December 28^th, 2004

Muscular '06 Infiniti M Set for Power Oversteer

Infiniti's new midsize luxury attempt sticks with the Luxury Muscle Car formula, but you'll have to provoke it

Three years ago, the current Infiniti M45 midsize luxury entry arrived on a then-three-year-old Nissan Cedric platform. It has never been a strong seller. Infiniti will struggle to move more than 2,000 this year, less than half as many E-Classes as Mercedes manages in a month.

So anxious was Infiniti to demonstrate that it could do better than the outgoing M45 that we saw an M45 Concept that looked remarkably producible earlier this year in New York. Barely changed from that concept, and now debuting at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, Infiniti's new M35 and M45 are its latest midsize luxury attempt

Interiors come with rosewood or aluminum trim. The form itself is pleasant, with a distinctive deck in the center console

That said, the execution itself could be better; minor switches are lifted straight from cheaper Nissans, and the materials themselves are layered in blanks rather than integrated. Attention to detail is not this car's strong point

Part of the news is the styling. This car has a much more muscular stance to it than the outgoing, somewhat staid and slab-sided M45 did. The musculature provides cohesive-ness across the car (more than, say, the G35). One might, however, question the attention to detail. Certainly, some of the detailing is higher-effort than it might appear; the polygonal tail-lamps, C-pillar, and door handles have touches of olde-worlde Citroën about them. Yet the shutlines are all blandly parallel to each other, with bumpers that are plebian to the point of being agricultural on the entry-level M35

Back in 1990, Infiniti released the above ad depicting its first car - the Infiniti Q45 flagship - cornering with the benefit of Active Suspension. More crucially to this article, however, it also had Super HICAS (High Capacity Actively Controlled Steering), which adjusted rear wheel toe-in on the fly. In the 2006 Infiniti M35 Sport and M45 Sport, the system appears to have returned after more than a decade of absence from Infiniti's line-up

Nissan's HICAS system differed from other four-wheel-steering variants in that it could start the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the front, gradually changing them to the same direction

Advertised as an intelligent muscle car - as a luxury powerhouse for the digital age - the current Infiniti M45 debuted in 2002 based on a midlife, Japanese-market Nissan Cedric.

Sales of the midsize luxury car have been dreadful. Despite a proportionate (if poorly-detailed) design breathed-on by Bertone, and a 340hp V8 shared with its Q45 flagship, Infiniti will struggle to move more than 2,000 this year. By the time the M45 makes its exit in a few months, fewer than 10,000 will have entered this country in its three years on the market.

Three months from now, Infiniti’s midsize luxury M45 will be replaced by a second-generation model, this time based on a platform donated by the G35, stretched, and receiving upgrades to a claimed 60% of its parts. The car is still designed in Japan, and still derived from a Japanese model (Nissan's Fuga, named from the Italian fugue and referring to a musical composition with multiple interwoven melodies). It remains rear-wheel-drive in V8 form (where rumor has it that an all-wheel-drive system would not fit), with an all-wheel-drive option in a new entry-level model: the V6-powered M35.

The G35 sports sedan which has donated its pieces to this more upscale effort has been Infiniti's first real success story since its launch in 2002, and its influence here - both mechanically and visually - is clear.

The M35's 280hp VQ-series 3.5-liter V6 engine and optional all-wheel-drive systems are adopted from the G35/ G35x, while the M45 takes its 340hp 4.5-liter V8 from the Q45 flagship and FX45 luxury SUV. The G35's FM platform has boosted torsional rigidity by 30%. Thanks to rear-wheel-drive, both the standard and all-wheel-drive models have a reasonably balanced static weight distribution, at 54/46 and 55/45 respectively.

Visually, the G35's platform helps to stretch the wheels closer to the corners. Consider that although the entire package is shorter than Infiniti's Q45 flagship, the wheelbase itself is longer. Gone is the long front overhang, the FM platform being able to provide sufficient crush space by moving the engine backward in the chassis, rather than extending the somewhat ungainly overhang of the outgoing M45. Consigned to memory, too, are the old M45's slab sides. More curvaceous panels take their place, contributing to a form that, from a distance, resembles a Nissan Altima that has been imbued with tension. In darker colors, the glittery detailing is emphasized, and the new car gains more presence.

One should note, too, that this car has a much more muscular stance to it than the outgoing, somewhat staid M45 did. The musculature provides cohesiveness across the car (more than, say, in the G35). We should add that Shiro Nakamura (who heads Nissan's studios) has voted the Shelby Cobra, an epitome of automotive musculature in which the body visually overpowers its skeleton, as his favorite design.

While the new car's reliance on the well-praised G35 certainly boosts Infiniti's chances in the midsize luxury class, what will the M35/ M45 themselves contribute to the segment? How will they further the Infiniti brand, and improve that brand's chances of credibly commanding $50,000 for a car?

The news is neither in the all-wheel-drive, nor in the engine and transmissions. Stylistically, this pair is more in line with the newer crop of Infiniti vehicles, and we find the form pleasing, both inside and out, but attention to detail is lacking. Former Chrysler Design Head Tom Gale once called surfacing treatments reactive, and - peripheral moves such as the oversized tail-lights aside - this car's styling hardly breaks new ground.

There are, certainly, more toys in here, but this is to be expected in the $40k+ class. Here, adding to the outgoing M45’s adaptive cruise control, voice recognition, and climate-controlled seats are Bose® DVD-Audio with seat-mounted speakers; a keyless ignition; a rear-mounted screen; Bluetooth, and a 45 mph+ lane-departure warning system.

