Does the perfect vehicle exist? Depending on who you ask, you'll get numerous different answers. Infiniti has been working hard at trying to provide products that will fit the description of whomever answers the question.
One of the most pressing criteria, right after styling, is price. And here's where Infiniti has managed to do what its main competitors, Acura and Lexus, have essentially failed to do: combine the two. I think we can all agree that the three luxo Japanese brands all want to be BMW, Mercedes or Audi, but they can't. So they've tried, each in their own manner, to reinvent luxury cars without requesting a huge premium. At one point, Acura and Lexus were leading the way but now, Infiniti is evidently on a better path.
The perfect vehicle must be all things to one or two individuals, that's it. Infiniti's line-up has a few of these where purpose meets design meets desirability. The G is a perfect example. The FX is another. Launched in 2003 as a performance compact mid-size SUV-CUV, it caught on real fast. Every manufacturer is always looking to create a new genre and BMW had done it only a few years before with the advent of the X5. Handsome though it was, it was also expensive. Then came the FX; sleek, sly and muscular-looking with the promise of serious V6 and V8 power at a reasonable price for the category. Done.
Angrier
As 2009 rolled around, so did a face-lifted FX. Sporting bigger, angrier and more forceful everything, the new FX wanted nothing more than to continue to be considered as the alternative to the BMW X5 as the sporty, powerful and handsome CUV. I write these lines thinking that the FX is exactly that.
Oversized grille and wheel arches greet everyone as does a uniquely smooth profile that is very Infiniti, very distinctive. It also dictates the cabin size, unfortunately. Read on.
One of the most pressing criteria, right after styling, is price. And here's where Infiniti has managed to do what its main competitors, Acura and Lexus, have essentially failed to do: combine the two. I think we can all agree that the three luxo Japanese brands all want to be BMW, Mercedes or Audi, but they can't. So they've tried, each in their own manner, to reinvent luxury cars without requesting a huge premium. At one point, Acura and Lexus were leading the way but now, Infiniti is evidently on a better path.
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| Launched in 2003 as a performance compact mid-size SUV-CUV, it caught on real fast. (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |
The perfect vehicle must be all things to one or two individuals, that's it. Infiniti's line-up has a few of these where purpose meets design meets desirability. The G is a perfect example. The FX is another. Launched in 2003 as a performance compact mid-size SUV-CUV, it caught on real fast. Every manufacturer is always looking to create a new genre and BMW had done it only a few years before with the advent of the X5. Handsome though it was, it was also expensive. Then came the FX; sleek, sly and muscular-looking with the promise of serious V6 and V8 power at a reasonable price for the category. Done.
Angrier
As 2009 rolled around, so did a face-lifted FX. Sporting bigger, angrier and more forceful everything, the new FX wanted nothing more than to continue to be considered as the alternative to the BMW X5 as the sporty, powerful and handsome CUV. I write these lines thinking that the FX is exactly that.
Oversized grille and wheel arches greet everyone as does a uniquely smooth profile that is very Infiniti, very distinctive. It also dictates the cabin size, unfortunately. Read on.
 |
| Oversized grille and wheel arches greet everyone as does a uniquely smooth profile that is very Infiniti. (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |