Infiniti M35 rated 'Best luxury sedan'Consumer Reports magazine calls the sporty car from Nissan a "surprise."

DETROIT (Reuters) - The sporty Infiniti M35 powered past its competitors to become what Consumer Reports, a leading source of information for U.S. car buyers, says is the best luxury sedan on the road today.

The "excellent" overall rating for the car from the luxury division of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is reported in the September issue of the magazine, which goes on sale Tuesday.

The Infiniti M35 was tested against four other models and each, as equipped, was priced at roughly $50,000. The other models were the redesigned Audi A6, the Cadillac STS, Acura RL and Lexus GS300.

"The surprise of this test group is the M35, which is now our top-rated (luxury) sedan. It even outscores all of our tested full-size premium luxury sedans," Consumer Reports says.

"This well-rounded car has a ride and handling suited for twisty roads as well as the boulevard," it adds, saying the car's many attributes include a powerful 280-horsepower V-6 engine, a roomy, well-finished interior and controls that are mostly user-friendly.

A 335-horsepower, V-8 power plant is an available option on the M35.

The A6 from Audi, a unit of Volkswagen AG, also got an "excellent" overall score from Consumer Reports. But it was faulted for "nonintuitive controls," its lack of an in-dash CD slot and unknown reliability. The previous A6 was not reliable, according to Consumer Reports.

Of the five vehicles tested, Consumer Reports said all but the Cadillac STS, from General Motors Corp., and the Audi A6 warranted inclusion on its closely watched "recommended" list.

Consumer Reports said the reliability of the STS, which replaces Cadillac's Seville sedan, was still unknown. It praised many aspects of the car, but said the material quality of its interior was "not as luxurious as the leaders in the class."

The Infiniti M35 replaces the Lexus LS430 -- which sells for about $70,000 -- as Consumer Reports' top-rated luxury sedan.

The magazine said the GS300, from Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury division, was refined and expected to be quite reliable. But it added that the car's steering lacks feel, passenger room is tight, and it is not an agile vehicle.

"It's not the luxury sport sedan Lexus pitches; we didn't find it particularly exciting to drive," Consumer Reports said.

Of the Acura RL, the latest offering from the luxury arm of Honda Motor Co. Ltd., the magazine complained that it was not particularly sporty to drive. It also said the RL was no roomier than the Acura TL, which costs about $16,000 less.

Modified by Edong t5 at 2:09 AM 10/13/2005

Modified by Edong t5 at 2:02 AM 10/21/2005
Modified by Edong t5 at 2:23 AM 10/21/2005

Here are some other quotes from this Consumer Reports review: zerothread?id=129521

Z

Sorry Z. I was't aware this was already posted. I wasn't even aware of this issue till now, considering I mentioned Consumer Reports on a few occasions. I would love to have that issue though. They're very thorough on their tests and I'm just curious how they won over the Lexus 430, which is a great car. Don't you just like to hear stories how the underdog rules? Seems like a modern David and Goliath.

Edong t5 wrote:Sorry Z. I was't aware this was already posted.

Not a problem at all ... your post had many more quotes in it than the few words I picked off!

Edong t5 wrote:I would love to have that issue though. They're very thorough on their tests and I'm just curious how they won over the Lexus 430, which is a great car.

I'll have to go find my copy and see if I can glean some more from it ... my wife likes me to keep my home office clean, so that issue has been filed away!

As I recall, the article just glows and gushes over the M! If you all know the Consumer Reports "bar-graph", the one for the M35 is way over to the right of the Excellent category. Very nice result!

Edong t5 wrote:Don't you just like to hear stories how the underdog rules? Seems like a modern David and Goliath.

Yes, indeed!

Z

Only Consumer Reports would allow a mid-level V6 sport sedan to dethrone a Flagship V8 luxury sedan. I'm not knocking the M35 - nice car. But really, these two cars are in completely different classes by any measurement known to man, and have absolutely no business being compared against each other.

Bottom line: If you're shopping for a toaster or a vacuum cleaner, pick up a copy of Consumer Reports (I'm a subscriber). If you're shopping for a car, pick up a copy of any of the automotive magazines available (also a subscriber).

