"Oh boy, here we go..." I thought, approaching the new FX50. The standard 21-inch wheels on the new FX50 look large enough to serve as parts in a hydroelectric plant. Skinned with 45-series rubber, flashbacks of harsh ride quality in the first-gen FX started coming fast and furious. Has the redesign addressed one of the major gripes of the french-curved FX?
After pounding round in this beast for four days, the answer is, "Pretty much." Is the handling/comfort balance completely nailed? Not quite, but it's WAY better than the last model. It's even more impressive when you take the wheel/tire combo into consideration. The FX50 is not quite up to the BMW benchmark, as it's still a tad stiff-legged over the harshest, sharpest road imperfections, but on anything other than tortured pavement, the ride quality is satisfyingly firm and no longer jarring.
Even more impressive is the ripping 5.0-liter V8 and swift shifting 7-speed automatic. This combo makes for a punchy and responsive SUV that lives to slice-n-dice in traffic. From a standstill, this thing flat scoots. An aggressive but non-intrusive traction control system seems well tuned to take full advantage of all-wheel-drive traction. Even on flooded streets the FX refused to get squirrelly - the thrust continued to flow heartily while the dashboard traction light winked away. The throttle earns large praise thanks to a sweet, linear tip-in that bucks the annoying trend of super-aggressive first-touch response. My only gripe are brakes that can occasionally feel like they're lingering on the rotors even after the pedal is released.
Though a bit larger than the last gen, the FX's well weighted steering is combined with an impressively tight turning radius to make this mid-sized SUV a breeze in town or in the mall parking lot. On the open road, our sport-package equipped FX50 has the highly adjustable seats, sweetly appointed cabin and plenty of tech to keep you comfy and entertained on the long haul.
I'd call it a poor-man's Porsche Cayenne S, but the FX50 stickers just $1K under the V8 Cayenne, even if it boasts a stronger list of standard equipment. Very similar in many aspects, the V8 FX provides the same sort of rip-snorting day-to-day fun, in a real-life livable package. If you're fortunate enough to be shopping in this price range, and don't care where the price of gas is headed, you owe it to yourself to take a spin in the FX50. Those 21's, by the way, sweetly fill the spacious arched wheel wells.
Paul Seredynski, Executive Editor @ 1640 miles
dragonflight says:
05:52 PM, 12/19/08
...or they could just put a smaller wheel well and smaller wheels. Just sayin'
21" sounds monstrous when you think of the 14-15" on most econocars.
firstwagon says:
06:43 PM, 12/19/08
It wasn't long ago when compacts all had 13 inch wheels, mid size had 14 and full size had 15.
Someone found going bigger was better and sure enough the trendsetters decided if big was better then too big must be better still.
I won't even get into the stupidity of 45 series tires on a so called "SUV".
carfreak8394 says:
06:45 PM, 12/19/08
I don't know.. Those wheels are sexy.
MS3lvr92 says:
08:29 PM, 12/19/08
Wow... you guys are really posting about this thing a lot. It must be the new favorite at inside line. For the money I would take this over a Cayenne any day!
billt9 says:
08:47 PM, 12/19/08
...This is better to look at than a Cayenne.
So this is the 2nd ugliest then? hahaha
jahfakin says:
01:13 AM, 12/20/08
'I won't even get into the stupidity of 45 series tires on a so called "SUV" '
The way I see it, if it has 45 series tires on it, it's not an SUV. There is no way you can take a vehicle off pavement with 45 Series.
autoboy16 says:
06:37 AM, 12/20/08
There is aways the BMW x5, Ford Edge and Flex, and if you pack and place correctly, i believe you can do fine with the a4 avant. Best choice is the x5.
awd room for 5, 7 in a pinch, and its never been on a roadtrip.
-Cj
gearhead99 says:
08:38 AM, 12/20/08
I have the '09 FX35 with the 'tiny' 18" wheels (60 series tires) and I couldn't be happier with an every day vehicle. My last car had 45 series tires and, driving on the broken pavement of the NY metro area, I blew out 3 tires in less than 3 years. Yesterday in some serious snow the car/truck/whatever was a pleasure. BTW, when I bought the FX the dealer commented that maybe 10% of the FX's they sell are the V8. The 3.6 V6 is reasonably quick and with the 7 speed I'm averaging near 20 mpg in mixed driving, around 23 mpg all highway. The kicker is I bought the thing for $4K under invoice (it had 300 demo miles). My wife thought buying the FX was a nutty thing to do but I have to have a little fun, right? Truth is even I was a bit concerned about the gas mileage (bought it in the bad old days, around 8 weeks ago) and now it ends up feeling like a smart buy. I cross shopped the X5. It felt slower, the interior was stark, iDrive seemed a pain and it would have cost over $15 more. The X5 looks more 'sophisticated' I guess. Luckily I don't embarrass easily :)
Hey Edmunds, how about a short comparo with the FX35?
billt9 says:
09:27 AM, 12/20/08
BMW sold 35k X5's in 2007, while Infiniti sold 21k FXs, it's less popular, but still very common.
Looks like the ML350 fell off the radar...
billt9 says:
09:34 AM, 12/20/08
Acura sold 58k MDXs in 2007. Would you believe that bargain priced fully loaded Acura beat both Infiniti and BMW... and it's still leading sales this month.
rayainsw says:
09:43 AM, 12/20/08
If only Infiniti had decided
to make an M50...
[ sigh ]
- Ray
Happy with Plan B
CommonSense01 says:
12:12 PM, 12/20/08
When it comes down to dynamic performance this car IS NOT comparable to a Cayenne S. It out does it in most aspects. Ive personally driven a new 6 speed manual porsche cayenne gts and as great of a car that is, the new fx50 felt Significantly faster, Much lighter, and although the gts had exellent grip, the fx50 felt much lighter and more tossable. As for the gadgets on the fx, it destroys the porsche in every way.
dragonflight says:
01:24 PM, 12/20/08
billt9,
I can totally believe it. I see *way* more MDXs than X5s (and X5s than FXs) in my affluent area. I think the MDXs appeal to lots of buyers because of Acura's reliability/dealership service reputation, when compared with BMWs. Plus, most BMW buyers I know would prefer to have a sedan anyways, while the Acura buyers I know are moving up from an Odyssey/Pilot/Highlander/Sienna
carfreak8394 says:
05:25 PM, 12/20/08
You guys always have some great comments. gearhead99, great choice. Enjoy it, and good suggestion involving the FX/X5 comparo.(: rayainsw, I agree that Infiniti should make a M50 as soon as possible. They obviously have the resources, they just haven't produced it yet..
cah11705 says:
09:42 PM, 12/20/08
are we going to be seeing the next gen m any time soon from infiniti?
thats likely when we will get the m50 with 7 speed auto
i think infiniti needs that car
1487 says:
05:37 AM, 12/22/08
This vehicle (just like the Escalade) looks ridiculous without the large rims. I have seen a few with the standard wheels and they look overwhelmed.
chavis10 says:
09:03 AM, 12/22/08
When you consider the wheel and tire package of the X5's sport package, this one seems tame. As many have said, as ugly as this thing is, I'd take it over a Cayenne any day. At least Infiniti doesn't bother with a stupid low range transfer case.
redliner says:
08:53 PM, 12/22/08
You guys are gonna hate me for this, but i kinda like the "angry whale" styling.
hondacura4 says:
10:04 AM, 12/27/08
The FX along with the EX are decorated not designed. These things are hideously scary.