Stereo, too. The mighty Bose unit even offers dual front-seat-mounted speakers for surround sound at each perch. There’s even a ‘Forest Air’ system that occasionally dispenses a refreshing whiff of cool, positively-ionized air, enhancing the cabin atmosphere with breeze of artificial outdoorsy freshness.
Lots of space, too many beepers
Functionally, the M’s cabin offers plenty of space for 4 occupants in every direction and a relatively simple layout to its dozens of controls. Driver assistance beepers for ‘you’re leaving your lane’, ‘you’re about to sideswipe that Taurus’ and ‘you’re about to rear-end someone, dufus’ were all included—though they can be disabled if required.
Wind and road noise are kept nicely in check, and in all, the M’s cabin is a very relaxing, luxurious and fresh-smelling place to spend some time.
A beast of an engine
Delightfully entertaining contrast came from the tester’s mighty 5.6-litre, direct-injected, 420-horsepower V8—which breaks the cabin’s tranquility with testosterone-laced sound effects on command.
The engine sends a smooth shudder through the entire vehicle when started, and twists the M on its suspension a half-inch or so when revved up in neutral. Additionally, after setting the M56x quickly in motion, your writer was hard-pressed to think of any other automatic car so eager to absolutely tear off the line with any touch of the accelerator.
As the uplevel V8 powerplant reaches for its 6,500-rpm redline, the thrust and head-pinning acceleration seem all the more inappropriate as experienced from such a refined cockpit. A smaller V6 is available for those worried about gas mileage and demerit points.
Manual-mode shifts from the 7-speed automatic are quick and responsive, though left in D, the huge mill pulls things along peacefully without breaking 2,000 rpm.
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| The mighty Bose unit even offers dual front-seat-mounted speakers for surround sound at each perch. (Photo: Infiniti) |
Lots of space, too many beepers
Functionally, the M’s cabin offers plenty of space for 4 occupants in every direction and a relatively simple layout to its dozens of controls. Driver assistance beepers for ‘you’re leaving your lane’, ‘you’re about to sideswipe that Taurus’ and ‘you’re about to rear-end someone, dufus’ were all included—though they can be disabled if required.
Wind and road noise are kept nicely in check, and in all, the M’s cabin is a very relaxing, luxurious and fresh-smelling place to spend some time.
A beast of an engine
Delightfully entertaining contrast came from the tester’s mighty 5.6-litre, direct-injected, 420-horsepower V8—which breaks the cabin’s tranquility with testosterone-laced sound effects on command.
The engine sends a smooth shudder through the entire vehicle when started, and twists the M on its suspension a half-inch or so when revved up in neutral. Additionally, after setting the M56x quickly in motion, your writer was hard-pressed to think of any other automatic car so eager to absolutely tear off the line with any touch of the accelerator.
As the uplevel V8 powerplant reaches for its 6,500-rpm redline, the thrust and head-pinning acceleration seem all the more inappropriate as experienced from such a refined cockpit. A smaller V6 is available for those worried about gas mileage and demerit points.
Manual-mode shifts from the 7-speed automatic are quick and responsive, though left in D, the huge mill pulls things along peacefully without breaking 2,000 rpm.
 |
| Delightfully entertaining contrast came from the tester’s mighty 5.6-litre, direct-injected, 420-horsepower V8. (Photo: Infiniti) |