Wednesday, March 30, 2005

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Infiniti, Lexus in face-off

Sport sedans overlap in features and capability, but M35 is the clear champ

By Paul Lienert / Special to The Detroit News

Infiniti Infiniti M35 pushes sportiness, performance Toyota / Lexus Lexus GS 300 emphasizes comfort and convenience. . Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

The penultimate luxury-sport sedans from Lexus and Infiniti -- the GS and the M series, respectively -- have never made much of a dent in the American market, playing second or even third fiddle in recent years to such popular European class leaders as the BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Infiniti M35 Lexus GS 300

For the 2006 model year, both premium Japanese brands have redesigned their mid-range entries, in the process incorporating a raft of technology and performance hardware while dramatically upgrading their looks inside and out.

The 2006 Lexus GS from Toyota Motor Corp. and the 2006 Infiniti M from Nissan Motor Co. offer a choice of V-6 and V-8 engines, and the six-cylinder variants can be ordered for the first time with all-wheel drive.

The base M35 starts at $40,510 while the base GS 300 starts at $43,550. Prices include destination charges.

Stickers top out at $50,160 for the M45 and $51,775 for the GS 430.

The new Lexus and Infiniti sedans have just begun reaching U.S. dealers.

As was true of their predecessors, the latest editions of the GS and the M appeal to slightly different, albeit equally affluent, buyers.

Infiniti continues to push sportiness and performance, and has more in common spiritually with BMW.

Lexus emphasizes comfort and convenience, and aims to emulate Mercedes-Benz.

But there is still considerable overlap between the two competitors in terms of features and capability.

We recently tested nicely equipped examples of the rear-wheel-drive Infiniti M35 and the all-wheel-drive Lexus GS 300. The Infiniti was a preproduction prototype and did not have a window sticker; we estimated its bottom line at just under $50,000. The price as tested on the Lexus was $52,279.

Styling

The original Infiniti M45, introduced in North America as a 2003 model, was based on the Japanese-market Nissan Gloria and was just plain homely. The new M shares its crisply styled sheet metal and elegant profile with the home-market Nissan Fuga, and looks light-years newer and fresher. The '06 M35 that we tested, in fact, has much in common stylistically with its less-expensive sibling, the G35 sedan.

Where the previous M stood out like the proverbial ugly duckling in the Infiniti stable, its successor actually looks like it was designed by the same team that has created so many recent winners at Nissan and Infiniti.

The latest iteration of the Lexus GS, however, looks more evolutionary.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering that previous generations dating back to 1993 were pretty good-looking. Curiously, the '06 GS 300 has little in common with the all-new IS range and other edgy Lexus prototypes that have been making the rounds at international auto shows.

Instead, it appears to be the last of the current Lexus designs in terms of family styling cues.

As such, it almost seems a bit on the stodgy side, and not nearly as forward-looking as the new IS -- or, for that matter, the new M from Infiniti. Winner: M35

Ride & handling

For their mid-range luxury-sport sedans, Lexus and Infiniti have adapted similar layouts and components. But their execution and tuning differ dramatically as far as what the driver and passengers feel in the seat of the pants.

Lexus's GS 300 employs double wishbones up front, with a multilink setup in the rear. Coil springs, gas-filled shocks and stabilizer bars are fitted at both ends. Steering is via a rack-and-pinion unit with variable electric power assist, based on vehicle speed. Base tires are 225/50R17s, although our test car was shod with 17-inch all-season run-flats.

The M35 also features double wishbones and a multilink arrangement plus coil springs and front-rear stabilizer bars. A power rack-and-pinion steering unit likewise varies the rate of assist depending on vehicle speed. Base tires are 245/45R18 all-season radials.

On paper, the basic chassis setup on both vehicles sounds remarkably similar, but ride and handling feel markedly different. The Infiniti is more aggressively tuned for precise control and responsiveness, but does not seem overly harsh except on extremely rough and choppy pavement. The Lexus did not feel as crisp in responding to driver inputs and, to our surprise, did not display the same degree of ride comfort as the Infiniti. Winner: M35

Interior

The Infiniti and Lexus sedans could not look or feel more different inside. While both vehicles are exceptionally comfortable -- at least for front-seat occupants -- and fairly bristle with convenience features, the Lexus GS 300 is all about quality, craftsmanship and cosseting driver and passenger in optimum luxury, while the M35 is geared more toward techies and gearheads.

The cabin of the GS 300 was trimmed in dark wood and black leather -- a rather masculine theme redolent of paneled libraries and smoking rooms in private clubs. We loved such features as heated and cooled seats (an option that can be ordered on the M35) and the fancy $4,000 Mark Levinson audio system that comes bundled with navigation.

The center stack, with its sensibly laid-out controls for audio and climate systems, is a welcome alternative to the Germans' increasing technical complexity. But some of the major controls on the Lexus have been relocated to a small, pull-down panel to the left of the steering wheel that is difficult to access and read.

The gorgeous three-tone cockpit of the M35 seemed far more open and inviting than the interior of the GS 300. Matte wood inserts and bright metal trim are perfect complements to the lighter leather upholstery. We were disappointed that the basic M35 that we tested had no heated seats and no navigation system. More importantly, the controls on the center stack were confusing and overly complicated, as they have been on many recent Infiniti models.

Both the Lexus and Infiniti had rear visibility problems because of their thick rear pillars, and both had limited room in the back seats, although the M35 had a decided advantage in rear legroom. Winner: M35

Engine

With a twin-cam, 280-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6, the Infiniti M35 is the clear winner here, in terms of output and sheer exuberance. The GS 300's twin-cam 3.0-liter V-6 makes only 245 horsepower, and with all four wheels connected to the driveline, the engine often feels like it's working overtime to keep up. In addition, we noticed excessive drivetrain noise at higher speeds with the Lexus. The automatic transmissions on both cars feature manual-shift capability. But the Infiniti's five-speed has one less forward speed than the six-speed automatic in the GS 300. Coupled with the smaller, less powerful engine in the Lexus, the result is a considerable disparity in EPA fuel economy: The GS 300 is rated at 21 miles per gallon in city driving and 27 mpg on the highway while the M35 is rated at 18 and 25 mpg, respectively. Winner: M35

Safety & technology

Both premium Japanese sedans are loaded to the gills with technical features, including the latest in safety hardware. They come equipped with standard side air bags and side curtain bags, as well as electronic stability and traction control. In addition, the Lexus GS 300 has knee air bags for front-seat occupants. Lexus offers such options as rain-sensing wipers, adaptive headlamps, sonar parking assist and a backup camera. The Infiniti can be ordered with an optional lane-departure warning system, a rear-view monitor, adaptive cruise control and adaptive headlamps. Both cars come with keyless ignition, which requires a "smart" fob to lock and unlock doors and start the vehicle. Winner: GS 300

Lexus and Infiniti have done an exceptional job in redesigning their mid-range sedans, packing even more features, capability and comfort into these high-tech wonders. But while the new GS 300 from Lexus seems like more of an evolutionary change, and has some notable drawbacks, the M35 is a major leap forward and a standout in just about every way, with its most critical shortcoming being an overly complicated control panel. Overall Winner: Infiniti M35