The exterior was very attractive as well. I am considering this car over the Lexus GS430.
I will render my final decision after a spin around town.
From what little I could tell from a drive around some residential backroads, the handling on this car is pretty crisp. A big concern is the brakes . . . the car mag reviews noted that the Infiniti brake rotors average an inch smaller in diameter than other cars in this size and weight class. Even worse, I noticed the Infiniti front rotors are 11.4 inches while the front rotors of the BMW 330i (a smaller, lighter, and less powerful car) are 12.8 inches. With 17" and 18" wheels on the Infiniti, why are they stinting on brake size??? Sure hope the 400HP version puts more emphasis on braking capacity.
The Q's have always seemed to have had brake envy for some reason. Guess Infiniti feels it's not size that matters..
As an aside(not to totally confuse matters) I have also seen/driven 97 Acura RL/LS400. Granted the Lexus(45k miles) is about $5-6k more and the RL(48k miles) is about $21k. I want the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY......
Thanks
The same article that commented about the brakes being smaller also said that they work remarkably well. Honestly when we are talking about non racing cars their will be little noticable difference in the braking performance.
I am wondering how you found out about the resale value of the 2002 Q45, since they won't be driving off of the lots until next month?
Geez, did your dog get run over by a Q once?
The only way to judge a car on resale is to look at the selling price of that vehical at the original point of sale and deduct the current value. There is your depreciation value. A used Lexus LS400 is a car that can be had for a reasonable price if you considering the amount they get for the 99,00 RX300 and GS models.
Unfortunately the older Q's are the only fair way currently to asses the new Q. If I were a new Q buyer I would hope that this new Q changes all of that. I personally think it will to a degree, however I may be in the market for a used 2002 Q in a couple of years so I hope resale is average.
I have become sensitive to brake design based on two recent experiences, Mvargo1. I had a 1998 Corvette that had brake warpage problems because of under-engineered brakes. And, as both Edmunds message board complaints and subsequent car mag reviews indicated, my problems were not unique.
I now have a 2000 Jaguar S-Type that had to have the front rotors and pads replaced at 23,000 miles. And, again, the brakes are turning out not to hold up well in real-world usage (again as reflected by numerous comments on the Edmunds Jaguar message boards.)
Both cars tested extremely well on braking distance and fade in their initial auto press reviews, as does the new Q. However, you will eventually encounter problems in long-term use with under-engineered brakes. BMW figured that out long ago. Shouldn't be so hard for other makers.
(By the way, these are the first brake problems I've had in 30 years of driving . . . and my driving style has not changed. I'm getting suspicious that with all the focus on weight reduction -- especially unsprung weight -- the manufacturers are shaving it too close on brake componentry. While I agree that weight is an evil in cars, I'd much rather have a few less rear seat adjustment motors than lighter brake discs.)
"Find out what Liz Kim thinks of the new Infiniti Q45, which shows just how serious this luxury division of Nissan is about competing on even footing with Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The new Q shows the direction in which Infiniti is headed, away from rebadged Maximas and Pathfinders and sorry wannabe wheels like the G20, and toward world-class luxury/performance automobiles that look like Hyundais and whose voice-recognition systems can't understand you unless you're from Omaha. Wait. Did I just say that out loud?"
Follow the link in the Additional Resources box on the left sidebar for the full story.Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
Also the voice recognition system can understand almost any American regional accent and just in case can be trained to recognize even the most incoherent mumblings
Background:
I have owned the following cars in the last several years:
BMW 750iL
BMW M5
Jag XK8
Lincoln Navigator (don't ask where that came from)
After two weeks, I can provide the following observations:
Things I like:
Handling. I have the premium package so I get the sport handling option. While my memory sometimes fades, it handles almost as well as my M5 (in the Q45 sport mode). It doesn't feel as heavy as my 750 (why should it?) but it is close. The steering is also much better, in my opinion, than the LS430. What I mean by this is closer to typical BMW steering (tight, some road feel) rather than like the Mercedes quality of the LS430.
Navigation. DVD-based and up-to-date. One disk for the whole country. My house is one year old on a new street and the navigation system knew right where it was. For me, I like the setup on the Infiniti better than the touch screen setup on the Lexus. I found I had to take my eyes off the road to work the hand/eye coordination on the Lexus setup.
The 18" wheels and tires obviously assist the handling capabilities. They also look cool but I don't like the stock wheels. Trying to find some after market wheels for this car.
Interior appointments. Awesome. It actually smells like leather.
Instrument layout. I like it although I have heard people say it was a little "different."
Quality. Perfect! Fitment and finish are perfect. No gaps, no exposed pieces where there shouldn't be any, etc. Definitely, a quality automobile.
Headlights. A real head-turner. I have more people stop and take a look at the headlights than anything else.
