2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD -- Overkill

I just think the FX, in all iterations, was kind of Nissan's little inside joke. I get wagons, and therefore SUV's in general, but when the utility is sucked from the package to the extent that it is in the FX it gets a bit ridiculous.

I want to know what your ratty old compact sedan is. Is it a Toyota Corolla? Whatever it is, I find it hilarious you chose to drive your personal vehicle over this.

I realize it might be overkill, but come on. It's not every day that people are given vehicles like the FX50 for free. If I were you I'd be driving it to the end of my driveway just to get the mail. :-)

Seriously?! You would rather take a presumably old and crappy compact car than an essentially brand new 390 HP FX?! How terrible of a driver must you be that simply parking it at the mall is considered a daunting task?

I'm sorry, but I can't help but to laugh. This is one problem many of us wouldn't mind having. "Gee, do I take the Geo Metro or the Infiniti FX? Metro or FX? Aw shucks, I better take the Metro. I'm getting tired of starting a car with a button on the dash..." ;-)

Philip,

Isn't it part of your job to drive the LT vehicles to give the readers of IL a day-to-day experience owning the vehicle? Your choice in deciding to drive your "ratty old compact sedan" rather than deal with the FX50s' characteristics of "too much work, too big to park, too much of a statement" may indicate your being in the wrong profession. It is *exactly* these times when us mere mortals (we who cannot afford a large stable of cars from which to choose) would drive our one and only vehicle to go shopping. We might then blog about the irritation or ease which the FX50s was able to navigate the narrow confines of the parking lots. I believe a previous editor, Mark Takahashi, noted the turning radius of the FX surprised him (see link below). Perhaps leave the FX50s for other editors that are willing to drive, experience, and blog about this car rather than just park it in a driveway.

Kevin

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/10/2009-infiniti-fx50-awd-to-everything-turn-turn.html

P.S. After reading / editing this post for content & grammar, I recognize the irritation & harshness of this rant - for this I apologize. However, in line with Donna DeRosa's request for ways to make IL "the best place on the Web for car enthusiasts," my diatribe denotes a direct way to make progress toward this goal.

Any thoughts regarding my response to this blog will be well received.

The FX was just too much work, too big to park, too much of a statement for me.

What EXACTLY was too much work? The FX was too big to park even with the parking aids? As for the "too much of a statement" part, I'll leave that alone since that part is subjective. Not trying to incite anything; just trying to get a clearer understanding....

Wow - Tough crowd here.

I can relate to the post. We have a small hybrid and a Tribeca. If we're going errand running, the Tribeca can be a hassle - Not just the backing up and parking (low rear visibility, wider car) but even opening the doors in tight mall or parking garage spaces is a hassle. One ends up sliding out through a partially open door and getting the ever-present Seattle raingrime on your coat/pants in those tight parking spaces. Not to mention burning a lot of gas (city mpg) for no good reason.)

Gearheads will say I'm whining and should wash the car more often, and enjoy getting less than 1/2 the fuel economy just to have 260+ horsepower on tap for the parking lot sprints. I say choose the appropriate tool for the job.

Sometimes the commuter car is the right answer, as boring as that may be.

Overkill?! Why even make a post like this? Maybe you should look into doing something else. You're doing your readers a lot of good when you're too lazy to review the cars you get access to.

We read Edmunds Inside Line for information on WHAT IT'S LIKE TO DRIVE THE CARS!

I felt the same as most on here when I first read this post but reread it today and actually got the hint of it. If you're living around town and don't travel much, what is the point of this car? It is an overkill for a daily driver when you can have much smaller (in size) vehicles that handle the job just as well or better than this.

Still, it should have been used to see just how it really does handle in the parking lot and how well the gadgets help in assisting this vehicle with parking.

@mheikka

Why the name change? Trying to mask the Subaru love?

yellowmiata: 'Your choice in deciding to drive your "ratty old compact sedan" rather than deal with the FX50s' characteristics of "too much work, too big to park, too much of a statement" may indicate your being in the wrong profession.'

Maybe not. Maybe it's a perfectly legitimate take on the FX50. The FX50 is a sports sedan, dressed up to look like an SUV. As such, it reduces the value of being either a sports sedan or an SUV. If it were really a sedan, it'd be easier to maneuver. If it were an SUV, it'd have off road capabilities. This hunk can do neither. At least the ratty old compact sedan is easy to park.

Btw: I drive both an old compact sedan and an old SUV. Both are easier to park than the FX50 and both have more off road capabilities.

I'm going to go against the flow here - I think I understand the point of this entry. His commentary (really, criticism) about the FX50 is that it is too big, expensive, gaudy, and takes too much effort to be a practical everyday car. More broadly, this entry can perhaps be viewed as a critique on the current design direction of the automotive industry as a whole. Bigger, fancier (i.e., complicated), flashier, and more expensive does not necessarily equate to better.

@123subaru: No name change here. Not following what you mean.

The Tribeca has been a good vehicle for us. Not without its warts, but good nonetheless. 19.8 lifetime mpg isn't bad for a car of this type. Quiet. Powerful enough. Just enough room for a few normal sized folks. Strange dash ergonomics and poor rear visibility. Great wet weather performance. Not posh, just liveable. Overall, an 85 out of 100.

The Insight is the small commuter that fills in when the Tribeca is unncessary, as discussed above.

I took this SUV on a trip to Denver and back a year ago and commented extensively on it at that time: http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2008/12/2009-infiniti-fx50-awd-los-angeles-to-denver-and-back.html. It was a wonderful trip made so much better by driving this cutting edge SUV. My opinion this time around was unchanged except as a reminder that the interior is gorgeous, the seats very comfortable and the exterior styling is polarizing.