Sheesh.

yay for Infiniti.. i have saw quality reports and Infiniti was first for the least problems per certain number of cars.

russg wrote:Only Consumer Reports would allow a mid-level V6 sport sedan to dethrone a Flagship V8 luxury sedan. I'm not knocking the M35 - nice car. But really, these two cars are in completely different classes by any measurement known to man, and have absolutely no business being compared against each other.

Bottom line: If you're shopping for a toaster or a vacuum cleaner, pick up a copy of Consumer Reports (I'm a subscriber). If you're shopping for a car, pick up a copy of any of the automotive magazines available (also a subscriber).

Sheesh.

I thinkI agree with that...

however, the bottom line is that infiniti is blowing the doors off lexus, whether they like it or not.

elwesso wrote:
I thinkI agree with that...

however, the bottom line is that infiniti is blowing the doors off lexus, whether they like it or not.

You'd best be careful if you're trying to apply that statement universally across the entire product line of both companies.

Clearly Infiniti currently has a distinct edge in sport sedans. The G35 was a major success right out of the blocks, and continues to do well. The new M sedans are off to a great start. Lexus' new GS appears to be a major flop. The new IS looks promising, but it's too soon to tell. That's about where it ends for the Infiniti edge over Lexus.

In the flagship segment, it's not even a contest. Never really was, but it's even less so today. In the large sport ute segment, the QX56 is not exactly setting the world on fire, I think the LX products are easily outselling the QX. The crossover FX has been a success for Infiniti, but even so, not the huge success the RX has been over the years. And Lexus has another hit with the RXh, of which Infiniti has nothing to counter with.

So if you look across the entire spectrum of the two lines, it's a bit of a stretch to say that "infiniti (sic) is blowing the doors off lexus (sic)". However, significant ground has been gained over the past 2-3 years.

russg wrote:Only Consumer Reports would allow a mid-level V6 sport sedan to dethrone a Flagship V8 luxury sedan. I'm not knocking the M35 - nice car. But really, these two cars are in completely different classes by any measurement known to man, and have absolutely no business being compared against each other.

Bottom line: If you're shopping for a toaster or a vacuum cleaner, pick up a copy of Consumer Reports (I'm a subscriber). If you're shopping for a car, pick up a copy of any of the automotive magazines available (also a subscriber).

Sheesh.

If you read the article again, the Lexus 430 wasn't tested against the M. C'mon, CD knows that they're not even on the same class. The surprise was that, they scored higher in points against the LS 430 which was tested years ago and belongs to a higher class of luxury car. Their point system looks cars in a holistic manner as a whole. Performance, design, mileage, reliability, comfort, price, etc. So it's always possible that cars from different classes can outpoint each other. Nothing more, nothing less.

What's wrong with CD evaluating cars? CD buys their cars directly from the dealer just like we, as consumers, do. They can write anything they want based on what their results. They're not at the mercy of car manfacturers, unlike other car magazines who can only test their cars if they lend it to them for review. CD does not advertise and has no connections with anyone so their responsibility is only to their readers and subscribers (that's you). If you think they're not qualified to evaluate cars, that's your opinion. If their evaluation upsets you, that's your problem.

Besides, why would I limit my resources? If I would buy a car, I would get all the resources I can get. Two heads are better than one. It's best if you get more. There's no standard rating system, so definitely no results will be the same. Each tester will rate the car on a different perspective and results will be based on their subjective evaluation of the car. Even bad ratings will help, if it can be justified. From there, I will test drive the car and make a conclusion to agree/disagree with those test results I've read. Then I'll decide if the car is for me or not. Of course, it's my opinion. So far, this hasn't failed me yet.

Heck, I liked the Consumer Reports article!

While I understand that they tend to be more of the "check out all the toaster variety" of reviews, they are often surprisingly good and accurate on their car reviews too!

One other thing to keep in mind: when we start comparing Infiniti to Lexus and saying that one car is far better than the other, we are ignoring the fact that both are much superior to the average other brand cars on the street!

In other words, if someone gave me a Lexus GS430, I would not be crying and pouting to them that they should have given me an M45! At least, it wasn't a Honda Civic or Kia, right?

