Very Un-impressive FX35

bgsquad · #1 01-11-2010, 10:49 AM

Yesterday we were going for a day at the mountains, and after car pooling, i was riding with my friend in his FX35. I asked him if i could drive it, just to see how is it to drive an FX35... below is the feedback:

The first thing that strikes (besides the little gas pedale that feels terrible under a big boot) is the dumb transmission. The car is always shifting to the upper gear, despite being driving uphills. It's just so plain stupid, like the old 98' pathfinder I had. so with a little push on the throttle, the car barely moves with the fourth or fifth gear @ 40-50mph climbing uphills... so I had to push on the throttle to shift to second gear... and to my great surprise, or shock shall i say... it takes a whole second to kick in the second gear!!! OMG!! my conclusion is that the trans is crappy, and you have to shift to manual mode to have some intelligent control.... oh how much i love the intelligent sport mode of my X5

I can't remove my smile of my face when i reach a curve so fast, and when i start applying the break the gear shifts down by itself and holds it really long ... or when i push the throttle and the X shifts down in a fraction of a second.. this readiness and sportiness is so absent in the FX...

Now the handling... can you believe that it feels somehow boaty? the floating feeling is due to some soft and non precise suspension and steering... i did not expect that... What I did like about the steering however, is the resistance while turning: the X5 has no resistance and you have to negotiate the curve by relying on your feel of the steering wheel that accurately translates the road and the behavior of the vehicle (sport package, 18'') while the FX gives you a nice call-back that somehow helps you negotiate the curve... so it's better for novice i think (spirited drivers can give their inpute here) and the small steering wheel is cute.

Braking... it's obious that the rotors are so small for a 2000KG vehicle, and comparing to the X, it's like half... but what they did to cover over that, is a smart (??) re-maping of the brake pedal: as soon as you put your foot on it, you feel like jumping of the windshield.. this gives the illusion of strengh, but actually it's just "early reaction"...

Sitting position: like you're drowning... not the dominant and spacious position of the X... not even close... not to mention the plasticcccc all around

Conclusion: infiniti made a car that has the power (more HP than my 3.0) and can mimick or simulate a sporty car, but it's far from being an authentic one (belive it or not!) So if in a straight 0-60 line pull, the FX can do a 0.5 seconds better than my X5 3.0, I think it's just a minor advantage when you think of it as a whole and as a driving experience and ride quality (even this 0.5 seconds is insignificant in a real time spirited diriving where shifting gears tens of times and negotiating tens of curves play the decisive role)

Guys, we are so lucky to have the X5s... we did the right choice!

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sethro · #2 01-11-2010, 01:27 PM

Thanks for the writeup

I have to agree with you on the tranny on the FX really needs some improvement. I have also driven one and I hate the CVT tranny Nissan(infiniti) is using. It feels like the car is constantly suck in one big gear. Still its known to be a very reliable vehicle.

I'm a big fan of the Infinity G37 though

AzNMpower32 · #3 01-11-2010, 03:52 PM

I'm surprised you got into such an ugly thing in the first place. There are some cars out there that tell you how rubbish it is before you even turn the ignition.

alewifebp · #4 01-12-2010, 12:52 AM

What year was this one? I've driven both the older FX45 and the newer generation FX35 and FX50, although only on test drives, and I have to say I liked it. If I didn't on a hunch go to a BMW dealer because of some slamming deals I heard about on the X5, that is what I would have been driving right now.

Much like BMW, it very well depends on how you option the thing. The sport package adds a lot of driving character to the vehicle.

While I've been impressed with many things about my E70, certainly one area that the FX is head and shoulders above is the navigation and other electronics, like the back up camera. And the FX50 is a rocket ship.

bgsquad · #5 01-12-2010, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I'm surprised you got into such an ugly thing in the first place. .

alewifebp: it's a 2005 FX35 and I was comparing it to a 01' 3.0

Yes, the 2010 FX50 might feel better, but again, you should compare it with the 2010 X6 XDrive50i... putting the driving aside (since i haven't driven any of the two), I think the outside looks of the 2 is enough:

after the FX looked like a frog that fell from a tree, the FX50 seems like a futuristic cool frog (that fell from a higher tree)... I mean come on, Hyundai also designs cars that are over-curvy (Does Hyundai Coupe bring any memories?)... it looks so far-eastern with an exaggerated design and a lot of shiny plastics from the outside...and cannot match the aggressive solid BMW design.

True, the Japanese are known to be brilliant in electronics...

tell me about it sethro, I've driven the sluggish pathfinder for 5 years, and i weep on every minute i spent driving this piece of crap...

blondboinsd · #6 01-12-2010, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alewifebp

What year was this one? I've driven both the older FX45 and the newer generation FX35 and FX50, although only on test drives, and I have to say I liked it. If I didn't on a hunch go to a BMW dealer because of some slamming deals I heard about on the X5, that is what I would have been driving right now.

Much like BMW, it very well depends on how you option the thing. The sport package adds a lot of driving character to the vehicle.

While I've been impressed with many things about my E70, certainly one area that the FX is head and shoulders above is the navigation and other electronics, like the back up camera. And the FX50 is a rocket ship.

I recently did an extended test drive of the 2010 FX35 and was quite impressed. The interior is fantastic, full of high quality materials and in my opinion the interior is beautiful. The rear seat IS cramped I will give you that but I personally like the FX's interior over the BMW's, it just has more style. I was blown away by the FX's infotainment options (Navigation, Bluetooth, Surround View Camera etc) and really impressed with how easy all of them were to operate. The only major sticking point for me was the front end, I'm still mixed on how I feel about it but I 100% prefer the size of the FX to the E70's.

bgsquad · #7 03-15-2010, 04:09 AM

Ok, this weekend i pulled with a Murano on a fast uphill highway with curves... the Murano was behind me but he was able to keep up with me (I pulled away slightly), but then i started to pull more and more as we approached the curves... then a long stretch of 140km/h made him really little in the mirror

When i got home, i googled the murano specs, and it turned out that it has 3.5 Engine 245HP... again, useless nissan HPs :p

Going back to the FX35, i think the figures released in the press are far from reality: they say it can do 0-100km/h in 7.5s, while the youtube videos show >8s... besides, i noticed that it shifts to 3rd gear at 100km/h while the x5 shifts at 90km/h, which means that the FX has one less gear shift, which makes it win few tens of a second... but from 100 to 140km/h the X5 will catch up (the FX will have to shift to the 3rd gear after all!!)

Conclusion, those japanese people are using all means to create interesting cars, but the BMW are always authentic and one step ahead ...

nom3rcy · #8 03-15-2010, 04:44 AM

The Infiniti will always be compromised due to it's price point.

However, it makes it's case by cheapening out on the intangible things most consumers aren't aware of, such as the transmission issues, steering feedback etc.

So while it does have all the right tech and numbers on paper, it is missing that substance that makes owning a BMW so special.

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