Infiniti are the luxury car brand owned by Nissan and have recently announced a new car in their range which is the Infiniti M30D. It’s a diesel model and should mean that this brand increase their sales into the diesel luxury market – a space where Nissan has traditionally struggled to enter and increase their market share.
It’s quite a hard job for Nissan, because traditionally, the luxury car clientele tend to opt for German motors such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz – so it might be a stretch getting them to invest in a Japanese brand (although the Honda Acura sales are very impressive this year). The new Infiniti does set itself apart though because it style is very different to the direct competition.
It has beautiful curves and the window shape is not dissimilar to the one you might find on the latest generation of Porsche SUVs. In the face of the competition the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series now do actually look quite boring by comparison.
Interior Design is Quite Conventional
Moving to the interior you will notice that the Infiniti M30D is quite conventional though, in particular with the wood finish, leather upholstery (of course, in black), and some plastic elements. Another slight negative to this car is the fact that the rear passengers don’t have a lot of room to move with small leg room spaces – as well as what seems to be an un-finished job in the year (for example with the rough plastic edges that are evident around the two air vents).
If you are interested in buying the Infiniti M30D then here are the pros and cons to purchasing in 2012:
Pros to Owning the Infiniti M30D
- Very rigorous and safe handling
- Comes with a powerful V6 diesel engine
- There is a reasonable level of comfort and safety features included
- Interior has a nice enough finish, apart from some lacking aspects in the rear
Cons to Owning the Infiniti M30D
- Some aspects almost seem unfinished
- The acceleration pedals seem to be quite sticky and non-responsive
Nissan and Infiniti are hoping that this new model will do well in 2012, with some decent sales projections for North America. In terms of the competition this car should be ranked somewhere near the V6 Renault, and in fact has a very similar engine type to the ones seen in the Laguna and Latitude cars so you should know what you’re getting before you even take it for a test drive.
What About the Engine Performance?
The Infiniti M30D comes with a 238 horse power engine and gives the driver a torque of 550 Nm. It’s all driven via a seven-speed automatic gearbox which is soft to use, and feel smooth when changing gears. The V6 diesel engine is quite quiet on the open road, and handling is responsive in most driving scenarios.
S Version of the Infiniti Has Four Wheel Drive
There is also an S version of the car which comes with four-wheel drive and is similarly priced to the BMW 5 Series or Jaguar XF. Calibration and soundproofing is better in the cabin of the S model and reduces the humming noises experienced in the basic model.
All versions come with the Infiniti Navigation System as standard, meaning you can benefit from turn by turn directions and GPS navigation whilst on the road. It looks set to rival the Acura brand in the United States, although whether it will become a truly loved bestselling brand when compared against German models from BMW and Mercedes is hard to say – that might be just too hard to achieve with the 2012 Infiniti model.
Credits: This car review and article was written exclusively for use on this website by the team at GPSBites.com. If you already own an Infiniti and want to purchase new GPS maps in 2012 for the Infiniti in-dash navigation system then please visit their website for the most up to date and valid Infiniti Navigation Coupon codes available on these models.
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