Z

Edong t5 wrote:
If you read the article again...

I didn't read the article. I typically don't read the automotive articles in CR. I don't find them to be very credible, in the sense that the issues that are very important to them in evaluating a car tend to be much less important to me than other issues that CR tends to ignore or gloss over. I tend to relate much more to articles written by the automotive press, such as AutoWeek, Motor Trend, Road & Track, and Car & Driver, etc. Their priorities in evaluating a car are more aligned with mine, and I suspect most automotive enthusiasts.

At any rate, my post was inspired solely by the original header of this thread, "Infiniti M35 Dethrone Lexus LS 430 'Best Luxury Sedan'".

1. I'm working under the assumption that this header accurately summarizes the CR article. If it is a misrepresentation of the CR article, then perhaps we have a different kettle of fish.

2. Accurate or not, the statement on it's face is at best laughable, and at worst woefully uninformed and misguided. Again, not a knock against the M35, which is a very nice mid-line sports sedan, deserving of plenty of accolades in it's own right. But I can't imagine any informed and unbiased automotive enthusiast buying into the concept that the M35 has "dethroned" the LS 430 as the best luxury sedan. First, you have to buy into the concept that the LS 430 was indeed the best luxury sedan to start with, but the position is at least arguable I suppose. But for the life of me, I simply cannot fathom how anyone can wrap their brain around the concept that the M35 has managed to claw its way to the top of the heap of the world's luxury sedans (risen to the throne). You're simply gonna have to sell that someplace else, 'cause I ain't buyin'.

And BTW, who is CD?
Modified by russg at 8:30 PM 10/20/2005

russg wrote:I didn't read the article. I typically don't read the automotive articles in CR. I don't find them to be very credible, in the sense that the issues that are very important to them in evaluating a car tend to be much less important to me than other issues that CR tends to ignore or gloss over.

Hmmmmm, now this I would disagree with. As long as you understand their particular biases and goals in reviewing cars, their reviews are not that bad! Yes, they are brief and not always as detailed as the automotive magazines, particularly for enthusiast viewpoints, but those automotive magazine reviewers and editors have their own biases too!

And, yes, I would definitely reading this particular issue and article!

Digression: some years back, Car and Driver (or Road & Track, I forget which) made a pejorative remark inre Consumer Reports for their reviews of mundane family sedans. The funny thing was (and C&D/R&T published a letter to this effect - which is good of them) that the exact month that Car and Driver comparison tests was of small, inexpensive family sedans, Consumer Reports was reviewing many two-seater sports cars!

Quote »1. I'm working under the assumption that this header accurately summarizes the CR article. If it is a misrepresentation of the CR article, then perhaps we have a different kettle of fish.[/quote]Yes, there was no comparison to the LS430 in the article ... that is a different class of car entirely (V-8 vs V-6, etc.). See the link above to the thread I posted earlier that listed the cars in the Consumer Reports test.

Z

russg wrote:
I didn't read the article. I typically don't read the automotive articles in CR. I don't find them to be very credible, in the sense that the issues that are very important to them in evaluating a car tend to be much less important to me than other issues that CR tends to ignore or gloss over. I tend to relate much more to articles written by the automotive press, such as AutoWeek, Motor Trend, Road & Track, and Car & Driver, etc. Their priorities in evaluating a car are more aligned with mine, and I suspect most automotive enthusiasts.

At any rate, my post was inspired solely by the original header of this thread, "Infiniti M35 Dethrone Lexus LS 430 'Best Luxury Sedan'".

1. I'm working under the assumption that this header accurately summarizes the CR article. If it is a misrepresentation of the CR article, then perhaps we have a different kettle of fish.

2. Accurate or not, the statement on it's face is at best laughable, and at worst woefully uninformed and misguided. Again, not a knock against the M35, which is a very nice mid-line sports sedan, deserving of plenty of accolades in it's own right. But I can't imagine any informed and unbiased automotive enthusiast buying into the concept that the M35 has "dethroned" the LS 430 as the best luxury sedan. First, you have to buy into the concept that the LS 430 was indeed the best luxury sedan to start with, but the position is at least arguable I suppose. But for the life of me, I simply cannot fathom how anyone can wrap their brain around the concept that the M35 has managed to claw its way to the top of the heap of the world's luxury sedans (risen to the throne). You're simply gonna have to sell that someplace else, 'cause I ain't buyin'.

