Video: 2011 Infiniti M56

It's the third generation of this car, which was pretty well received in its second generation. We're gonna look at what's changed in terms of styling and cabin quality. We're also gonna talk about the car's new technology features and think about how it stacks up against some of those other players in this segment. Infiniti says this car drives on themes from the Essence concept, which was shown earlier on this year at the Geneva motor show. We see a little bit of Nisson Maxima up front. Now obviously, that's a different car and a different platform. And as you go to the rear, it kinda drops away a little bit like the G sedan does, not like the old M did with sort of a flat tail, so more of an evolution over the outgoing M, not necessarily a revolution. Like before, this car has a cabin that kinda falls away from you, and it feels really open. Materials quality is pretty good generally speaking, and the car's got this new wood trim with what Infiniti calls silver powder, kinda gives it an interesting texture to it. There's also an improved navigation system that retains its pretty usable interface here, but the controls are down here, a little bit closer to reach. The last M had controls that were really far up and only really reachable if you had gangly, long arms. There's a new blind spot intervention system, which actually looks at cars in your blind spot and attempts to keep you from drifting lanes over into that area, kinda interesting. There's also a new drive train modes, including an eco mode which takes the throttle response down a little bit and attempts to improve gas mileage. Even in its final years, the outgoing M was still a strong contender in its field, thanks to a refined interior, strong power trains, and relative excellent safety and reliability ratings. Now if Infiniti can keep those qualities and deliver on some of the technology that this car promises, luxury car shoppers will probably have to give the new M a good, hard look. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to Cars.com or our blog, Kickingtires.net.