Infinity M35

Today's post is about a car the Infinity M35...that is exceptional buy in the luxury class...but a sleeper. Most people in the luxury class will purchase a Mercedes E350, BMW 5-series without taking other brands for a test drive.

The M35 is powered by a 3.5 liter V-6 version of Nissan’s VQ engine family, rated at 303 hp. The M35 motor has very satisfactory performance....the motor accelerates quickly and has a demeanor that says "it is ready for action". The M35 is a rear wheel drive mid size sports sedan....handling and braking is exceptional for the luxury class.
Pricing for the 2009 M35 starts at $45,800 USD plus options. One of the most requested packages is the Sport Package..... which adds the sport suspension and 19 inch wheels for $1,650. The M45 with starts at $52,965. The M35 is equipped with a 7-speed automatic transmission. An all wheel drive option is available also.

BMW filed a lawsuit in Canada alleging that some people were confused by the M designation. BMW has the M-series M-3, M-5. The court actually granted an injunction requiring Infinity to change the advertising and badging on the cars.

Check out the cars.com video review!

SUMMARY:

The Infinity M35 is a real sleeper in the automobile world. The M35 is a real drivers car....with good acceleration, great braking and great handling. For people who know how well the M35 drives, that it does so at an attractive price makes it that much more impressive.

Reliability should be excellent! In fact, a used M35's are a reasonable alternative to a new mid size vehicle. The driving dynamics are excellent......along with great reliability make this a nice ride for a good price. A used 2006 M35 can be purchased for approximately $25K.

The only fault that I noted with the M35 is that the sound deadening is not as quiet as the competition.

Jaguar XF

Today's post is about one of my favorite cars the Jaguar XF. I had a friend that had two Jaguars in the 1990’s. I inquired why he had two since he was single. He said that he really enjoyed his Jaguars but that he needed one to drive since the other was usually at the dealer for repairs. Since, then Jaguar quality has improved, see my post Jaguar And Buick Overtake Lexus On Quality.

The Jaguar XF was selected by Car and Driver as one of the Ten Best for 2009. The XF is the first Jaguar ever picked for this award in the twenty seven years that Car and Driver have given out the awards.

The styling is radically different from the S-type that it replaced. Gone is the traditional British styling, instead there is a new aggressive stance. I have to admit to being partial to the traditional styling with my S-type. But, the new styling is attractive! Check out the Ian Callum video who designed the XF, Ian Callum is an exceptional British designer. He designed the Aston Martin DB7, DB8, Vanquish, and Jaguar XK.

The driving dynamics of Jaguars has also changed during the period that Ford owned the brand. The XF is a now a dynamic, agile, athletic drive. The XF has a supple suspension meanwhile handling the curves beautifully.

The base 4.2 liter V-8 motor produces 300 hp, while the 4.2 liter V-8 supercharged has 420 hp. The 0-60 time on the supercharged motor is 6.2 seconds. The stopping distances are excellent at 70-0 in 155 ft.,which is sports car territory. For additional information see XF video!

The base price starts at $49,975, which is a good price compared to most of the competition, which have a V-6 equipped model to compete in that price range. The competition is the BMW 535i, Mercedes E350, Cadillac STS, Infinity M35, and the Acura RL. All of those models are rear wheel drive with the exception of the Acura RL.

Jaguar had been a financial drain on Ford Motor Company since Ford acquired Jaguar. But, Ford did have to put in a substantial amount of money to make the brand competitive. The bottom line is that they were successful!

The XF has brought Jaguar onto the world stage with a highly competitive and dependable car. In the end, I think that Ford will regret selling Jaguar to Tata Motors at a bargain basement price, just when Jaguar started paying dividends.