Went for a ride in a new Infiniti Q40. It's okay.

[Jesda]

Friend of mine is looking to replace her leased Camry. She had a Jeep GC for 13 years, put almost 300,000 miles on it, and ended up in the Camry because it was cheap.

Now she's looking to replace the Camry with something she actually wants so we took a look at the Q40.

Though the no-charge AWD and included nav and sunroof and the killer lease offers are nice, the interior says "Welcome back to 2005!" and the ride makes my two Miatas feel like Lexus LS400s. I could feel my moobs jiggling as we traversed some well-maintained suburban roads. It was a bit noisy compared to more up to date competitors but the power delivery was excellent.

So, no Q40.

We looked at the Audi A3 but they want too much down for a reasonable lease payment. Plus, her 6-foot-8 dad would have trouble fitting in it. Surprisingly nice car otherwise.

The Lexus IS250 is cramped, overpriced, and gutless though the upholstery is superb.

She wants another Grand Cherokee but the only one in her price range is the base model Laredo with cloth seats. You do get at least uconnect, the Pentastar V6, an 8-speed auto, a cushy ride, gobs of style, and lots of room. It's a contender.



What would you suggest to a tall 30 year old woman who wants room for an even taller dad and a couple big dogs?

[MinisterofDOOM]

You know what would be really neat? If a long-time Infiniti enthusiast who can remember models even Infiniti forgot they made could tell which model you're talking about with having to google the name first. Q40 is a G35 but Q50 is a next-gen G, but Q60 is a coupe, but what the s*** is going on?! It's not even sarcasm or beating a dead horse. It's legitimately so horrible it's painful. It doesn't help that Infiniti is stacking old and new generations of the same car with separate names. It makes negative sense. I DESPISE being asked for input on Infiniti models now, because I have to pull out my phone and google just to figure out which one we're talking about. "What do I think of the Q50 again? Well, I think I have no idea what the @#$% it is, and I don't really want to think about it, so just go buy something else instead. Anything else. I don't care what."

As to the question at hand:
There's a LOT of variety going on in those examples, but the one commonality seems to be AWD.
Is she looking for a luxury car?
A practical sedan?
An SUV?
A barely-rebadged Golf with less boring styling and $15k too much on the pricetag?

Have you checked out an AWD Regal?

[Jesda]

The Buick dealer is getting a visit next week.

FWD or automatically engaging AWD is preferred due to Missouri's variety of weather.

The A3 is a surprisingly pleasant car. The motorized nav screen hides into the dash to avoid distraction and the panel fitment and switchgear are excellent. The vents have a round metal shutter control that rotates with aircraft-like precision and heft. Ride and handling are superb. It's just way too expensive for what you get and how small it is.

There's really only a handful of needs:
Head room for tall people.
Space for dogs.
Capability in foul weather at least on par with a Camry.
Leather is strongly preferred but not entirely required.
$350/mo lease payment.

[Kompresshun]

You know I'm fairly sure if you find the right dealer you can grab a Q50 on lease for around that range. I've had a few friends snag some amazing deals on them lately.

Outside of that though considering her requirements why not a crossover SUV? I bet she could snag up a Santa Fe/Sorento, a Rogue, or a CX5 for that kind of money. Our Sorento has been an excellent vehicle so far. Just make sure to get an AWD one because FWD sucks in the snow.

Also why not a Mazda 6? That is an outstanding car for the money and probably will fit all of her criteria aside from AWD.

[Jesda]

Open to the 6 sedan and CX5.

She didnt like the Kia Optima. I think she needs to drive the turbo.

[Kompresshun]

I haven't driven the 6 myself yet, but everyone says it's a fantastic car. The CX-5 is a great little SUV.

I do highly recommend looking at the turbo Optima. When I drove the naturally aspirated one, I was greatly disappointed with it. The car seemed very gutless, even though it was a fairly nice car to look at and sit inside. Oddly enough, it uses the same engine as our Sorento(2.4L 4cyl) but it just didn't have hardly any power at all. I assume they must be tuned differently.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Honda Accord?
Camry reliability with better driving dynamics.
+1 for Mazda 6

[Jesda]

It ended up being a loaded Grand Cherokee Limited.

The Audi dealer wanted too much for the A3 but the Jeep dealer (and Chrysler, who is trying hard to enjoy a fifth straight year of sales growth) was willing to deal. Looks great, drives great, and has a surprisingly nice interior. UConnect is brilliant.

Toyota wasn't even willing to offer a lease loyalty incentive, the new 4Runner is hideous and hideously overpriced, and the latest Camrys are weird looking and terribly expensive for what you get.

So, Jeep won a sale.

[Bubba1]

I wish her well with her new jeep, as they have a notorious reputation for unreliability (though evidently she did well with her last one. I think she was lucky with her last one)

Some other choices I would have suggested

Subie Forester
Zoom-Zoom CX-5
Acura MDX


I'd be reluctant to recommend any new Infiniti as their entire product line appears to have slipped in terms of reliability since the model name changes. Kinda disappointing. I'd also be reluctant to recommend a Nissan due to their CVT's.

[Jesda]

I wish her well with her new jeep, as they have a notorious reputation for unreliability (though evidently she did well with her last one. I think she was lucky with her last one)

Some other choices I would have suggested

Subie Forester
Zoom-Zoom CX-5
Acura MDX

Acura was ruled out for styling (I think the MDX is a nice package, especially for the price) and image, since they tend to be strongly favored by moms.

Subaru was ruled out for styling, the association with gross crunchy liberals, and the overrated quality perception.

CX5 was going to be the fallback in case the GC was too expensive.

The Explorer is kind of bland.

For me personally, the Acura is the one you buy and keep and the Jeep is the one you lease or buy used. So, she leased the Jeep.

Mom had a JX as a loaner and didn't care for it at all. She did, however, love the Armada she got as a rental. I'd be reluctant to suggest most Nissans to anyone I cared about. NISSAN ARE YOU READING THIS?

[BusyBadger]

You know what would be really neat? If a long-time Infiniti enthusiast who can remember models even Infiniti forgot they made could tell which model you're talking about with having to google the name first. Q40 is a G35 but Q50 is a next-gen G, but Q60 is a coupe, but what the s*** is going on?! It's not even sarcasm or beating a dead horse. It's legitimately so horrible it's painful.