FX45 48 hour report

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rhvh2000
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Picked up my new FX45 the day before yesterday; thought I'd share experiences and first impressions.

My timing was fortuitous - I was looking for a new car and debating between BMW 745, Lexus LS430, BMW M5. But none of them was doing it for me. 745 has had too many bad reports with respect to both quality and the user interface, the Lexus is not enough a "driver's car." The M5 is great, but very high priced, and I'm 6'4" and it's a somewhat tight fit.

So I stopped by the Infiniti dealer a couple of weeks ago to check out the new M45 (Q45 was just a little too big for my taste). Believe it or not, it turned out the M45 doesn't have enough headroom. Just as I was getting ready to leave the dealership, the sales guy (Mike K at Frontier Infiniti, Santa Clara, CA) had a brainstorm. He told me about the FX45. Said I wouldn't have a headroom problem... Convinced me to come to the San Jose auto show to see the first one in the area.

I started digging around on the web and became captivated, so I put in my deposit and an order. Then I saw it at the SJ Auto Show and it was all over. I fell in love with the car. And I'm not an SUV person. Is it an SUV? Dunno. Is it a sport sedan? Dunno. What is it? Awesome. This car rocks.

I got the black with brick/black interior and the technology package. It is definitely the baddest car on the block. The seat kicks you in the seat, so to speak, it stops on a dime and corners on rails. The sound is great (both the sound system and the sound from the tailpipes). I hope I can keep the black looking good...

It's sure turning a lot of heads. Best experience so far: picking up my 15-year old daughter after school. Probably the first time in 5 years she's actually wanted to be seen in public with me. And when she got behind the wheel (I'm a softie) with all her friends looking on, we knew who was leader of that pack for the day.

I love the firm ride that drew a complaint in the Car & Driver review - it really feels like the car is attached to the road.

But: minor complaint: when going over speed bumps, it bottoms out (tops out?) too easily on the downhill side of the bump.

The laser cruise control is very cool - it even applies the brakes to a limited extent.

The storage space is somewhat less than you might expect from a vehicle of this size and presence, but it's adequate for a foursome and their clubs or a ski trip for four (pretty much the uses I will put it to.) Infiniti doesn't yet have the retractable cargo cover in stock - in fact the dealer really didn't know anything about it; hopefully that will show up in a month or so.

The Intelligent Key system is very cool, but takes a little getting used to. It's hard to stop myself from reaching for my pocket as I approach the car. A feature of the system that they haven't really publicized is that the seat memories associate themselves with the remotes. So when I get in the car it adjusts itself to my settings automatically, and when my wife gets in, it adjusts itself to her settings.

Minor complaint: the front passenger seat is too low, and doesn't have an "up/down" adjustment like the one in driver's seat.

Back seats are very comfortable - the reclining backs eliminate the major complaint I have about the rear seating in most sport utes.

My first aftermarket purchase: wheel locks. The dealer had the wheels stolen off the first FY35 to arrive on their lot, the first night it was there. They put chrome wheels on it - it looked good, but I certainly don't want to have to make that investment!

The Nav system and electronics were intuitive, but to really take advantage of all the features it's definitely a good idea to read the manuals. They (the owner manual and the Nav system manual) aren't the size of the Manhattan phone directory, but they do take a while to wade through.

Attaching a couple of pix for your viewing enjoyment.

Rick


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rhvh2000
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2nd picture

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rhvh2000
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3rd photo

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AZhitman
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Hey guys - Remember I posted abou the Black FX with the Brick leather interior? This is IT!!!!

Rick, welcome to NICO. You are officially our FIRST FX owner. (You may wish to modify your screenname to reflect that!) We hope to hear lots more about your new baby as you get to know her - Welcome again, and be prepared to be the center of attention for a while!!! :D

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rhvh2000
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Thanks AZhitman - I've modified my profile to reflect the FX45; I'll stick with my userID though - one can only remember so many of them at a time!

This board looks great and very active - looking forward to getting to know all of you.

