Suburban Dad: 2007 Infiniti FX45

Driving the FX45 turned out to be a battle of genders. Having driven it through a blizzard-like snowstorm (4 inches of snow fell during my two-hour commute home), I became very enamored of the FX45’s sure footing, nimble acceleration and easy handling. My teenage son thought the car looked cool, had plenty of space and was very comfortable. My 10-year-old was so comfortable he fell asleep in the backseat.

My wife was less impressed with the FX45’s looks. “It can’t decide if it wants to be a car or an SUV,” she scoffed, referring to it as “The Roller Skate.” I asked my tweener daughter if she’d want to be seen getting out of it at the junior high school, and she replied: “No, it’s too weird.”

Of course, it’s often what’s on the inside that matters, and on that front virtually everyone agreed. The FX45 has very comfortable leather seats with strong support, and like a lot of other Nissan cars I’ve driven lately, the driver’s seat moves back when you’re getting in and out of the car, and the steering wheel backs out of the way. It’s a small thing, I know, but I find it very helpful, given my large frame. My wife was particularly happy with the layout of the controls. The navigation system, while almost the same as the system I encountered in the Nissan Quest, is better because it uses a wheel and button to select numbers and letters for an address, rather than the Quest’s rather bulky joystick.

The backseat was roomy for the kids, although the middle “seat” is less than comfortable. Lucky for me, I never had more than two kids back there at a time. The biggest drawback for me was the lack of space in the cargo area for groceries and stuff you might pick up from Target or Costco. There’s just not much “there” there.

What impressed me most about the FX45 was its handling in that snowstorm. In addition to all of the snow, it was brutally cold, so much so that the snow wasn’t melting, making traveling even more treacherous. The FX45 handled it all well, and the car only slid once, on a poorly plowed side street near my house. I was able to get some time in the FX45 when it wasn’t snowing, and that was a joy. Getting up to freeway speeds was easy, and although the ride could get bumpy from the tight suspension, it was always sure-footed. The FX45 comes with lane departure warning for when you’re traveling 45 mph or faster, but after two days I had to turn it off. It began mistaking salt-covered strips of asphalt as lane lines, and the beeping nearly drove me over the edge.

Would we buy this as our second car? Well, I would, but my wife’s strong feelings about “The Roller Skate” look means it’ll have to be just a distant, pleasant memory for me.