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2009 Infiniti M35 Review

Remember the day when a luxury sedan was just a luxury sedan, a sports car was just a sports car, and an SUV was just an SUV? Nowadays, manufacturers are trying to make a vehicle that does everything. We have sports cars that cradle you with luxury features, crossovers that straddle the line between SUV and wagon, and luxury cars that have sports car characteristics. The Infiniti M35 fits right in the middle of the latter description, but so does the BMW 5-Series, Acura RL, and Audi A6, among others.

It’s hard to stand out in a class with blurred lines and so much competition, but that’s exactly what Infiniti intends to do with the M35 and M45 mid-size sedan.

We know Infiniti is no slouch when it comes to keeping their line-up fresh, and the M35 is no exception. For 2009, they upgraded last year’s 275 horsepower 3.5-liter V6 to produce 303 hp, and added two more gears to the old automatic transmission, for a total of seven. The M45 and AWD models (M35x and M45x) keep the same 5-speed automatic, however.

2009 Infiniti M35 Review

With a car that is both a luxury sedan and sports sedan, you usually get options to lean it one way or the other. Our review model was a M35 S, which means it’s equipped with the $1650 Sport package. This includes a tighter suspension, bigger wheels, stickier tires, sporty seats and trim, rear active steering for better stability, and “unique sport styling,” as they call it.

I had a lot of fun driving the M35; much more than I expected. The car is surprisingly responsive, and handled very tight for a big sedan. The 303 hp V6 under the hood produces plenty of power, which is usually right there when you need it. With the stability control turned off, it’s easy to break the rear wheels loose and have some fun sliding around corners, or ease up on the throttle and let the rear active steering and performance tires do their job, propelling you around turns like you’re on rails. Drive Shift (sport) mode keeps the RPMs high to ensure proper engine response when you need it, and the manual shift mode with rev-match blips the throttle on downshift to ensure you don’t lose revs in the lower gear. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was driving a sports car.

2009 Infiniti M35 Review

The interior doesn’t let you forget you’re in a luxury sedan, however. Big, comfortable, and infinitely adjustable front seats are heated and cooled, and rear seat passengers have plenty of room. The trunk is as big as most competitors’ trunks, which will fit everything but a bathtub. Standard features include auto on/off HID headlights that pivot when you turn around corners, a power moonroof, Bluetooth, dual climate, intelligent key, and driver-position memory. As with all new Infinitis, the M35 comes with magical self-healing clearcoat paint, which repairs light scratches by itself.

Our M35 came with a 14-speaker 5.1 Bose surround sound system, which is available with the Advanced Tech package. The two speakers embedded in the front seatbacks right behind your ears make any music sound life-like. The touchscreen hard drive navigation system is fast and good, although the maps were outdated, as with most nav systems. A standard RCA (red/white/yellow) connection and available iPod-integration jack (Tech package) give you choices to hook up media, but the lack of a standard 1/8” auxiliary jack leaves anyone using an MP3 player other than an iPod music-less; unless you opt for the 9.3 GB hard drive, which allows you to store your music in the car.

2009 Infiniti M35 Review

Also included in the Tech package is voice recognition and a rear view camera, while the Advanced Tech package adds Adaptive cruise control, that excellent sound system, and an interesting Lane Departure warning and prevention system. This technology detects when you’re leaving your lane without using your blinker, then beeps at you and applies brakes accordingly to nudge you back into your lane. While this is a great idea in theory, I have troubles seeing how it’s very useful. When I tested the system, I let go of the steering wheel and began to drift out of my lane slowly as if I fell asleep at the wheel. The brakes lightly applied themselves on one side of the car, which pulled slightly back into my lane, then began to drift off again. If I really fell asleep and didn’t wake up to the slight nudge back into my lane, I would have still run off the side of the road and into the ditch.

I have a few other minor complaints about the M35 which should be fixed. While I normally love cooled seats, these didn’t work very well. They made the small of my back very cold, and did almost nothing to the rest of the seat. The center stack controls, while mostly good, are a bit confusing and cluttered. The DVD slot in the center console takes up so much room that the storage space is almost useless. Finally, the rear-view mirror is mounted too high, causing me to scrape my knuckles against the course plastic every time I need to adjust the mirror. It’s worth noting again that there should be a standard auxiliary jack for those brave souls who haven’t bowed to the iPod monopoly, and own a different brand of MP3 player.

