2006 Infiniti M35 Sport

2006 Infiniti M35 Sport - While this M35 was in our possession recently, most of the comments we heard from acquaintances ran along the lines of, “The V-8 model must be pretty cool, eh?”

No, power loonies, this one is plenty cool enough with a V-6. If you’re looking for a large four-door sports-luxury vehicle, the M35 is as much as you need. The 3.5-liter V-6 pushes the car around with relative ease, never feeling overmatched, and its acceleration proves entirely adequate, consuming the quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds at 96 mph and getting to 60 mph from standstill in 6.1 seconds.

Nonetheless, the M35 is a great car with which to assault canyon roads. Those big 19-inch Bridgestones telegraph their grip on the pavement with considerable clarity, and the sport-tuned chassis maintains a fairly flat stance. Sport Ms have the company’s active-toe-control system operating at the rear axle. This helps turn-in response and effectively damps the tail happiness we’ve seen in G35s, which share similar suspension technologies.

Yet the car will commute and tour with a surprising degree of civility, offering a pretty compliant and quiet ride on most roads. The high-performance tires pick up some roar on rough textures, and cornering hard on uneven surfaces produces occasional steering-kickback shock, but the M35 is mostly calm in normal use.

Like other cars in this exalted class, the Infiniti Ms offer a comprehensive list of standard and optional equipment. The 2007 M35 Sport starts at $44,900; our tester had a navigation system and intelligent cruise control — the latter with decently short following distances to prevent an endless series of jump-ins — as part of the pricey $5450 Advanced Technology package.

Our argument for moderation is further supported by Infiniti’s own pricing policies. See, there’s $6300 separating the M45 Sport from the M35 Sport, and that will buy about 2000 gallons of gas. Although our fuel-consumption records suggest the V-8 isn’t much worse than the V-6 in that department, that’s a deal even drivers with immoderate appetites ought to appreciate.