Performance. How could I forget? Definitely faster (acceleration) than my XK8 or 750. Feels close to my M5. Definitely better than the LS430
Voice system. Perfect! It works the first time, every time is is quite cool. You can do almost everything with this if you don't want to play around with he controls (which are pretty easy to navigate, BTW).
Things I am annoyed with:
Door locks. They don't seem to be automatic. Most cars I have had automatically lock the doors when the car is moving. The I doesn't appear to do this. I have to manually lock the doors when I enter. Maybe someone else that has a I can fill me in if I am doing something wrong. I will have to check this out with the dealer and I view this as highly unusual for a high-end automobile not to have this feature. The LS430, of course, can be programmed many different ways to operate the locks.
Don't particularly like the stock wheels. Again, this is a subjective evaluation.
At night, it is very difficult to see the clock. Being over 40, I lost my night vision a long time ago but other people in the car noticed that.
Nothing else really. After having the car for a couple of weeks, I have never experienced buyer's remorse. I like the car and would recommend it highly.
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I do believe this car is on par with it's competition. Subjective areas like prestige are inarguable, but objectively, this car more than holds its own. Although this is a new model, I'm more than confident in Infiniti/Nissan's reliability, since it consistently is among the industry leaders in this regard. You forgot to mention that every report of hood flapping came from PRE-production models and that the engineers were well aware of the problem and that it would be addressed. I've only read one review in which the voice recognition was less than optimal. Everyone else praised it. Personally, I had no problems with it, it only failed to recognise my command once.
I admit, Infiniti has sucked, mostly due to allocation of resources from Nissan during the dark financial years. There is a new committment to Infiniti with the Renault alliance, and the new Q is just the beginning. Nissan has argueably the best (if not among the best) engineering among any carmaker. If management can be as good as engineering, the product will be amazing. Changing perceptions like yours Titanfan1, will admittedly be a little harder.
Any and All information will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan
Even after taking my new Q45 (after the 1,000 mi breakin) up to 135 mph on an empty Interstate, I can say I do not experience "hood flap" and the voice recognition system works perfectly at that speed. Furthermore, the car handles and tracks perfectly. I would have expected high-speed wander and it just wasn't there. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I happen to think it is a world-clas car and far superior to it's competition.
Recall was on first run vehicles and is completely ordinary. Most cars a recalled at least once esp in the first year of production.
What about tire noise and vibration. That there isn't any. That one review said you would need a decibel meter to tell the difference between the Q and the LS, and another thought the Q might even be quieter.
The voice recognition works a hell of a lot better than any other. Oh, yeah Infiniti is the only one that even offers it as standard equipment.
I really appreciate your comments. I too was shopping for a Lexus LS430 when I saw and drove the Q45. The main thing that stopped me was that it is a new model, and some of the features were not yet available-- telephone, laser cruise control.
I was also worried about depreciation since I am fickle and tend to trade often. (Actually, I love em all.) Did you lease?
I ended up trading my 97 BMW 750il on a 2001 Audi A6 4.2 Quattro. The Audi is much smaller and looks sportier, but there are many features of the 7 that I miss. I had previously leased a '94 Q45, and enjoyed the car very much.
Thanks again for your insight!
Congratulations on your new A6. It is a great car. I understand your concern with the Q45. Yes, some things are not available yet. For me, these were things I could live without so I wasn't to concerned. As to resale, who knows? This is a new model and resale values are speculation at this time. That is why I leased. I go through way too many cars.
I share with you letting go of your 750. I still regret having sold mine. It was truely an awesome car.
Good luck with your new A6.
The car was mostly driven on weekends because I used my other car during the week
I also added an aftermarket stereo system (Kenwood Excel head unit, Kenwood 6 disc changer, MTX amp and Polk Audio speakers) as well as a viper alarm system…..The car only has 64,000 miles on it and I had the wheels from a 1995 Q45 put on the car.
When I looked up the price on KBB it came to $16,134, but that was without the upgrades I made to the car. How much should I factor the cost of the aftermarket upgrades? I spent over $2000 for everything (Stereo, Alarm, Wheels)
I am thinking that $15,500 would be a fair price?
I know that older Q45's are rare to find.
Please tell me what you think?
Any info would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
http://carpoint.msn.com/vip/Jedlicka/Infiniti/Q45/2002.asp
But, yet, I, as a prospective customer who visited the dealership around the car launch date, and was promised a call so that I can pick up the brochure when it's available, I have yet to hear anything from the salesman.
I got the brochure by ordering it off the web.
Thanks Pxxxxxxxx Infiniti of Rxxxxxx Cxxx, California. (I think it used to be called Sxxx Infiniti. And I heard from freshalloy.com that they had some problem with the FBI in the past, that's why the name change. I think it might be of using of customer credit info fraud or something like that).
If it were the Lexus dealership next door, the salesman would have written me a letter thanking me for my visit, etc.
Thanks.