2009 Infiniti M35 Review

The 3.5-liter V6 is plenty powerful, but if you crave more, you can opt for the M45 with 325hp and 336 lb-ft of torque in its 4.5-liter V8. In the near future, I expect the M line to adopt Infiniti’s new 3.7-liter V6 already seen in the smaller G37. This engine produces 330hp, which is higher than the 4.5-liter V8 in the M45, so I suspect that’s why it’s not already available in the M.

Overall, I think the 2009 Infiniti M35 is an excellent car, and does a great job at combining the comfort and convenience of a luxury sedan and the fun-to-drive factor of a sports car. Plenty of space inside and more than enough cargo room make it a capable family-hauler that can be taken on long trips, as well as prove to be fun on curvy roads. Starting at $46,000, the M35 is in the same range as most competitors, and provides loads of standard features and even more available packages for customization.

Infiniti M35

2009 Infiniti M35

From 17/25 mpg | MSRP from $45,800

View used Infiniti M35 classifieds
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Competitors:

BMW 5-Series

Hyundai Genesis Sedan

Acura RL

Audi A6

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Holden Cruze Set For June Launch

If GM’s restructuring plan doesn’t wreak havoc with its upcoming product release schedule, then by this time next year the compact Chevrolet Cruze should be in North American showrooms.

Holden Cruze Set For June Launch Meanwhile, the model continues its gradual global roll out, having first been introduced to the world as the Daewoo Lacetti Premiere in October 2008 (South Korea) and later as the Chevrolet Cruze for the Chinese market. In coming months the Chevrolet Cruze will go on sale in Europe while next month Australia and New Zealand will get the Holden variant. The Holden Cruze sedan is built at GM’s Gusan, South Korea plant, however a five door hatchback model is in the works and will be built in Australia.

Daewoo, Holden, Chevrolet and Opel

Holden Cruze Set For June Launch The Cruze, in whatever form it is called, is GM’s all new compact car platform. Indeed, the 2010 Opel Astra is also based on the Cruze and will continue to be produced no matter whether GM keeps its stake in Opel or sells some or all of it off. The United States and Canada appear to be among the last markets that will see the Cruze, a car that will likely become GM’s bestseller across its many brand lines once all markets have been penetrated.

Holden Cruze Set For June Launch The five passenger Cruze is a vast improvement over the Chevy Cobalt, the model it replaces. I don’t have the benefit of having seen the Cruze in person, but photos seem to do it justice — the Cruze is stylish, well engineered and possesses standard safety features not usually found in a vehicle in its segment.

Holden Cruze Set For June Launch Traction control, brake assist, electronic stability control, electronic brakeforce distribution and anti-lock brakes come with every Holden Cruze, likely the same sort of set up the Chevrolet Cruze will reflect in North America. Also, six airbags including side impact and side curtain airbags are standard along with plenty of cabin amenities including six speaker audio system with MP3 compatible in dash CD, radio and MP3 functionality; power windows; steering wheel audio and cruise controls and for higher end models leather treatments for the steering wheel and seats.

The Holden Cruze is offered with either four-cylinder 1.8L gas or 2.0L diesel powerplants mated to six speed automatic transmissions. Currently, no diesel engine is planned for the US market, but an engine as small as 1.4L will likely power the base North American model, enabling the Chevrolet Cruze to top 40 mpg.

Top Safety Award Given

Holden Cruze Set For June Launch The Holden Cruze recently aced an important crash safety test down under, with the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) awarding the Cruze its highest rating of five-stars. Structural strength along with active and passive safety systems helped the Holden Cruze finish on top.

GM invested four billion dollars to launch the Cruze which includes new engines and transmissions. The Chevy Volt, GM’s electric car, is built on the Cruze platform and could itself eventually spin off a number of different (Voltec) models in the years to come with the Cadillac Converj being one attractive concept that may someday become a reality.

The North American spec Chevrolet Cruze will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant. Production is expected to begin in April 2010.

Source: GM Holden

Photos Copyright: GM Corp.

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No Automakers Meet Obama’s New Fuel Economy Standard [I Feel Gassy]

No Automakers Meet Obama’s New Fuel Economy Standard [I Feel Gassy] The just-announced fuel economy policy changes demand 42 MPG for cars and 27 MPG for light trucks. A look at the data shows not a single automaker currently meets the new guidelines proposed today.

Using the Model-Year 2009 Fleet Fuel Economy standards provided by the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA), we determined the current ratings for passenger cars and light trucks and compared them to the goal for each of the greater automakers selling cars in the U.S. A few automakers, probable KIA and Hyundai, report their given conditions separately since of a different ownership arrangement. We also took a look at what barriers exist for them reaching those standards.