Who are they trying to kid? Will Europeans really consider a premium car built by Nissan? Infiniti arrives in Europe in 2008 and we’re first to drive the new G37 Coupe to find out if it cuts the mustard.
CAR flew to Switzerland to Infiniti’s new Euro HQ to test the Japanese answer to the 3-series Coupe. This is the latest iteration of the G two-door, previous versions of which have been sold in the US and, badged Skylines, in Japan.

Why would I consider one over a BMW 3-series or Merc CLK?

Let’s cut to the chase. Infiniti wants to offer BMW driving dynamics tied to Lexus levels of customer service. This basic tenet underpins all of Infiniti’s launch activity – and the G37 is pitched accordingly, with big engines and power outputs, high spec and attractive prices.
It shares many of the mechanicals from parent firm Nissan’s 350Z: so there’s a tasty V6, enlarged to 3.7 litres and breathed on with variable valve control; a rear-drive chassis, available on top Sport trim models with four-wheel steer; and some heady power outputs to tempt enthusiasts out of their German machines.
continue reading "Infiniti G37 S Coupe"

The 2007 350Z looks the same as the old one, doesn’t it?

If you look carefully there’s a bulge in the bonnet and therein lies the story. The new-for-2007 350Z gets an engine that’s 80% new – and 8mm higher. Hence the purposeful swelling on the bonnet. The charismatic 3.5-litre V6 gets longer con rods, a wider range of operation for the variable valve timing and equal length exhaust manifolds. For the first time too, there are dual intake manifolds. The compression ratio is up from 10.3 to 10.6 to 1, all of which allows the new unit to produce 309bhp. It’s what Nissan’s sports car always needed.

I’ve heard that the engine started life as a Renault unit

So the story goes. In reality this V6, in 2.5 and 3-litre guise, gestated in the infinitely forgettable Maxima QX and was then adopted by Renault in 3.5-litre form for the oddball Vel Satis and Avantime. In the 350Z it started life in 2003 with 276bhp, which then rose to 296bhp in its 2006 iteration. Now its got 309bhp – a useful 33bhp hike over the original, but only 13bhp more than the 2006 model.
continue reading "Nissan 350Z"

What’s this? A hatchback? An off-roader? A mini-MPV?

None of the above. It’s a Nissan Qashqai, it replaces the Almera hatchback (if you can remember what that was) and, according to its maker, ‘it completely redefines driving in the modern, urban world’. In fact, it doesn’t, as you can probably guess, but it is the result of some bold thinking by Nissan. With traditional hatchbacks and saloons in decline and niche cars like SUVs and MPVs on the rise, it has decided to abandon the mainstream, Focus-sized hatch market altogether and offer the Qashqai instead.
continue reading "Nissan Qashqai 2.0 dCi"

Nissan’s Murano is an odd thing. Since late 2004 only around 1000 of them have made it to the UK each year, but for all its scarcity it was something you wouldn’t forget when you did see one. A big showy chrome grille and a lusty V6 engine borrowed from the 350Z meant the Murano was never going to appeal to everyone (there has never been a diesel), but it wasn’t without its fans. And those fans will no doubt be pleased to hear there’s a new one on the way.

So when does the new Nissan Murano arrive?

The official line is that UK dealers will have Muranos to sell late in 2008. It’s hardly surprising that Nissan isn’t in a huge rush to get the new Murano over here. The company is doing very nicely indeed out of selling it in the USA, where the big 3.5-litre 261bhp V6 petrol engine is less of an issue.

Whether it’s worth the wait is entirely down to how you like your SUVs. The Murano is a bit leftfield for many – and those new looks may well divide opinion (some at CAR worry they’ve destroyed a desirable car with that ‘distinctive’ new nose).

But can the new car match the old car’s slick drive?

So the new Nissan Murano is more suited to the USA then?

There’s no denying that the Murano feels like it’s been built with the wide open spaces of America in mind. The V6 is smooth and is still mated to a rev-holding CVT transmission and there will be neither manual transmission nor a diesel engine.

The gearbox is Nissan’s second-generation Xtronic CVT, and it helps that V6 return decent economy for a big petrol-powered four-wheel-drive: think in the region of 23-26mpg on the official combined cycle. Not great in a derv-obsessed market, but not a complete disaster.

Suspension of disbelief

On the long, straight, corner-free roads of America the soft suspension is angled to comfort, but on the twisty roads of the UK we suspect it would be too wallowy. So like its predecessor the new Murano will have its suspension tuned to suit our winding roads and pot-marked surfaces – it’s a bit premature to judge the ride and handling just yet, then.

It’s unlikely that the tweaks will have much of an effect on the steering though, which – while weighty – doesn’t offer much in the way of communication.

Not so sporty after all then?

Nope, but it’s not without appeal. The Murano is a good-looking thing to these eyes, and a lot more distinctive than its predecessor in the metal than photos give it credit for. It’s matured a little, inside and out.

The interior loses the hard plastics and rather bolt-on look to the instrumentation for a far more pleasing, cohesively styled facia constructed of vastly improved materials.

