I was impressed by the Infiniti interior and exterior appearance. They were elegant and understated. But there were other items that bothered me starting with the seat controls that were nearly impossible to reach. They were in the usual position, on the outboard cushion of the seat, but the intrusion of the elbow rest made it very difficult to reach, especially if you were wearing a ring. Luckily for me, my husband did not buy me a large engagement ring so I didn't have to worry about my hand getting caught.
Everywhere you look there is leather upholstery and bird's-eye maple accents. That was the good news. The bad news was that the stereo, climate and trip computer functions are managed by a touch screen system that is quite complicated. There is a way to get around this by ordering the Premium Package that has Infiniti's voice recognition option, but even that takes more time than necessary. Of course, the system is not as complicated as those on the Mercedes and BMW luxury sedans. An interesting extra you can order is the technology package with a DVD-based navigation system, laser-based intelligent cruise control, and a 7-inch LCD that runs nearly $2800 US.
There were plenty of features I enjoyed on the M45 such as a trunk that opens just the right amount and even pulls itself tightly closed. The driver's seat has a 10-way power adjustment and the steering wheel has both power tilt and telescoping features. On the other hand, the passenger seat only has four-way power adjustment.
Safety wise, the M45 has active head restraints to help prevent whiplash if the M45 is rear-ended, antilock brakes, front and side airbags, traction control, depowered airbags, and stability control. The brakes were another story, as I did not like the feel of the brakes. They didn't seem to be serious about stopping until I used significant leg strength to get their attention.
All in all, this Infiniti is a nice car that does not seem to be able to decide if it is luxurious or sporty and ends up being a little of each.
Dad's view: We had the Premium Package and it came with seats that could be heated or cooled by pressing a button next to the center console. Compared to other cars with a similar option, these did not work as well. The seats were fairly comfortable, but not for hard driving due to the lack of enough side bolster to hold you in place on the slippery leather surface. Speaking of which, there is way too much lean in the M45. It is best used as a nice cruising vehicle for those in the front seat. The backseat is quite limited in foot room and the trunk only affords 13.4 cubic feet of room.
The reason anyone would be interested in this car is because of the numbers. You get the highly acclaimed, class leading, V8 engine that uses its 32-valve DOHC and 4.5-liters of displacement to put forth 340 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 333 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. Putting this performance to the rear wheels is a five-speed automatic with automanual capabilities. If you use the automanual, you can get this heavy car to 60 mph in about six and a half seconds. All of this plus the highly regarded Infiniti service for well under $50,000 US. The downside is that the transmission just does not want to cooperate and downshifts are slow and jolty. So you get what you pay for.