The Infiniti EX 35 is an interesting mix. It isn't quite a car, and it isn't
quite a ute. Would it be fair to call it a cute?
Maybe not, but is certainly a striking crossover, looking like absolutely
nothing else on the road. The smooth shape is shared with its big brother, the
FX 50, which has a 390 horsepower V8 and a 0-60 time of 5 seconds. But, why? The
297-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 in the EX 35, is plenty to get you where you want
to go and uses a little less precious Middle Eastern go-juice in the bargain.
Now, to be fair, the EX is a bit pricey, coming to just under $40,000 for our
all-wheel-drive model, but look at it, for crying out loud. Every penny shows.
Our test car had all the bells and whistles.
That means the gorgeous interior has heated and cooled leather seats and a
keyless ignition, which just involves just dropping the keys in the console and
then pressing the start button. Then, there's the 360-degree camera, which
allows you to see little things, or little puppies walking around the car out of
sight. A special warning system alerts you every time you cross over the painted
lines in your lane of the road. It is annoying in the extreme, and you end up
turning it off immediately.
On the road, the EX 35 is solid, and fast. 60 miles per hour comes up in 7.1
seconds, and top speed is 142. You'll average around 19 miles per gallon, which
frankly stinks. But the car is so much fun to drive, you won't care much.
So whether you call the Infiniti EX 35 a car or a truck, you simply have to call
it terrific.