It’s comfy and spacious in there, while standard equipment should also be super-sized. Nissan’s interior people are very good at cubby storage, and just try not to repeatedly press the button for the neat pop-up shopping bag holder in the boot.

Verdict

The Murano always was an unusual choice, and it’s more of the same with the new one. Nissan has concentrated on improving it where necessary and leaving the other bits well alone. So it’s more refined, better equipped – the UK will get two trim levels, the entry model costing around £2000 less and doing without premium kit like Bose audio – and quicker.

However, with fresh competition like Mazda’s CX-7, the Murano is no longer on its own. And with fuel consumption and CO2 emissions becoming bigger buying imperatives by the week, many might find the Murano a bit too excessive.

Nissan GT-R. Finally, the full-blown road test…

Yes, after all the hype, the teaser images, the passenger rides and interviews, we’ve finally been let loose in the Nissan GT-R, one of the most anticipated drives of the year.

And my word, it’s been worth the six-year wait. This is one of the finest, most engaging and desirable cars we have driven in ages, a car with a seemingly endless range of ground-covering abilities that elevates it way beyond the common Nissan badge. It’s automotive heaven…

The GT-R is really that good?

Yes. It’s really that good. Nissan took us out to its test track in Sendai, a small student town a couple of hours north of Tokyo on the Bullet Train. The circuit is only 2.5 miles long, but it crams an amazing number of different corners – fast, slow, off-camber and sweaty-palm kinks – into a short stretch of tarmac. A Nürburgring-lite, if you like.

There we hooked up with Kazutoshi Mizuno, former head of Nissan’s sports car racing programme, who warned us about the intricacies of the Sendai circuit and then lobbed us the GT-R’s keys for ten fast-as-you-dare laps.

Please, please tell me it turned you into a driving god…

One with winged heels! The GT-R is ferociously quick, sucking in the horizon with the kind of pace that makes you radically recalibrate your speed-distance-time triangle. The 3.8-litre bi-turbo engine is a new V6, not related to the fine one used in the 350Z. It’s an amazingly tractable engine, pulling from way down low in the rev band, then energised by the twin IHI turbochargers all the way, uninterrupted, to the 7000rpm redline.

From launch to 62mph takes just 3.6 seconds. Top speed is a supercar-rivalling 193mph. The gearchange is lightning quick and clean, and those big Brembo brakes are quite brilliant. They stop you like a giant hand firmly pulling you backwards to safety. Mizuno says they’re the best brakes on any production car and Japanese homologation tests say the same. On our experience, we’d be inclined to agree.

Straightline speed is one thing, cornering is another…

Don’t worry, the GT-R has the polished dynamics to use all that power, all that turbo-enhanced performance all the time. Sure, the steering isn’t as sharp or as delicate as a 911’s – the GT-R is 350kg heavier, remember – but it’s linear and the GT-R’s blunt nose instantly changes direction, no questions asked.

It doesn’t understeer, it simply hunkers down and goes where you want it. It’s a car that drives square on its feet rather than always on its toes. Less poetic, perhaps, than its European rivals. But, in this case, faster. And so easy to exploit.

It is, says Mizuno, the fastest production car in the world around the Nürburgring – according to Nissan, only the bespoke (and out of production) Porsche Carrera GT can lap the daunting German circuit quicker. That’s real-world pace, irrespective of road or weather conditions.

So it’s a real hardcore machine?

Oh it’s quick alright – quick enough to make Porsche’s 911 Turbo feel unexciting – but the GT-R’s real appeal is its adaptability. Punt it hard, really hard on a track and the GT-R responds, delivering searing pace, formidable control, a fine and perfectly judged balance and a wonderfully high level of feedback.

But if you want to drive it across town in rush-hour traffic or halfway across a continent, you simply slot into Drive, settle back into the thickly padded and generously bolstered seats, switch the suspension setting to soft and the GT-R is so easy and effortless, you might just as well be in a Maxima. A very brisk Maxima.

And that’s core to the Nissan’s magic appeal – its ability to deliver two distinctly different driving characteristics, where the qualities of one don’t compromise the other.

How does it achieve this duality?

With just three switches, housed just above the gearlever, at the bottom of the centre of the dash. The left one adjusts the transmission and you choose ‘R’ mode for faster gearshifts. The middle switch adjusts the dampers. Again, you choose R for the sportiest chassis set-up. Those Bilsteins are now on maximum sports setting.

Finally turn the VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control – controlling stability and traction controls) switch to R. Which means it’s turned off. Ring up three Rs and you’re ready to Race. Flick them back to their default settings and you have a comfy cruiser.

There’s even a brake-assist function for hills, to avoid rolling backwards unintentionally on those awkward hill starts.

Verdict

Quite simply, the new GT-R is the world’s most multi-faceted supercar. There is no fast car so easy to steer, none so forgiving, no car that has more armoury in its quest to go fast and keep you out of trouble.

Just as that old GT-R resets the standards for front-engined coupés, so the new one lifts the bar ever higher. An M3 beater? Easily. M5? Think higher. This car is faster, more high-tech, sharper, more capable. Faster than a 911 Turbo on the straight. Or on the circuit. And all for normal 911 money. Genius.