Meet Infiniti's 2013 JX35, Loaded With Tech
Nissan launched its Infiniti brand exclusively for the United States back in 1989 to court luxury car buyers who found Nissan vehicles too mundane or mainstream for their tastes. Back then, the company kept its more plush vehicles in Japan, and sent mostly front-wheel drive vehicles to the U.S. Infiniti sought to change that, introducing a little more sumptuousness to Nissan’s product portfolio.
The original Infiniti line-up consisted of a single vehicle, the subtly-styled Q45 sedan based on the Japanese Nissan President, which set its sights on the established Mercedes-Benz S-class, BMW 7-series, and Jaguar XJ-series. On paper, Infiniti's Q45 was quite competitive with its torquey V8 and standard limited-slip differential, with four-wheel steering and active suspension options available on the Q45t model.
Infiniti followed up the Q45 with its M30 coupe and convertible in 1990, which were semi-rebadged Nissan Leopards (I say semi-rebadged because the exterior was completely identical to the F31 Leopard, but the dashboard was ripped out of the R31 Skyline) that were only available in Japan. I personally owned a 1991 Infiniti M30 convertible (the beauty up top) for a brief six months. It wasn't a bad car at all, despite almost two decades of wear and tear. But the M30 was a far cry from a luxury coupe compared to the Mercedes, Lexus, Lincoln, and Cadillac cars available back then.
That was 22 years ago. Today, Infiniti has a much more comprehensive stable of cars, crossovers, and SUVs available beyond our shores. In fact, the company has its global headquarters in Hong Kong...
...which brings us to the focus of this story: the 2013 Infiniti JX35 AWD crossover. Infiniti tossed us the keys and let us spend a week with its Nissan Pathfinder-based CUV. The JX35 seats seven and comes loaded beyond belief, with Premium, Theater, Deluxe Touring, and Technology packages including everything from twin rear seven-inch displays, a 360-degree view camera system, a boatload of driver assists, and a portable toilet. Alright, not that last part. The window sticker on our sample rings in at an MSRP of $55,700.