For the true revolution, the difference with respect to counterparts, and the reflection of a more confident Infiniti brand, we must look at the new M35/ M45’s suspension design. It is here - in the Sport models, and their Active Rear Steer - that we find an indication of unique soul in this latest Infiniti.

Does anyone remember a Nissan device dubbed Super HICAS? Now a famous piece of the old 300ZX and of various high-performance Skylines, it was introduced on the Q45t flagship (the first Infiniti-badged vehicle) back in 1990. The High Capacity Actively Controlled Steering system toed the rear wheels in either the same or opposite directions to the front – up to one degree – to enhance both steering response and the cornering power of the rear tires.

Today, we can once again get a similar system in a new Infiniti, featured in the rear-wheel-drive M35 Sport and M45 Sport.

You may have heard of Passive Rear Steer. Familiar to many generations of Europeans long fond of hot hatchbacks such as the Peugeot 205 GTi, passive rear steer has consisted of toed-in rear wheels.

Since toed-out wheels display appetites for changing direction, toeing the rear wheels inward generated cornering forces at the rear more quickly and made driving on the limit more accessible (to varying degrees).

HICAS, on the other hand, would actively toe both rear wheels by manipulating the lower control arms at the rear, in an attempt to either add stability - or maneuverability in emergency situations. As in the new M today, the system reacted to vehicle speed, and to how far and how quickly the steering wheel was turned.

When the vehicle moved at high speed, the rear wheels would turn in the same direction as the front, no matter the speed of the steering input. This toed the inside wheel outward, and the outer wheel inward. The inside wheel, therefore, transferred less weight to the outer wheel, causing the rear weight transfer to be lower than that at the front and generating understeer. The same would occur under medium speeds and slow steering inputs, albeit that a slight delay in the system would permit the chassis to 'set' in the corner before understeer took hold.

However, at medium speeds and with an abrupt steering wheel motion, the rear wheels would turn first in the opposite direction of the front to enable maneuverability, and then back to the same direction before terminal oversteer could take hold. This was one of the key differences between Nissan's system, and other four-wheel-steering variants.

Unfortunately enough, HICAS disappeared after the 1994 model year, as Infiniti began softening suspension bushings and lightening the Q45’s steering. Today, Active Rear Steer has reappeared on the 2006 M35 Sport and M45 Sport models, the system appears to be similar.

From the above explanation, it seems clear that the system was geared to provide understeer, long the favored behavior for mainstream vehicles. This continues today, teamed with a roll axis (the virtual connection between a vehicle's two roll centers) that further encourages understeer.

As we have noted before, more even than the camber and toe angles of the wheels, the roll axis provides the opportunity to alter chassis behavior and modulate front and rear lateral weight transfer. In the new M35 and M45, note that a double-wishbone suspension sits in place of the multi-link front suspension in the outgoing M45, even as the multi-link at the rear is retained. Given that the roll center of a double-wishbone is generally higher than that of a multi-link, this suggests a roll axis that slopes further upward than it once did.

The inherent set-up for understeer, teamed with rear-wheel-drive and abundant horses, is the key to the new M's character.

Indeed, what we do have in the new M45, in particular, is a wave of power, thus setting up the potential for power oversteer with the safety blanket of a chassis that has been buttoned-down toward understeer. Back in the days of the first-generation Q45t, Infiniti’s V8 put out 278hp (albeit that, considering the gentlemen’s agreement in effect among Japanese manufacturers at the time, it may well have been more). Time marches on; today, the new M35 manages 280hp from two fewer cylinders, and the M45 packs a 340hp V8.

Given the potential for safe, tail-out fun, the inclusion of Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive might seem out of place. The system distributes torque from up to 100% on the rear, through 50%. Infiniti has suggested that the take rate for the all-wheel-drive G35x is 75% in some regions; consider it, therefore, a marketing decision to broaden the new M's appeal, rather than an indication of this car's character at its best.

No matter; the all-wheel-drive is not the real story, here. We see the M as more of an invitation to mash the gas in comfort and safety. As with the G35, the experience will prove twitchy (partly due to conflicting targets and, here, the sheer bulk being transferred as the car corners). These are not the sort of dynamics that flatter an inept driver in the same way as does a 3 series. That said, smooth application of power will go some way toward lending the M some progression.

Infiniti wants to sell 24,000 of these per year, 4,000 more than Acura’s 2005 RL (with which the M45 is expected to compete in price). The comparison is interesting; both companies have struggled in this segment, and both have revised their offerings for 2005. Both new cars drawn on the forms of Nissans and Hondas, respectively, although Infiniti's surfacing is more daring while Acura is content to offer an innovative all-wheel-drive system.

Who will buy this car? Certainly, value plays a role, with the M35 starting at around $43,000, and the M45 at nearly $49,000. This is a different, more traditional value system, however. Infiniti admits to chasing a male, 40-year-old customer, according to senior manager James E. De Trude.  One assumes, then, that this type is not as drawn to the G35 as to its bigger brother, with more metal, more space, and more power. Consider that the G35 will not donate its stick-shift transmission to the M35, and that the M comes no lighter than 3,832 lbs, and there is certainly a case to be made that the two cars will draw different buyers despite their mechanical commonality.

Looking at Infiniti's target audience, and discounting the company's additional qualifications of the customer ("athletic and seeking life experiences" being among the more vague), we see a market consisting of those looking to inconspicuously recapture their youth, lurid oversteer and all. Should you want a gadget-laden vehicle with a modicum of refinement and the ability to power oversteer within a safety cushion should things go wrong, the M45 Sport - neither excessively refined nor rambunctiously raw - may well be your car.