cdo Wat hapetiah RATA NU TENE Cod SONNE Tithe be Friday, April 23, 1993 — North Shore News - 38 Sat ite alee ae 5 ue A new grille and headlamps are the most obvious changes to the 1994 Infiniti Q45 from Nissan, but there are many other subtle refine- ments. ‘TEST DRIVE ETHE 1994 Infiniti Q45 is already here, and refine- Mments to Infiniti’s top-of- he-line - V8-powered - luxury edan are designed to add more warmth and luxury to Athe’ rather stark, contem- porary feel of the. original 4045, introduced in 1990. ; “Q45 owners told us they wanted a less austere, less Euro- fpean interior, They wanted more armth and luxury,’’ said Infiniti eneral manager John Kalsbeck at the vehicic’s introduction to the press. “They indicated it would benefit even more if it was a little less discreet and a little more self-evidently luxurious and cle- gant,’’ added marketing manager, Tan Forsyth. To whit, the interior now offers walnut trim on the console, dash and doors; softer, restyled leather upholstery; and a_ traditional, gold-colored timepiece in the cen- tre of the dash. Polished chrome door handles add an extra touch of luxury. Can picnic tables and decanters be far behind? On the safety front, both driver and passenger sides now have air- bags and the front seat belts have an automatic retracting feature. The dash-mounted glovebox has. been replaced by a centre arm- rest/storage compartment — be- tween the front seats. Both front seats are now electrically adjust- able with two-position memory function. The Bose stereo systems with six speakers and CD player has been revised for clearer sound. Those tiny, casy-to-miss horn buttons have also been replaced by a horn button placed squarely in the middle of the steering wheel, where it should be. On the outside, the esthetically n refining 1994 luxury sedan “‘belt-buckle’’ In- finiti badge has been replaced by questionable an elegant new grille and wraparound headlamps. Infiniti claims that adoption of a new CFC-free air-conditioning system raised engine compartment temperatures forcing Infiniti sty- lists to design a new radiator grille. The new grille certainly helps cool the engine, but my guess is that it was added for styl- ing reasons. A prominent grille is part and parcel of a luxury car’s mystique, a phenomenon that probably gocs back to the giant tadiator grilles of early Rolls- Royces and Mercedes-Benzes. Other obvious styling changes include revised rear taillights and standard BBS lattice-style alloy wheels. There are actually 1,900 new parts and components on the new 1994 Q45, most of them refinements rather than major revisions. The longitudinally mounted dual overhead cam 4.5-litre V& engine still develops a formidable 278 horsepower, but has been fine-tuned to meet future emission requirements while yielding a frac- tional improvement in fuel con- sumption. The standard electronically con- trolled four-speed automatic transmission (a manual transmis- sion is not available) now starts off in first gear, instead of the se- cond gear and kickdown starts of last year’s model. This provides better off-the-line performance and first to second gear shifts are virtually unnoticeable. Both engine and transmission offer exceptionally smooth and capable performance. The hefty 1,843 kg (4,055 Ibs.) Q45 takes just 7.5 seconds to reach 100 kph, the engine being particularly noteworthy for its high-speed cruising capability and strong power-band right up to a red-line of 6,500 rpm. The Q45’s engine has a sporty sound in the upper rev ranges unlike the eerily quiet V8 engine 5 - ee . Base price $68,200 Type four-door, five-passenger luxury sedan Layout longitudinal engine/rear-wheel drive Engine 4.5-litre V8, 2 X DOHC, 32 valves, sequential multi-point fuel injection Horsepower 278 @ 6,000 rpm Torque 292 ft.-lbs. @ 4,000 Tpm Transmission four-speed automatic Curb weight Ibs. front 1,843 kg/4,063 of its closest Japanese competitor, the Lexus LS400. The __ front-engine / rear-wheel- drive layout of the Q45 gives it an even front-to-rear weight distribution while a fully indepen- dent multi-link suspension con- tributes to stable, balanced, con- trolled handling. Rough-road ride comfort is now a little softer thanks to new bushings and shock absorber settings. However, the speed-sensitive power steering feels rather isolated, even though it’s been revised this year to make it easier for drivers to avoid wandering and fatigue under high-speed See Q45 page 42 Wheelbase 2,875 mm/113.2 in. Length 5,074 mm/199.8 in. Width 1,826 mm/71.9 in. Height 1,435 mm/56.5 in. Tires P215/16 all-season radi- als Trunk capacity 419 litres/14.8 cu. ft. Fuel eeonoiny City i3.6 L/100 km; 20 mpg Hwy 9.7 L/100 km, 29 mpg Warranty Basic four yrs/ 100,000 km; Major Compo- nents six yrs/100,000 km. Inquire about the Infiniti Q45 at Infiniti of Northshore, 1160 Marine Dr., North Vancouver.