2004 Infiniti M45 Review & Road Test at Automotive.com

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2003-2004 Infiniti M45

Below is a review of the 2004 Infiniti M45 written by the automotive experts at Automobile Magazine. A full evaluation of the driving experience, price, equipment, and specs are here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with a wealth of experience.

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Value Rating

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LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Review From Automobile Magazine

2003-2004 Infiniti M45

By Don Sherman / Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

Threats come no more thinly veiled than this: By christening its new mid-size sport sedan an M45, Infiniti is warning all the world, especially BMW, that it means business. Under neatly chiseled skin, the upstart M borrows heavily from the slightly schizophrenic Q. But thoughtful recalibrations and a diet that hikes the power-to-weight ratio a healthy six percent make this a very interesting contender which every sport sedan competitor would be wise to take seriously.

Nissan's three-year-old LFR (large, front-engined, rear-drive) platform underpins both the M and the Q. A lusty 32-valve, 4.5-liter V-8 engine and five-speed automatic transmission serve both admirably. Sophisticated touches include variable intake-valve timing, variable-length intake runners, electronic throttle control (a.k.a. drive-by-wire), a hydraulically driven cooling fan, and a dual-mode muffler. While the Q's Electronic Torque-Demand system is programmed for supremely smooth delivery, the more impetuous M kicks its heels during gear changes. To boost the vitality of both upper-crust Infinitis, the final-drive ratio has been changed from 2.76:1 to a more lively 3.13:1.

Chassis blueprints are unchanged except for a 2.8-inch wheelbase snip, yielding 110.2 inches axle to axle, a mere 1.2 inches shorter than the corresponding dimension of the BMW 5-series. Suspension gear consists of a conventional strut-damper setup in front and a multi-link rear. There's a coil spring for every corner plus a security blanket of electronic controls--overseeing traction, stability, and braking functions--to keep the M45's feet perpetually on pavement. The rack-and-pinion power steering is speed-sensitive.

To gauge the pulse of its latest prodigy, Infiniti launched us toward California's sumptuous Napa Valley behind the wheel of a pre-production prototype. Our first dynamic discovery was that the M child has learned fine manners from its Q forebear. Nissan's VK45DE V-8 engine is Cadillac-quiet, Lexus-smooth, and Honda-potent. Peak outputs of 340 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 333 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm compare favorably against BMW's V-8s, excluding the hairy-chested one powering the M5. As if by teleportation, the M's engine sinks you deeper into the nicely shaped bucket seat with barely a murmur. Chief engineer Tatsuo Osawa proudly boasts that the speedo's glowing red needle can touch 60 mph in less than six seconds.

The steering feels tight and precise, and body roll is held in check nicely. Hopes for a V-8-powered BMW with $10,000 of change in our wallet danced until we pressed the M deep into a decreasing-radius bend. That's when resolute understeer rattled our reverie and recollections of the Q's not-quite-sorted persona brought us back to reality like an hour-early wake-up call. The combination of a slightly too slow steering ratio, not quite enough wheel travel, and ragged responses at the remote corners of the performance envelope shattered the BMW illusions. On top of that, the supposedly manual shift mode changes gears impulsively, the electronic throttle was unruly in one of the cars we drove, and the dead pedal is angled too flatly to provide secure left-leg bracing when your right leg is planting a lasting impression on the firewall.

Inside, the center of the dash dominates the scene the same way Mount Rushmore enlivens South Dakota. Plans for telematic toys went out the window with the demise of supplier Wingcast, but you can opt for radar-based cruise control and a navigation system that plays on a seven-inch LCD screen. Regrettably, the ergonomically challenged switchgear has been imported from the Q with no notable improvement. Solace comes in the form of air heated or cooled by solid-state devices, wafting pleasantly through the bucket seats' perforations.

Infiniti earns an A for mustering the courage to attack BMW but only a B- for execution. The moral of the story: Don't confront one of the best cars on the planet with a three-year-old chassis.