The arguments are the same as for the entire brand: assembly in Japan as a guarantee of reliability, rich fixed trim levels — that very "all-inclusive" scheme so loved in Russia. A compact crossover for 1,600,800 rubles is a real concentrate of "all inclusive." A flashy body in FX style, a powerful V6 3.5 (302 hp) paired with a five-speed automatic, ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive, a new brand feature — the AVM around-view camera system... And a generous — by class standards — list of standard equipment.
To ensure the EX doesn't look like a foreign dish against the backdrop of European cuisine, its appearance was brought closer to the European style. And it's clear the effort wasn't in vain. Outside — no Asian tinsel. Inside, the same story: the interior is comfortable, beautiful, assembled very carefully (one wants to say "in a German way"), and the instruments and mysterious backlighting have nothing in common with the multicolored night of Tokyo. The seats are dense, with noticeable lateral support, yet comfortable. Short throws of the automatic selector — by the way, in the BMW scheme...
- The interior looks more luxurious and expensive than in the "older" FX. The quality of materials, execution, and fit of parts are top-notch. Especially impressive was the "leather-look" plastic trim.
- The controls resemble other Infinitis (especially the G) and Nissans.
- When you press the start button, the driver's seat, steering column, and side mirrors take their memorized positions. It's a pity the column has a small adjustment range for reach.
- There are also annoying little things. For example, the inconvenient placement of the cruise control and trip computer buttons — on the instrument cluster visor. And the ESP off button is hidden as if they wanted the driver not to find it.
Infiniti representatives consider the Bavarian X3 3.0si crossover to be the main competitor for the EX35. After all, Infiniti looks to BMW, just as Lexus looks to Mercedes. They even came up with a special designation for the EX — SUC (Sport Utility Coupe), no doubt also following the example of the Bavarians, who are clever at inventing abbreviations like SAV and SAC. A crossover-coupe? And you can almost see the Japanese nodding in agreement: "Yes, if it's inclusive, then all that's possible."
But this is nothing more than a play on words. A long engine bay, a low silhouette, and a low center of gravity don't yet make a car a coupe. But the idea of marketers has damaged versatility: with such a mini ground clearance, you can hit off-road only literally — with the underbody. However, this is exactly what makes the EX similar to the "asphalt" X3. But on asphalt, you can compare the Japanese crossover with the Bavarian only for the first few kilometers, by inertia. After all, the EX35 turned out to be very distinctive.
The least expensive version is Premium for 1,600,800 rubles. "Our" Elite is 37,400 more expensive and differs in trim with more expensive leather and rosewood, a power sunroof, and "hangers" for clothes built into the front headrests. Another 64,200 rubles is asked for a navigation system with a touchscreen display and a Bluetooth headset.
Not only for Europeans — they traditionally also tried for Americans. Isn't that why the EX35 is so emphatically comfortable? It seems the Japanese first made it sharp, stiff, and angry, and then caught themselves — softened it, muted it. The character of the powerful "all-Nissan" VQ35 engine became smoother (even smoother!), the automatic shifts more smoothly, the steering wheel is longer, the suspension more accommodating... And a quarter of the budget was spent on sound insulation.
You can fold and raise the rear seatbacks (60/40 split) using the duplicate buttons in the cargo area. The platform is almost flat, but the loading height is a bit high. The cargo volume is 309 liters.
And we like it! Albeit with reservations. The engine responds willingly to the throttle, but the five-speed automatic struggles to keep up with the rhythm of frequent city accelerations and decelerations. It doesn't react in time to kick-down, shifts down a gear, and immediately tries to return to fifth... It gets confused. In Sport mode, it adapts more readily, and when shifting down, the electronics start to blip the throttle. And the manual mode here is honest.
