Inside Line Technology Review: 2009 Infiniti G37x Sedan

Infiniti's G Sedan achieves a near perfect balance between performance and comfort relative to price, and it can be tweaked with some of the best tech available in the entry-level luxury class -- everything from easy iPod integration to advanced safety features. But if the G Sedan has an Achilles heel, it's that many of the car's best electronics require adding expensive, bundled option packages onto the final bill.

On the 2009 G37x AWD Sedan we recently tested (sticker price $43,015), these options spiked the price by more than $7,000. And while you get a lot for that amount of money, you also can get stuck with stuff you don't want, which can tip the tech scale on whether to buy the G37 Sedan or a competitor.

Audio: The 10-speaker Bose Studio on Wheels audio system is part of the $2,300 Premium Package option, and it delivers very good but not great sound quality. My standard test tracks showed that the system stands out in terms of spacious soundstaging and focused imaging, and bass was tight and in your face thanks to the 10-inch woofer in each front door, although I noticed nasty panel rattling on the lowest and loudest notes. But tonal detail and accuracy suffered a bit and dynamics were somewhat flat on the most difficult musical passages. I typically test audio systems with any available sound processing turned off to level the playing field -- and because I prefer to listen to test tracks unaltered. But I was impressed with the Bose system's Driver Audio Stage processing since it considerably expanded an already expansive soundstage.

iPod Integration: The main music source unit is an in-dash CD player, but our test car offered plenty of other options. Infiniti's Interface System for iPods is also part of the Premium Package option and one of the easiest such applications to use. An iPod plugs into a proprietary cable in the center console and can be controlled though the 7-inch touch screen in the dash, the Infiniti Controller just below it or with steering-wheel controls, which are particularly convenient and safe for on-the-fly operations. The interface is intuitive, finding music is relatively fast and the system includes podcasts, composers and audiobooks in the main iPod menu along with the usual suspects of albums, artists, songs and playlists. My only gripe is that if you have a large music library there's no way to quickly scroll through it. To go from Al Green to ZZ Top takes quite a few clicks and a frustrating amount of time.

Other music-source options include a slot in the dash for a CompactFlash card and the Music Box 9.3GB hard-disk drive that's part of the $2,150 Navigation Package option (which replaces the standard 6-disc CD changer). Music files are accessed on a CF card via a very simple menu showing folder, file, song, album and artist, but the Music Box lets you play, search and edit files in a myriad of ways. The system allows recording CDs but not files on a CF card, and the G37x also has RCA aux-in jacks instead of the more familiar and convenient miniplug port.

Bluetooth: A hands-free phone system is also bundled with the Premium Package option, and I had no trouble pairing my BlackBerry 8300. But I couldn't get the system to download the device's address book -- and it would disconnect the phone every time I tried. The system does have its own address book that a driver can populate and add name tags to, but downloading the user's address book saves this redundant, time-consuming step. The Bluetooth system also works with Infiniti's Voice Recognition system so that numbers can be read aloud.

Navigation: The VR system can also be used to operate the G37's navigation system, but with varying results. As in many other vehicles, the VA system in the G37 had about a 50 percent success rate. For example, when I asked for the California city of Topanga, I first got Fontana and then Santa Ana before the third time returned the correct result. Otherwise, the hard-disk nav system works great and has cool features such as 3D POI icons, route simulation that shows a preview of your course and the ability to choose alerts ranging from a dog bark to a church bell to signal when you've reached a destination. It also offers lane guidance for negotiating tricky freeway intersections and has XM NavTraffic capability. 

Tech Extras: The Navigation Package throws in a rearview camera, while the pricey Premium Package also includes a powered moonroof, steering wheel and seats, among other amenities that are usually luxury standards. If you want even more goodies you have to go for the $1,100 Technology Package, which adds adaptive cruise and headlights and pre-crash seat belts. The AWD version also has a Snow Mode switch to avoid wheel spin in the white stuff.

If you're looking for an entry-level luxury sedan -- and you need AWD performance -- the 2009 Infiniti G37x Sedan is a class-leading contender that excels on many critical levels. But be sure to carefully check your tech needs against the vehicle's expensive and expansive option packages -- and against what's available in competitors such as the Acura TL SH-AWD with Tech Package, BMW 328i xDrive and Lexus IS 250 AWD. Otherwise the electronics in the Infiniti G sedan could throw a near-perfect purchase and driving experience out of balance.