And BTW, who is CD?

Modified by russg at 8:30 PM 10/20/2005

Sorry dude. I wasn't aware my header "M35 dethrones LS430" can be offensive. Anyway, I tried changing it back to it's original title "Infiniti M35 replaces the Lexus LS430 as Consumer Reports' top-rated luxury sedan but I can't. Maybe Z can help. It's the same meaning but probably less offensive. I'll probably just leave journalism back to the journalist. He,he,he. Peace.

OK Z, you've bludgeoned me into submission. I went and got my 9/05 copy of CR and read the article. I found it dry, uninspired, and boring. In short, nothing whatsoever like the car itself. The article gave me absolutely no feel as to what it might be like to be an owner or driver of the car. They might as well have been describing a microwave oven. In fact, I'm quite sure that the same men and women that write the articles about microwave ovens and laundry detergent also write the automotive articles. It's certainly the way their automotive articles read.

And to the original poster: I did not find your header "offensive", I only found it ridiculous and absurd. As stated earlier, I was working under the assumption that it accurately represented the article in question, so my ire, such as it was, was originally directed at the magazine. As it turns out, the header is not really a completely accurate representation of the article. I could find not one mention in the article of the LS 430 anywhere, so I'm not even sure how the LS found its way into the header. Either I missed that reference in the article entirely, or you have some knowledge outside of the article that the 430 was the prior occupant of the throne, or you are simply given to whims of fancy and fantasy.

Either way, it matters not. I still hold to my opinion, for reasons previously stated, that the header at face value is preposterous. And I hold to that opinion whether the header was a direct quote from CR, extrapolated from the article using a liberal amount of literary license, or a complete figment of imagination.

Edong t5 wrote:Sorry dude. I wasn't aware my header "M35 dethrones LS430" can be offensive. Anyway, I tried changing it back to it's original title "Infiniti M35 replaces the Lexus LS430 as Consumer Reports' top-rated luxury sedan but I can't. Maybe Z can help.

Will do!

Quote »Peace.[/quote]Yes, indeed!

Z

russg wrote:OK Z, you've bludgeoned me into submission. I went and got my 9/05 copy of CR and read the article. I found it dry, uninspired, and boring. In short, nothing whatsoever like the car itself. The article gave me absolutely no feel as to what it might be like to be an owner or driver of the car. They might as well have been describing a microwave oven. In fact, I'm quite sure that the same men and women that write the articles about microwave ovens and laundry detergent also write the automotive articles. It's certainly the way their automotive articles read.

I think you have a descriptive way with words too! (This is meant in a good sense. )

Note that I am not saying that it is the definitive article on the M or that their reviews compete with the automotive magazines - different target audience for sure. I get and read the automotive magazines for their viewpoints too!

But, the Consumer Review review does say some things that bear noting - didn't you like these words ?

"The surprise of this group was the Infiniti M35, which is now our top-rated sedan. It even outscores all of our tested full-size premium luxury sedans. This well-rounded car has a ride and handling suited for twisty roads as well as the boulevard."

"Unlike some competitor's controls, the M35's are mostly user-friendly, particularly the voice-recognition system."

"Braking performance was excellent, with dry stopping distances shorter than some sports cars."

"The M35 is our new top-rated sedan."

"The M35 was stable and secure at its limits and it posted one of our fastest avoidance-maneuver speeds."

"Interior finish is impeccable with matte wood and inviting leather."

Regardless, I think we have beaten this topic to death now.

Quote »I could find not one mention in the article of the LS 430 anywhere, so I'm not even sure how the LS found its way into the header.[/quote]Perhaps these words (from the article) have some relationship:

It even outscores all of our tested full-size premium luxury sedans.

Again, let's agree to disagree on this issue and simply enjoy the car and its popularity and the articles in all the publications ... links to the various on-line versions are here: zerothread?id=125885

Z