While the wording of my post might have in appropriate, I was trying to get across the feeling that taking this car shopping is to leave 98 percent of its capabilities untapped. In that particular situation it seemed like the wrong tool for the job.

@mheikka

You mean to tell me there are two different people on here that own a Tribeca and a Prius? I don't believe it.

@mheikka

Ok, now I see you say you have an Insight...whatever. Subaru123 owns a Prius and a Tribeca (seems like a strange coincidence...).

Anyway, I have to agree with some of the dissidents here. I simply couldn't resist the mechanical marvel that is the FX50, even for a grocery run. I realize it would probably get old, but in my current eyes that'd be the ride of choice, no question.

I understand his sentiments. I personally think that having to check backup cameras and sensors etc while even just negotiating a parking lot would be a pain. A lik emy vehicle being a runabout that can easily negotiate in and out of spaces, narrow streets, easily be parallel parked, etc. And these requirements don't necessitate a small vehicle - just a well thought out one.

For everyone wondering what the FX was built for... it was built for shopping and making a statement. While I appreciate that Mr. Reed didn't want to make that specific statement, this is what the FX was born to do.

Too big to park???

I have the FX50S and a 2006 Honda Civic and honestly I find the FX easier to park, thanks to the 4 cameras that portray a birds-eye view of the car.

And to all the FX haters here: if you havent driven this amazing machine, then please keep your comments to yourselves!

dubaizen, If I have driven it, am I allound to criticize?

Choosing not to drive the car is a perfectly valid judgment of it. In addition, blogging about that decision has produced a very interesting thread, filled with thoughtful and heartfelt comments. In sum, great post!

Brn, have you driven it? If not then how can you make this statement? "I drive both an old compact sedan and an old SUV. Both are easier to park than the FX50 and both have more off road capabilities"

I am sure that was Dubaizen's point. If people haven't driven it, how can they conclude it is difficult to maneuver or park?

I have driven my FX35 over a year now and have never had any problems parking. I park next to a full size truck in a standard two car garage everynight and have no problems even though the two vehicles are 6 inches apart. And even though I have the all around view cameras, I don't need to use them. But, I guess you want to believe your statement carries more weight than my actual experience just because you say so.

I am sure there people out there who can't park a FX, but then they probably shouldn't be driving in the first place...

Bad visibility is bad visibility, regardless of the cost/performance/styling/electronic add-ons/etc. I have no patience for it, so I understand the original post.

I'm with most so far if you can't handle driving this plus sized sedan try not to get the keys for because it leads to posts like this that fall under the "I can't drive this" category which is all ready full of posts from the Ram.

I can see somewhat why you made the decision can't see why you had to tell us though.

What statement is driving an FX50S making? I don't understand all the hub-bub people make over "statements" and "what a vehicle says" about them. I get where you're coming from, in the trivial way that people associate certain qualities about the drivers of certain makes (I hear the "Prick's on the inside" BMW joke wayyy too much), but really, aren't you professional automobile testers beyond that? Instead of worrying about "statements," please just drive the vehicles and let your enthusiast audience know what they're like.

k2rm, yes I have driven it.

Both my compact sedan and my SUV are easier to park because they're both MUCH easier to see out of. Yes, my SUV actually has good visibility all around.

While I haven't taken the FX50 off road, this picture:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/08/2009-infiniti-fx50-not-much-wheel-travel.html
convinces me that the FX50 wouldn't have handled the roads I took my sedan on today.

Who cares about true offroadability? Infiniti has never marketed it as such. Most car based crossovers aren't very good other than say subaru. Nobody buys these vehicles for their offroad use. They can handle gravel roads which is the most that most people who buys these types of vehicles venture out on and expect. I have about 50 miles of eastern Oregon gravel roads on mine. Some of that was very washboarded and were covered with several inches of snow. It did fine like most of these crossovers would. Except maybe the ridgeline since we know from Edmunds that their shocks aren't up to the task.

Geesh, these new crossovers are not SUV's as has been beaten to death here on Edmunds so why do people still try to define them as such? Most of these crossovers are glorified minivans with less space. The FX does have less space than most, but the cargo room is still larger than the beloved BMW X5. Once again, the FX is for those who wants more utility than a sports sedan that still maintains over 9/10ths of the performance.

Did I hit a nerve?

I didn't say it should do as well as my SUV. I do think it should do better than my compact sedan.

To repeat myself, this is a performance sedan disguised as a CUV. As a performance sedan, it tromps both my vehicles. As a CUV, not so much.

Well, I sure it does better than you compact sedan offroad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDSntyiiRvQ&feature=related

Not that impressive, but watch it all the way through. I doubt your compact sedan can do this unless it is an impreza.

Great video.

Just about any non-performance fwd sedan could do as well. Any awd sedan would do a lot better.

@brn

So you're saying a FWDsedan could make it through the mud/log piece? I'll have to politely disagree as I don't think a sedan would have enough clearance, nor the AWD to pull itself through. Hopefully you recognize that FWD wouldn't make it through a mud soaked field nor have the clearance to track over a rock.

Not that the FX is a dedicated off road vehicle, but it does have more clearance than a "non-performance fwd sedan," unless you can supply a video of a such a sedan doing something similar.

Here's a rwd sedan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Qw1xtQxEU

The first 30 seconds shows you it does as well as an FX50. It does have a little trouble with deep mud later in the video, but it's not edited like the FX50 video.

I wish I could have taken video with my fwd sedan, but it did a similar job. The only difference being icy ruts, rather than muddy ruts.