Speed over a hundred on a straight line — that's the element of the EX35. And there's something American in that too. On the lane, the crossover holds like glued. Shooting toward the horizon is no problem. Having properly warmed up the car, you realize there's still a reserve of thrust. And the engine can drink fuel only in big gulps. Apart from the liters of gasoline, the only complaint about the V6 is the strained sound at high revs. The EX greatly masks the sensation of speed, but the brakes bring it down conscientiously. True, the pedal travel is long, and at the end — mush: the foot seems to sink into clay.
- The EX is the first car equipped with the Around View Monitor (AVM) system. Four cameras on the grille, tailgate, and side mirror housings broadcast a live feed to a 7-inch LCD display. It's divided into two parts. In the right window, the driver sees what's happening in four sectors at once — front, rear, and sides of the car (with no blind spots left). In the left — a close-up of a selected sector. When reversing, the system draws the trajectory on the display.
- AVM is a very convenient thing. And if you open the front doors, the cameras on the mirror housings see the front wheels — which can be useful if you've ventured off-road. Alas! — in bad weather, the camera eyes on the grille and mirrors will go blind from dirt a few kilometers after starting.
The all-wheel drive is also "straightforward" — ATTESA E-TS adds confidence at launch and during hard acceleration, but once the danger of wheelspin has passed, it transfers torque entirely to the rear wheels. And into a corner on a dry road, the EX35 enters like a rear-wheel-drive car, indecently early starting to squeal its Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport tires and eagerly rotating on lift-off. Moreover, the stability control quite allows such tricks!
But without electronic assistance, the all-wheel drive doesn't support a driver's mood. When turning at speed, instead of going into a slide and responding to throttle control, the car first goes with the nose, then rotates, and after that — just slides outward sideways. You can't pull the EX out with throttle — it's heavy...
"Attesa" missed! When you lose the car due to a dynamic whip (for example, during a sharp obstacle avoidance), the all-wheel drive system fails and the EX spins out.
Here it is, all inclusive. A European car sweetened for America. Or, if you will, the other way around: comfortable and powerful in an American way, styled and tuned almost in a European way. In Russia, such combinations are loved.
Meanwhile, the crisis that has already strangled America is roaming Europe and grinning predatorily in our direction. The Russian market has cowered. For everyone who is still ready to pay a large sum without asking for credit, brand representatives must fight with all their claws. Let the Infiniti brand, due to its youth, not have grown long claws and is still strengthening itself in the official Russian market. But the official dealers of the brand now have as many as three "X's" — QX, FX, and EX. The latter will likely serve as a trump card.
The test drive involved an Infiniti EX35 in the maximum configuration, the price of which at the time of the test was 1,638,200 rubles or $58,507. The basic equipment of this car includes a huge list of options: from the stability control system and tire pressure sensors to leather interior, wood trim, xenon headlights, external view cameras, parking sensors, and power tailgate. Also on the equipment list are heated seats, memory settings, climate control, and an audio system with eleven speakers.
Under the hood of this crossover is a gasoline V6 engine with a displacement of 3.5 liters, producing 302 horsepower. This same engine is familiar from the G35 Sedan and FX35 models. Its design uses lightweight pistons with molybdenum coating, iridium spark plugs, a timing chain drive, a variable valve timing system, and an electronic throttle. Only one gearbox works in conjunction with the engine — a five-speed automatic with sport and manual modes. To smooth out jerks when downshifting, the DRM system is provided.
The EX was designed by the Japanese design center, and the crossover is assembled at a plant in Tochigi. The car is based on the Front-Midship platform, which is also used in the G, M, and FX models. From them, the EX also got the ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system. An electronically controlled multi-disc clutch distributes torque between the axles up to a 50:50 ratio. When starting off, traction is always supplied to both axles, but under favorable conditions, all torque goes to the rear wheels. The suspension of the crossover is fully independent: double wishbone at the front, multi-link at the rear, where the spring and shock absorber are located separately. The brakes are disc, ventilated at the front, and the standard equipment includes ABS, stability control, and traction control system.