IL Tech Ratings (10 is best): 2009 Infiniti G37x Sedan

Audio: 7

iPod Integration: 8

Bluetooth: 6

Navigation: 8

Tech Extras: 6

Overall Average Score: 7

The Latest Auto Safety Technology

Of all the cool gadgets car manufacturers now offer, few are as important as the latest safety features. In the same way that car companies have made our time behind the wheel more comfortable, convenient and entertaining (via features like heated and cooled seats, adaptive cruise control and iPod integration), they've also leveraged auto safety technology to make driving less risky and to differentiate their products.

Safety sells, but it can also earn customers for life, notes Paul V. Sheridan, a former product manager for Ford and Chrysler and an expert on auto safety. By constantly raising the bar in terms of auto safety technology — and saving lives and limbs — car companies win or lose long-term customer loyalty, Sheridan explains.

"A person that experiences the competent deployment of an automotive safety system that protects them from severe injury or death will not only survive as a repeat buyer, but will live to do sales and marketing for the automaker," Sheridan explains. "Typically, a very happy customer will inform five to eight others of their satisfaction, but if our customer was dissatisfied, upward of 20-24 people would be informed of the bad news. However, the dissatisfaction is even greater if the product fails due to a safety issue."

Highlighted below are the latest auto safety technologies that appeared on cars in the last six months or will debut in the coming months. If successful, these features will likely spread to other models — and one day become as common as seatbelts and airbags.

BMW

The 7 Series flagship has traditionally been BMW's technological tour de force, and the fully redesigned 2009 models feature several innovations, including Active Blind Spot Detection. In addition to giving visual warnings on the side mirrors like other blind spot monitoring systems, BMW's Active Blind Spot Detection also vibrates the steering wheel to warn drivers when they decide to change lanes anyway.

Several automakers offer sideview cameras to help drivers peek around corners at a blind intersection or see objects alongside a car when parking. But the new 7 Series adds aMulticamera System to display warnings of obstacles or oncoming traffic on the in-dash display or on the windshield via the head-up display.

Select BMW models have had night vision for several years, but its latest iteration — Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection — adds pedestrian detection to distinguish between a human and an animal, and it also shows the position and direction a pedestrian is heading. If a person approaches or crosses the car's path, a warning is issued on the in-dash monitor used to display night vision, and also pops up on a head-up display if the car is equipped with that option.

Availability: 2009 BMW 7 Series.

Chrysler

It's probably happened to you: You're backing out of an angled or perpendicular parking space and can't see if there's another vehicle barreling toward your car's rear end. You can back out slowly and hope there's nothing in your path — or wait to hear a car horn warning you not to proceed.

Chrysler's Cross Path Detection System uses radar sensors in the rear bumper to watch your back and determine whether vehicles are in your path. If they are, the system sounds an alarm and visual indicators flash in the side mirrors to warn you, depending from which side a vehicle is approaching.

Availability: 2009 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, and packaged with the blind spot monitoring system.

Ford

Ford has added a blind spot warning system to some of its vehicles, and it's also available with Cross Traffic Alert. As with Chrysler's Cross Path Detection System, radar sensors in a vehicle's rear bumper watch for traffic from behind while a driver blindly backs out of a parking space. If traffic approaches as the vehicle is backing up, an audible alert sounds and a warning light flashes on the corresponding side mirror to indicate from which side the traffic is headed.

Ford also recently introduced MyKey, a system that allows parents to limit a vehicle's top speed and stereo system volume when an inexperienced driver is behind the wheel. Any of a car's keys can be programmed through the vehicle message center, and it also prevents safety features such as traction control from being turned off.

Availability: Cross Traffic Alert on the 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan and the 2010 Ford Taurus, and packaged with Ford's blind spot monitoring system; MyKey will be standard on all but the base model 2010 Ford Focus and Escape, as well as the 2010 Ford Taurus/SHO, Lincoln MKT and Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner hybrids.

Infiniti

Lots of cars have back-up cameras these days, and some (like the BMW 7 Series mentioned above) also have supplemental cameras to help a driver see other areas around a vehicle. But Infiniti is the only automaker now offering what it calls an Around View Monitor, which uses four wide-angle cameras, one on each side, to provide a 360-degree view around the vehicle.

Images from the camera are shown on an in-dash monitor, and users can select which camera image to display. Or a "bird's-eye" view can also be displayed to give an overhead perspective.

Availability: 2009 Infiniti EX and FX crossovers.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz has chosen its new 2010 E-Class to debut a host of new safety technologies, including Attention Assist. Standard on the 2010 E-Class coupe and sedan, the system analyzes various factors to determine whether a driver is too tired to operate a vehicle safely and "remembers" a driver's normal behavior behind the wheel to establish a baseline.

