Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for me to select a vehicle from our long-term fleet for my family's annual 2,000 mile holiday trip to see my folks on the Oregon coast. As luck would have it, our new all-wheel drive 2009 Infiniti FX50 arrived just in time to make it onto the short list.
After a few days behind the wheel, I'm impressed. It steers and drives very well, and will make short work of the sinuous mountain roads we'll negotiate for almost half of the distance. It'd be nice to drive something on this trip that's a bit athletic, for a change.
And it is very comfortable and well-trimmed inside, too. Infiniti sure has upped their game on the interior front. And it has toys. Navi? Check. iPod connection? Yep. Seat heaters? Uh huh. We're good to go.
But it's not going on this trip. Here's why:
1) Not enough cargo space. The aft-positioned cab and long hood certainly give the FX50 a distinctive profile, but it doesn't leave much room behind the rear seats for a pile of presents and luggage for 4 people out on a ten-day trip. Without presents, it would work. Maybe I'll reconsider it for the July trip. For the record, there are 24.8 cubic feet back there.
But even if everything was soft-sided and I was particularly good at Tetris on packing day, there'd still be...
2) The summer tire problem. Our FX50 has the Sport package, which means that the 265/45R21 tires (yes, you read that right) are Dunlop SP07 summer tires instead of Bridgestone Dueller all-season units. As a result, our FX50 isn't suitable for travel in snowy climes, despite the presence of all-wheel drive.
Chances of snow and ice are slim along our mostly coastal route, but it's not unheard of. Just last year our Buick Enclave saw a bit of the white stuff on the same trip.
But here's the clincher: this year we're adding a side trip to Bend, Oregon to see my sister-in-law's new place. We have to travel inland and cross mountains to get there. We'll see snow and ice for sure this time.
Sure, if we lived someplace where it snowed all winter, like our brother in Michigan Dan Pund, we could simply fit snow tires and reinstall the summer tires after the big thaw. But that M.O. doesn't work here in LA.
Game over FX50 -- for this trip, anyway.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 1,952 miles
unforgiven says:
08:07 AM, 12/19/08
plus it would get like 14mpg.
dougtheeng says:
08:13 AM, 12/19/08
What are you taking then? A last hurrah for the X5?
compliance says:
08:50 AM, 12/19/08
A4 Avant!
jm1212 says:
09:15 AM, 12/19/08
yeah, take the A4.
maybe even the Flex or Mazda6
schildt says:
09:32 AM, 12/19/08
Smart move. I live in Tillamook, Oregon, and there is about 3 inches of snow covering the ground right now.
m_thrizzle says:
10:07 AM, 12/19/08
Have a Black Butte Porter at Deschutes Brewery in Bend for me!
phybenz says:
11:19 AM, 12/19/08
A coworker of mine has the previous generation FX, and I will never get in that car again. I am not claustrophobic in any way, but when sitting in the back seat of that car, I felt so cramped and uncomfortable and claustrophobic that I just needed to get out. I have never felt that way in a car. The ride was also very jittery. I would rather take a greyhound than 2000 miles in that car.
canadaphant says:
11:31 AM, 12/19/08
Good decision-those are ridiculous tires on this thing. But please don't use that angle of the FX anymore, it's like being oogled by a catfish.
ahightower says:
12:28 PM, 12/19/08
Yeah, what will you take?
X5, Flex, RX 400h, Veracruz, CX-9, Caravan (ha!)
Or prove to the world (and your Jetta-lovin' colleagues) that regular sedans are enough for families of four. Try the G8 or A4.
roar02ram says:
02:58 PM, 12/19/08
The CX-9's gone, and the X5 has summer tires, too. The Flex & Caravan are FWD (not 100% sure about the Flex).
I think the only one that works is the Veracruz...because it's the only one that works in snow!
Can we get an entry about how pretty much none of these AWD vehicles are snow-ready? It may be an LA-centric thing, but jeez - talk about useless!
MS3lvr92 says:
03:16 PM, 12/19/08
hmm... doesn't seem like many other options. Take the FX50... I'm sure it could handle any snow that's not deeper than 3 inches. My Mazdaspeed 3 with 215/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050As got stuck at the bottom of the neighborhood today and was spinning hoplessley in about three inches of whipped powder. I had to rock it and swear a bit but it got going eventually. I'm sure that big automatic AWD Infiniti could handle it though.
actualsize says:
03:39 PM, 12/19/08
Yes MS3lvr92, but AWD doesn't help that much with turning and stopping. You can get away with routine use once in awhile, but accident avoidance goes out the window.
I used to test tires, in snow, as part of a past job. A typical all-season tire would do a full-ABS stop from 40 mph in 150 to 160 feet on groomed snow--packed powder for the skiers out there. Care to guess how long the summer tire of the same size took to stop under the same conditions on the same car in back-to-back runs?
350 feet. And we had to install the summer tires on the test surface outdoors in the snow with hand tools because the car couldn't make it up the small hill between the garage and the test area if we tried to drive out on the summer tires.
Get you some snow tires, my friend.
misterfusion says:
04:09 PM, 12/19/08
I just assumed that when the time came around, you'd be announcing that you were taking the Flex. Looking at your fleet, it seems like the default choice (unless you still have the Veracruz).
adavis2493 says:
08:49 PM, 12/19/08
Is it just me, or does every Infiniti look pissed, arrogant, and snobby?
billt9 says:
11:48 PM, 12/19/08
Is that a picture of a cow in a barn?
kurtamaxxxguy says:
01:26 PM, 12/20/08
Would be nice if Edmunds would try out some of the new All Season winter rated-tires from Nokian or Yokohama or others.
Would they handle well enough in S. Calif to satisfy? They certainly work well in snowy areas like upper Oregon.
carfreak8394 says:
05:29 PM, 12/20/08
"Is that a picture of a cow in a barn?"
I really don't understand why people hate the looks of this car so much. I'm obviously in the minority here, but I think it looks awesome. Definitely a love/hate relationship with the looks on this Infiniti.
MS3lvr92 says:
07:25 PM, 12/20/08
Yeah actualsize, I realized that maybe it wouldn't be the best candidate after I thought of my perdicament. The car also slides and drifts through side streets if you're not real careful. Turning and stopping go to crap even with the AWD system. That's why I never ever drive it on main roads when it hasn't been plowed or salted. The car can be managed with very very carefull driving, but on main roads... all bets are off, too dangerous.
MS3lvr92 says:
07:26 PM, 12/20/08
Turning and stopping go to crap even with the AWD system
*meant
Turning and stopping go to crap even with an AWD system
billt9 says:
07:07 PM, 12/21/08
carfreak8394,
I don't hate the look of the FX. I like seeing them around.
I just actually think it looks like a cow/bull.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo.
There's nothing wrong with looking like a cow.
MOOOOOOOOOooooooo.
It's perfectly fine. I like seeing more of them on the street.
It just actually looks like a cow.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo.......