Comments on: Infiniti M35 Review drafted

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:05:11 +0000

Phil, Consumer Reports has a whole review of your car this month. Check it out.

By: Jan Ives

Jan Ives — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:42:26 +0000

Eric,

Citroen’s Hydractive suspension with configurable stiffness appeared on the XM. The Xantia Activa is the model with active suspension which keeps the car flat through corners. That combined with the fact that all Hydractive systems are orders of magnitude smoother than ‘cart spring’ systems makes the Activa an amusing vehicle.

Phil & Eric,
Currently I run a Xantia V6, which doesn’t have the Activa active suspension – just the standard Hydractive, but which does have a 3 litre V6 (0-60 about 8.5 seconds) powering the front wheels with no hint of torque-steer at any time. It’s smooth riding, extremely comfortable and surprisingly quick

Jan.

By: BurghGuy

BurghGuy — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:41:03 +0000

I also own an M35x. I agree with the need for audio inputs. It seems a shame that I can plug in my iPod into a rented 300M, but I can’t in my much better automobile. The back seat audio input only comes with the Advanced Technology Package or better.

I was ready to spend the money, but (believe it or not) the salesguy talked me out of it. In retrospect, it was the right decision. I don’t take that many long trips in the car and my commute is onl 15 minutes or so. Things like Intelligent Cruise Control or satellite radio would have only marginal utility. And do I really think I’ll ever play a DVD in the car to enjoy the 5.1 surround sound? I was just happy to be able to play MP3’s since I don’t have the ability to plug in my iPod.

The only beef I have are the tires. The stock Goodyear RS-A’s are surprisingly worn after 5200 miles.

I’m generally happy with the car. It’s a great ride. It’s only a bit bigger than the car it replace or the car it replaced, so I continue to get comfortable with it.

By: Allen

Allen — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 14:23:26 +0000

Just a suggestion but it might help to throw that in there. There are so many “the Lexus is better…” comments that a casual reader finishes the article asking if you simply couldn’t afford the Lexus, etc. Other than that bit of confusion, great article.

By: philg

philg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 04:38:37 +0000

Allen: The big Lexus is a nice car, but a little oversized for my current city parking spot and my typical driving mission (me+dog). Also, after owning a minivan for 9 years, I thought it might be fun to have something more nimble. Finally, there is the fact that all of the car magazines top-rated the Infiniti and I didn’t have time to do a thorough test. Fortunately, even if I didn’t make the right decision, it doesn’t matter. Cars are cheap and they are more or less equivalent in terms of capability, i.e., they all get from Point A to Point B in about the same amount of time.

By: Allen

Allen — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:06:37 +0000

Phil, am I missing something or is your review more of an endoresement of the car you didn’t get, the Lexus? Why didn’t you get the Lexus, again?

By: Larry Burns

Larry Burns — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:53:27 +0000

Good review from an owner’s perspective. If C&D and Consumer Reports would address some of the same issues that you did then maybe Infiniti (and others) would address these shortcomings.

I agree with needing a couple of pictures.

By: tghfbt

tghfbt — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:31:51 +0000

M35 has poor rear crash test rating.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/summary.aspx?class=10

By: Shimon Rura

Shimon Rura — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:05:21 +0000

One company that could try to push forward use of the internet in cars is ZipCar. They already have computers, GPS, and a Cingular GPRS internet connection in every vehicle. If they made the software good enough to deliver live traffic info, restaurant reviews, and live voice help on request, I wonder if you and Alex could be convinced to accept the extra inconvenience. Your M35x costs as much as about 4000 days of ZipCar, but the fact remains that you’d be driving something like a Mazda 3 with a corporate logo on the door rather than a car with fit and finish rivaling a yacht. On the other hand, it would probably be more comfy on the streets of Cambridge, and you’d never have to even think about maintenance.

Typo note: in the first paragraph of the Safety section, the last sentence reads “If you get hit from the rear, the front headsets move up and forward to prevent whiplash.” I think you meant “headrests” rather than headsets.

By: CCE

CCE — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:11:05 +0000

Aside from the inputs, not having the DVD system is probably a gain, not a loss – it takes up a lot of room in the center console and without the rear seat package that benefits only the rear seat, I’ve used it precisely once – during a looooong wait at the airport – since for obvious reasons it only plays to the navigation screen while the car is stopped. One wonders, who actually gets any use out of it if they don’t have both the rear seat package and children, or perhaps outside the US a CEO, in the back seat?