ShareThisThe most prominent inclination among designers of luxury vehicles in recent years has been all-wheel drive.
Driving the trend has been the development of sophisticated systems that are largely imperceptible to the driver but which inspire comfort and confidence when the going gets sloppy, especially in northern climates.
Because all-wheel drive systems usually add at least several thousand dollars to the price of a car or crossover vehicle, they have proliferated among luxury vehicles, although the systems have crept increasingly into popularly priced vehicles as well.
With the introduction of the 2009 G37x coupe, Infiniti now offers all-wheel drive on every one of its models: G and M sedans, EX and FX crossovers, and the full-size QX56 sport utility vehicle.
The G cars, first launched in 2002, are the mainstay of the lineup at Infiniti, which is the luxury division of Japan's Nissan. They account for roughly 40 percent of Infiniti sales.
The G37 coupe, though it competes as a near-luxury car, is far more of a sports/grand touring car than a boulevard cruiser. It's called a coupe, but its tight interior dimensions make it more like a traditional "plus-two," with limited front-seat head room, especially with the sunroof, and a back seat more suited to purses, backpacks and pumpkins than human beings, unless they're of munchkin stature. It also takes some athletic ability to get back there.
Moreover, the trunk is small and shallow. So you really have to want the sleek two-door sports look. If your needs are greater -- say, to transport four people in reasonable comfort -- you'd be far better off with the G37 four-door sedan, which has the same performance characteristics as the coupe in a less sexy but still appealing package.
The G37 coupe comes in four versions: base, Journey, Sport and the tested G37x with all-wheel drive. The others have rear-wheel drive, the better to handle the power of the 3.7-liter V6 engine, which delivers 330 horsepower.
The Sport comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, which has a short-throw shift linkage and a grabby clutch that requires some finesse to operate smoothly. The other three come with Infiniti's new seven-speed automatic transmission, which comes with a manual-shift mode.
Unfortunately, the G37x coupe is not available with an option that includes steering-wheel paddle shifters, so you have to do your manual shifting with the console-mounted shift lever.
If you want the race-car-inspired paddles, you can get them on the rear-drive G37 coupe or the all-wheel drive G37x sedan.
However, the lack of paddles on the G37x coupe is only a small detraction from an otherwise exciting sports/GT car. The 330-horsepower V6 provides surging acceleration off the line with wheel spin nearly eliminated by the all-wheel drive, which starts with the power going to the rear wheels but can transfer up to 50 percent of the traction to the front wheels.
The seven-speed automatic, in addition to the manual-shift mode, has a sport setting that holds lower gears in the transmission to higher revs before shifting to enhance quickness. It also has a computerized program called ASC (for adaptive shift control) that automatically blips the throttle on downshifts to match engine revolutions to road speed.
Of course, you likely would not want to use the sport mode except in exceptional circumstances because it substantially cuts into the G37x's fuel economy, which is rated at 18/25 city/highway by the government.
Handling and braking are in keeping with the power. The G37x takes a confident set on sharp curves and even can be steered some with the throttle as well as the tight steering.
Not surprisingly, the bias toward handling results in a ride that is choppy on rough surfaces. Road noise from those surfaces also makes its way through to the cabin. There's some engine noise under hard acceleration, but that's more like music to an enthusiast.
The driving environment is first-rate, with front bucket seats that deliver comfort and good lateral and lumbar support. As with other G models, the instrument pod adjusts with the steering wheel, which tilts and telescopes with the touch of a button.
Instruments have daytime lighting and the center screen that illustrates navigation and other functions is recessed in a pod that makes it easy to see even in bright daylight.
The G37x has a starting price of $39,515, with standard equipment that includes full safety equipment -- side air bags, side-curtain air bags, traction and stability control, antilock brakes, and seatbelt pre-tensioners -- as well as dual-zone climate control, an audio system with six-disc CD changer and MP3 capability, XM satellite radio, high-intensity headlights and 18-inch alloy wheels.
The test car also had options that included a motorized glass sunroof, a premium Bose audio system with an iPod interface, memory settings for the driver's seat, outside mirrors and steering wheel, power lumbar support, garage-door opener, heated front seats and outside mirrors, navigation system and Bluetooth communications. That brought the as-tested price to $44,715.
To broaden the line further, Infiniti says a convertible version of the G37 coupe is on the horizon.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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