According to Car Dealerships In Richmond VA, Nissan’s luxury division—Infiniti—has never quite been embraced by the public in the way Lexus has for Toyota, but that hasn’t stopped the brand from delivering some very impressive sport sedans. And the latest, the 2011 Infiniti M, will be another big step forward for the company when it gets to dealers in March.
The key comes from a duo of new engines that boost both power and fuel efficiency across the M lineup. The enhanced V6 under the hood of the M37 and its all-wheel-drive sibling, the M37X, is up to 330 hp and 370 lb-ft of torque, representing 27 more hp and 8 more lb-ft of torque compared to last year’s powerplant. But at the same time, both get increases in fuel efficiency, with the M37 now up to 18 mpg city/26 highway and the M37X achieving 17/24. That’s an increase of 1 mpg to both vehicles’ city ratings, a 1 mpg bump for the M37 on the highway, and a 2 mpg highway improvement for the M37X.
Even more impressive are the numbers for the M56 and M56X. These models get an improved V8 that provides about 30 percent more hp and 25 percent more torque than the 2010 engine, which comes out to 420 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque. Yet these vehicles get even bigger mpg jumps. The M56 goes from 21 mpg on the highway to 25 (although city mpg stays the same), while the M56X is up 3 mpg on the highway, to 23 mpg, and 2 mpg in the city, now reaching 16 mpg in urban driving. Boston Infiniti dealers stress that M buyers want it all, and the 2011 model truly delivers it by achieving the elusive balance of power and fuel-efficiency.
With specs like these, the M sedans are now more than a match for rivals like the similarly sized and positioned BMW 5 Series. For example, the BMW 550i makes “only” 360 hp/360 lb-ft of torque and achieves 15/23 in the EPA’s city/highway driving estimates, specs that are easily topped by those of the M56. Plus, the Bimmer’s starting price of $60,600 is three grand higher than that of the Infiniti.
True, most people were never going to pick the Inifiniti over the BMW based solely on MSRP, but the difference now is that they don’t have to.
* * *
Read the latest Infiniti news on this blog.
You must log in to post a comment.