By tracking acceleration relative to steering angle, pedal use, road surface, wind conditions and even taking into consideration trip length and time of day, the system looks for signs of driver fatigue. If it decides the driver is too tired to continue, an indicator — a coffee-cup symbol — appears in the instrument cluster and an audible warning is issued.

As with BMW's update of its Night Vision with Pedestrian Detection, Mercedes' Night View Assist Plus adds the ability to spot pedestrians more easily. It does this by using software that distinguishes humans in the dark and highlights their presence on an in-dash display.

Availability: 2010 Mercedes- Benz E-Class this summer (although Night View Assist Plus isn't available on the E-Class coupe) and the 2010 S-Class later this year.

Volvo

Volvo has built its reputation — and much of its marketing strategy — on safety. The company's latest innovations are in the area of "active" safety: The car takes control and makes a decision for the driver to avert an accident, as opposed to passive systems, such as seatbelts and airbags that kick in after an accident.

The company's City Safety Technology (CST), as its name implies, is designed to avoid fender-benders in stop-and-go urban driving. It uses an infrared laser sensor to monitor the distance to the vehicle in front of the CST-equipped car, and if it detects that the driver isn't slowing down fast enough to avoid a rear-end collision, the system activates the brakes to ostensibly stop the car in time. However, it only works at speeds less than 18 mph.

Availability: 2010 Volvo XC60 crossover.

Hybrid SUV's....explained

One of the fastest growing area's of the hybrid industry are the new hybrid SUV vehicles. Hybrid SUV's have not only gained in popularity year after year, but the number of hybrid SUV's now available have seen an amazing increase. Hybrid SUV's not only give consumers the space they have grown acustome to (a change from the cramped hybrid car models), but they also increase the overall driving safety of the vechiles. While hybrid SUV's haven't progressed as quickly as hybrid cars, there are still plenty of options for consumers. What hybrid SUV is right for you, and which one will stand the test of time? The easiest answer to that question is to look, compare, and do your research.

Hybrid SUV Models 

Toyota and Lexus are providers of hybrid SUVs. Honda provides the mild hybrids. These are the ones that rely mainly on the gas engine while using a small electric motor or generator to supplement it. Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid are examples of strong hybrids which have a larger role ascribed for the electric motor.

Features and Functionality of Hybrid SUVs

The pathway of energy for the Hybrid SUVs can vary to wide extents. This depends upon various conditions and demands of the driver. Usually it is the electric motor that provides most of the momentum while driving at lower speeds despite the engine revving. The excessive power from the engine is absorbed by the smaller motor or generator and then routed back to the main motor to be used either for providing the energy to move the car or for charging the battery pack.

A simple system is involved in the Hybrid SUV setup. No rotating belt is there as in case of conventional Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). There are simply two electric motors and a gas engine that is permanently linked together using a planetary gear set. The driver can perceive nothing but only a smooth flow of power in spite of the fact that there is a lot of variation in the different modes.

There is a third electric motor or generator in case of the RX400h and Highlander Hybrid 4WD-i – two models of Hybrid SUVs. It is worth noting that the front-wheel-drive Highlanders do not have this motor. These Hybrid SUV models have none of the typical elements present in an all-wheel-drive system, namely, individual drive shafts connecting the front and rear axles and a center differential varying the power split. The independent third electric motor or generator rated for 68 hp and 96 lb-ft of torque is instead built into a rear transaxle. It is only in times of need like during hard acceleration or starting on a slippery surface that the rear electric motor comes into play. While moving under force of gravity (coasting) and braking, this rear electric motor acts as a generator. In other circumstances the two models work as front drive SUVs.

2009 SUV Buying Guide

Over the years, SUVs have grown from fairly basic truck-based vehicles to include car-based crossovers, mid- and full-size SUVs and luxuriously appointed mansions on wheels. Rather than separate this general segment out by individual body types, we divided them up according to price ranges. Within these ranges, you'll find both crossovers and truck-based SUVs from domestic, Asian and European manufacturers.

SUVs Under $25,000
In this price range, you'd expect to find some pretty straightforward crossovers that lack the creature comforts we've all become accustomed to. You'd be wrong on both counts, as we've picked two well-equipped crossovers and one very competent off-roader. All of these vehicles offer a wide range of versatility and strengths in their given fields without breaking your budget. For our crossover picks, we chose the 2009 Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 — both of which are excellent, car-based utes with roomy cabins and impeccable city driving manners. The Honda CR-V has a refined interior and seating for five, while the Toyota RAV4 offers third-row seating (albeit cramped) and a more powerful V6 engine. Either of these SUVs is an excellent choice for a growing family.

