Infiniti EX : TO INFINITI AND BEYOND?

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A new brand to these shores, Inifiniti is the luxury arm of Nissan and the EX is an all-wheel drive crossover vehicle that will act as its beach head. Jonathan Crouch reports

Establishing a brand from scratch can be easier than it would at first appear. Infiniti, backed with the corporate might of Nissan, has a tough task on its hands with the EX, a luxury 4x4 with a sporting feel that was originally designed for the lucrative US market. Those in search of something a little different in this sector might enjoy it though.

The marketeers describe this car as a `Coupe-Crossover' but what exactly is that? Perhaps the best definition is to call such a thing a large luxury 4x4 that has something of a sporting side. BMW's rather unusual-looking X6 is the most obvious example of the breed that springs to mind and, as you might expect, it isn't cheap, starting from around the £45,000 mark. So what if you could get a premium-badged, better equipped and arguably just as striking alternative for around £10,000 less? Might you be interested? In principle, perhaps, but you're going to need to be one of those people who doesn't mind being an `early adopter'. Someone who doesn't mind people looking at their car in the driveway and answering questions along the lines of `you've bought a what?'. The `Coupe-Crossover' X6 alternative we've been talking about, you see, has a very unfamiliar badge on the UK market. Infiniti is the luxury arm of Nissan and is well established elsewhere around the globe, particularly in the US. Here, it has an upmarket struggle, launching a range of cars that initially at least, has no diesel options and places a great deal of hope in the diminishing returns of the luxury 4x4 sector. The Infiniti model in question here is the EX. Though slightly smaller than a BMW X6, it does have the same kind of appeal but in reality is more likely to tempt British buyers away from more comparably-priced cars like Audi's A5 and Volvo's XC60. Oh and Nissan's own Murano. The 3.7-litre V6 engine found under the EX's bonnet is much the same unit that powers the 370Z coupe, tuned in US specification for 316bhp. By most objective assessments it's a great engine, gutsy, modern and with a great note at the top end, but it's also this Infiniti's Achilles heel - UK sales figures showing that the market for petrol-powered vehicles such as this are vanishingly small. Still, it'll zip the EX to 60mph in just 6.4 seconds and on to a top speed of around 150mph so it's got the chops to keep many sports cars honest. It handles sharply too, giving some credence to Infiniti's coupe-crossover claim. It never feels tall and tippy in the way a lot of these vehicles can and all the control weights are well judged, the steering feeling very well-oiled and expensive.

"The 3.5-litre V6 engine is much the same unit that powers the 350Z"

So what exactly is Infiniti's design take on a `Coupe-Crossover'? The rather strangely proportioned curves hint at all manner of genres and after walking around the EX for a while, you'll probably be little the wiser. Yes, there is a coupe-like sweep to the rear haunches and the roof line has a bit more gravity acting on it towards the back, but it's still resolutely tall in the middle. With an unfashionable amount of fresh air sitting between tyre top and wheel arch, the EX also carries hints of jacked-up estates like the Volvo XC70 or the Audi allroad. It's about the same size as a BMW X3 on the outside but there's less room in the luggage bay than with the baby Beemer. Build quality seems good, the interior styling being a little less clunky than a Lexus but still not as slick as a premium German product. Although just the petrol model is initially on offer in the UK, the EX range will subsequently be bolstered with the addition of a diesel-engined variant, powered by what is expected to be a derivative of Renault's 3.0-litre dCi lump in 2010. Whereas the American market gets rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants, Infiniti has no plans to bring a rear-wheel drive EX to the UK. A seven-speed automatic gearbox is fitted as standard for Infiniti's assault on `Yurp'. There's a choice of two models for UK buyers - and both are extremely well equipped. You can expect to find cruise control and Xenon adaptive cornering headlights but perhaps the highlight in the standard tariff is the Connectiviti information and entertainment system which includes a hard disk drive (HDD) with music storage and iPod. The GT version adds electric, leather-trimmed and heated seats. Many features of the EX cannot be had in rivals at any price. Scratch Shield, for example. This unique Infiniti technology ensures the body's gloss finish remains unblemished for years thanks to an elastic resin within the top coat that "fills in" light scratches when exposed to heat. Another EX first in this class is the remote lowering and raising of the individual rear seat backrests - highly convenient when the EX doubles up as an estate car. It goes without saying that Infiniti is a big unknown quantity in the UK and how successful it manages to be in retaining its value on the secondhand market will have a major impact on its fortunes. Clever marketing and careful control of supply could pay dividends here. The 3.7-litre engine can return 25mpg on the combined cycle with emissions of 265g/km, about what you'd expect in other words. So then, the EX is a well equipped and different alternative to, say, an Audi Q5 or a Volvo XC60. But will being plush and different really be enough for Infiniti to reach its very modest sales projections on these shores? It will be interesting to see.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Infiniti EX range
PRICES: £35,200-£36,500 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 17 [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 265g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 6.4s / Max Speed 149mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 25mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Six airbags, ABS, stability control
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 4640/1800/1600