One cool item (maybe its old news for those of you with projector lamps.) There is a knob that lets you aim the headlights down if you've got something really heavy in the back. It's fun to play with driving along on a dark street. Kinda that king of the hill feeling.

I've never been big on modding my cars, but I'm starting to wonder...

Hey, has anyone ever heard of the Nav systems being hacked? Seems to me it would be pretty cool to be able to play DVDs there, or get the rear camera to display with the tranny in Drive. Shouldn't be too hard with DVD burners being so readily available now...

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rhvh2000
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Ok, where does the thing about driving mom's car come from? :D

Jberger
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Congrats on your purchase, I've been having the same debate and have almost settled on the FX myself.

One Note, Make sure you buy the wheel locks specifically for the FX. I've found that most aftermarket locks are heavy (compared to the other lugs) and can cause a serious shimmy in tight suspensions.

Seriously.

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Jason B
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rhvh2000 wrote:One cool item (maybe its old news for those of you with projector lamps.) There is a knob that lets you aim the headlights down if you've got something really heavy in the back. It's fun to play with driving along on a dark street. Kinda that king of the hill feeling.

Hey, has anyone ever heard of the Nav systems being hacked? Seems to me it would be pretty cool to be able to play DVDs there, or get the rear camera to display with the tranny in Drive. Shouldn't be too hard with DVD burners being so readily available now...


Congrats on the truck. That is very sharp!

The Q45 also has the adjusting HID's, it's a great feature.

Some small videos - about 200kb each:

Adjusting motorized hid's via control knob inside cabin - after dark

Close-up of motorized hid's

Try http://www.navtv.com for some dvd tweaks.

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lessthanjakejohn
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Quote »Ok, where does the thing about driving mom's car come from? [/quote]

Since he is the first NICO FX45 owner I think that we should let him make his avatar message whatever he wants it! haha

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lessthanjakejohn
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ahh my mouth is watering. Screw the G20 or Xterra, Im getting the FX 45 Now!

I think Ill might be in debt for awhile though.

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jEzTeR
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:bowdown NICE! Im big on classy Rides and that is a Awesome car! Lets see some motor pics! :thumbup

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rhvh2000
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OK, I'm starting to get the hang of this - rudimentary but effective avatar (need to figure out how to do a moving gif of the car.) Now what to do about the hubcaps thing...
Jberger wrote:One Note, Make sure you buy the wheel locks specifically for the FX. I've found that most aftermarket locks are heavy (compared to the other lugs) and can cause a serious shimmy in tight suspensions.
Thanks - I got them at the dealer, haven't experienced any noticeable shimmy. I suppose just to make sure, I should try going a little faster.

"But officer, I had to test the new wheel locks."

Rick

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rhvh2000
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Jason B wrote:Congrats on the truck.
But, but. It's not a truck...Is it?
Jason B wrote:Some small videos - about 200kb each:
That's kinda cool - I didn't notice the noise in mine when moving the lamps; I'll have to listen for it next time.
Jason B wrote:
Try http://www.navtv.com for some dvd tweaks.
Thanks, I'll check it out.

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Stoneage_Turbo
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hmm , i didnt like it in the early pictures but after seeing this guys fx im in love , nice car, truck , whatever .....really looks cool and nothing like anything out there

"Screw the G20 "

ouch .......ouch .......ill let you drive my next G once the turbos on ...........

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Mayhem_J30
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rhvh2000 wrote:OK, I'm starting to get the hang of this - rudimentary but effective avatar (need to figure out how to do a moving gif of the car.)


Congrats and Welcome!!

check out http://www.gifworks.com to do some gif editing

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lessthanjakejohn
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Quote »ouch .......ouch .......ill let you drive my next G once the turbos on ...........[/quote]

Ill think about it.

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Jason B
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Mayhem_J30
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wow, awesome pics Jason!! The FX** beats the others in styling hands down sooo easily. The rear of the 'thing' is most definately the money shot. Can anyone else picture wheelie bars on the back of it? ok, just me then.

You've got to be kidding me with the bose SW in the spare tire area...i don't keep up with stereo stuff so maybe this is nothing new.


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