For those looking for adventure off the beaten path, we also chose the truck-based 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser. This midsize SUV for a small SUV price delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Known for its astounding off-road prowess and nostalgic styling, the FJ Cruiser offers the kind of utility no crossover can deliver.

SUVs Under $35,000
Fittingly for this price category, the choices have moved past small crossovers in favor of the large crossovers with increased passenger seating and cargo space. For 2009, we chose the GMC Acadia, Hyundai Veracruz and Mazda CX-9 which, despite their added size, all maintain a decent amount of carlike driving ease. Both the Veracruz and CX-9 allow seating for seven, with the CX-9 offering just a bit more room for the rearmost passengers. The GMC Acadia, however, has spacious seating for up to eight adults. It should be noted that inclusion of the Acadia also indicates our selection of its rebadged GM cousins, the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and Saturn Outlook.

All of our choices in this price range are powered by V6 engines and are offered in a wide range of trim levels. The Veracruz and CX-9 are quite a bit less expensive than the Acadia, which is only available under $35,000 in its base trim level. All of our picks are also available in front- or all-wheel drive, with the fully loaded trim levels of the AWD Veracruz and CX-9 just peeking above the $35K boundary.

SUVs Under $45,000
At this price limit, we find the pricier luxury brands' interpretation of an SUV. Leading the way is the 2009 Lexus RX 400h , which is the only hybrid-powered vehicle among our SUV picks. This selection is notable for its V6 power with four-cylinder fuel economy, carlike handling and luxurious interior. Our other pick is the 2009 Porsche Cayenne which, at this price point, is only available in the base model trim with a manual transmission. What the Cayenne does deliver, though, is Porsche's legendary handling (even for an SUV), performance and cachet. Though the Lexus and Porsche are both all-wheel drive, both specialize in transporting well-heeled city dwellers in style.

SUVs Over $45,000
When price is no object, our picks for SUVs get whittled down to two German marques. Starting with the 2009 BMW X5, with its impeccable handling, prodigious power, wide range of amenities and luxurious interior, this midsize premium SUV sets itself apart from all others in its class. Drawbacks are few and include a ride quality that may be a bit too firm, lack of off-road capability, cramped third-row seats and BMW's fussy iDrive system. The X5 is followed closely by the 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, which offers more room, gobs of power and the option of an off-road package. All of this naturally comes with a hefty price tag and, in direct opposition to the BMW, some may find the ride a bit too wallowy and soft. Both of these choices embody luxury, style and performance for SUVs, with just a hint of elitism.

Nine Tips to conserve your Gasoline/Fuel Consumption (Increase your fuel economy)

1. Slow Down
One of the best ways to save on gas is to reduce your speed. According to the DOE, every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph represents a 7 percent decrease in fuel economy.

2. Check Your Tire Pressure
Under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which causes you to burn more fuel to keep the car moving. Refer to your vehicle’s owner’s manual, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (if equipped), or the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) label on or near the driver’s side door. Properly inflated tires may improve your fuel economy by up to 3.3 percent.

3. Accelerate With Care
Fast acceleration wastes fuel. Accelerate modestly so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears more efficiently. Rapid acceleration and braking can lower your gas mileage by up to 33 percent on the highway and up to 5 percent during city driving.

4. Drive A Consistent Speed
Follow the lead of trucks and keep a consistent speed. Constant slowing down and speeding up reduces fuel economy. Consider using cruise control when appropriate.

5. Avoid Excessive Idling
Idling your vehicle gets 0 miles per gallon.

6. Stick With Stock
New wheels and tires may look cool, but if they’re not the same as the OEM specifications, they could create more resistance, thereby reducing fuel economy.

7. Clean Out Your Car
Carrying around extra baggage — or anything that you don’t need for that trip — only adds extra weight to your car and impacts fuel economy. For example, depending on your vehicle’s weight, an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could decrease your MPG by up to two percent.

8. Plan Your Trips Better
Consider grouping your trips instead of making several trips to accomplish your daily tasks. Several short trips may use twice as much fuel as a single, longer trip that covers the same distance.

9. Use The Proper Maintenance Fluids and Replacement Parts
Always use the engine oil, replacement parts and any other fluids that the manufacturer recommends. Change your oil at the recommended intervals and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for all routine maintenance.