2002 Infiniti I35 Base Sedan 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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2016 Infiniti QX60 facelift spied

Initially launched in 2012 as the JX35 and rebadged in the brand's new nomenclature as the QX60 in 2013, Infiniti's three-row crossover is due for a facelift next year. And that's just what you're looking at here in this latest gallery of spy shots. Captured while undergoing testing here in the United States, the 2016 Infiniti QX60 is slated to benefit from revised styling front and rear. That means a new grille and headlights stylistically drawn from those on the QX50 and QX80, as well as a reshaped rear end with new taillights. The design changes ought to help further differentiate the QX60 from its more commonplace counterpart, the Nissan Pathfinder, on which it is based. Nissan dealers, after all, charge a good $13k less for their version than Infiniti dealers get for theirs, and customers want their premium wheels to look the part. And in the process, the updates aim to help the QX60 compete with rivals like the Acura MDX and Buick Enclave. A fresh set of wheels is almost a foregone conclusion whenever an automaker is trying to spruce up one of its models. And we can expect some updated equipment and revised materials inside as well. We wouldn't expect much in the way of mechanical upgrades under the hood. Infiniti recently recalibrated the continuously variable transmission for improved performance and refinement for 2015. Sources point towards an unveiling before year's end – which likely means the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show later this month – before sales commence early in the new year.

The Infiniti Q30 is dead! Long live the Infiniti QX30!

Remember that Infiniti Q30 hatchback we drove last month? It's not coming to the US. But it also is coming to the US. Let us explain. Because of our crossover-obsessed culture, it's easier for automakers to brand new offerings as CUVs rather than hatchbacks. Take one five-door, front-wheel-drive car, add a teensy bit of ground clearance and all-wheel drive, and boom, success! So because the Q30 and ever-so-slightly higher-riding QX30 are so darn similar, Infiniti made the decision to just sell them both under the QX30 name. This might seem stupid to most, but to Infiniti – and the crossover-buying masses – this is actually a pretty logical move. The QX30 arrives in mid-2016. On the base end there's the standard QX30, then there's the lower-riding QX30S, and finally, the higher-than-standard-riding QX30 AWD. They all come with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. They're also practically identical to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and GLA-Class, except for the swoopy sheetmetal. But even Mercedes sells its cars as two separate model lines. If you're not confused enough yet, feel free to read more in the press release below. Related Video: Infiniti announces QX30 line-up in the AmericasInfiniti QX30 Premium Crossover set to go on sale in mid-2016 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Infiniti today announced the line-up of its all-new QX30 premium active crossover for the United States and Canada. While sharing basic exterior and interior designs, the QX30 line will be offered in three unique versions, each with its own front and rear fascia, wheel design and interior themes: QX30: The crossover's highly sculpted exterior, unique stance and asymmetric cabin design exemplify Infiniti's design-led approach to product development. This version is sold in Europe and other regions outside of the Americas under the Q30 name. In the Americas, this model will be front-wheel drive. QX30S: With a lower stance, aggressive front and rear fascia, cross-drilled front brake rotors, 19-inch wheels and performance tires, the QX30S is the sports version of Infiniti's new premium compact line. It was shown at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show and is sold in other markets as the Q30S. QX30 AWD: With an intelligent all-wheel drive system, slightly higher ride height and off-road inspired front and rear valence panels, the vehicle is able to take on urban, suburban and winding rural roads in all driving conditions.

2017 Infiniti Q30 First Drive

Audi and BMW have owned the premium C-segment for almost a decade now thanks to the A3 and the 1 Series (and 2 Series). Benz's A-Class has become less of a retiree's option and has spawned a popular (if not particularly good) sedan (the CLA) and a crossover (GLA). Down in the lower-class decks, machinery from Subaru is punching well above its weight, while Volkswagen's Golf owns the market in Europe. This all left perennial premium pretenders like Lexus and Infiniti with a problem: how to convince buyers their C-segment machinery was genuinely premium if they were based off a volume-selling donor body from Toyota or Nissan? Mercedes-Benz opened an odd window of opportunity for Infiniti. See, Benz's parent, Daimler, and Infiniti's motherships, Renault and Nissan, have had a technical alliance since 2010. A big technical alliance. So Infiniti was able to develop its hatch to sit atop the A-Class chassis, powertrain, and suspension architecture, though you'd barely know it by looking at the Infiniti from the outside. It has a style all its own, and you're not going to mistake a single angle on the Q30 for anything that comes out of Stuttgart. Nobody makes deeper cuts and curves into its metal than Infiniti. The Japanese brand claims that design is at its core, and whether you love or hate that design, it's hard to argue that point. The Q30 feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class on which its based. "Infiniti design is very three-dimensional on every panel. We want to give the sense and the feeling that every Infiniti has been made by an artisan, by hand, not by computer," the company's London-based design boss, Simon Cox, argued. Some will love it, some will hate it, and Infiniti can live with it either way. The point is that the brand is now on the field in a segment that is projected to keep growing at more than 9.4 percent globally, and it got there at a fraction of the normal cost of an all-new car, without having any easily identifiable cap tips to the Benz's far more conservative exterior design. The Benz bits are more obvious inside. Infiniti did such a good job of grafting its design ideas onto the interior hard points that it feels like a nicer, easier, more luxurious place than the A-Class, even if the Benz will be between eight and 10 percent more expensive in most markets. The dash top is clean, swooping, and stitched together beautifully.