Tell your friends you have driven an Infiniti and you're likely to get the same response should you mention Accrington 'Who are they?' Stanley.
The name might not ring too many bells on these shores, but Nissan's luxury-arm is already established in the US and having driven the G37 Cabrio I predict we will soon share our friends-from-across-the-pond's admiration for Infiniti.
You won't see to many Infinitis on the roads just yet as there is only a handful of sales centres in the UK - the nearest to Wales being Birmingham - but it is a quality brand that is aiming to eat into the sales of BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
The name might not ring too many bells on these shores, but Nissan's luxury-arm is already established in the US and having driven the G37 Cabrio I predict we will soon share our friends-from-across-the-pond's admiration for Infiniti.
You won't see to many Infinitis on the roads just yet as there is only a handful of sales centres in the UK - the nearest to Wales being Birmingham - but it is a quality brand that is aiming to eat into the sales of BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
The company still has a long way to reach that target but while it makes cars as impressive as the G37 it deserves to achieve its goal one day.
Built on a modified Nissan 350Z platform, the performance focused G37 Cabrio shares the coupé version's 3.7-litre V6 engine and will hit 62mph from a standing start in just 5.9 seconds, before crashing into an electronic limiter at 155mph.
On test in North Wales I got the opportunity to unleash all 316 horses charging underneath the bonnet to discover the £37,590 car is hardly short on poke. Not only is it quick but the throttle response is crisp and urgent, and with fat 19 inch alloy wheels, wrapped in winter rubber, the balance between grip and a ride is excellent.
Less appealing is the fact the G37 Convertible it's as thirsty as a dehydrated cow in the desert. Infiniti claims it will do a smidgen over 20 miles to the gallon but after just one and a half hours driving time I had already used quarter a tank of the smelly stuff. High CO2 emissions put it firmly in the top road tax band, too.
But if it's quality of design you are looking for then you won't be disappointed. The G37 features a leather-lined sports interior with strong driver focus. Infiniti design DNA is clearly evident in the dashboard's 'double wave' upper section linked to a central vertical spine for an unmistakable feeling of solidity.
And if you find yourself in desperate need of fuel may I suggest you try the sat nav system to find the nearest filling station because not only is it the best in-car computer I have used this year, but a fanfare greets you upon arrival at your destination.
Of course being December it wasn't the best time to test the retracting roof, but being a typical cabrio-loving Brit I couldn't resist giving it a try and taking the car for a spin in the open air. Yes, I did get a few strange look from the residents of Betws y Coed!
The experiment was worth the frostbite though as I got to witness the G37's folding hard-top that comes down in only 25 seconds and into three sections, which makes for more elegant styling roof up than those four-seater with two-sections.
The last luxury car manufacturer to make their mark in this country was Lexus when it began limited exports to the UK in 1990. Given the same period of time I expect Infiniti to be mentioned in the same breath.
By Richard Jones
Built on a modified Nissan 350Z platform, the performance focused G37 Cabrio shares the coupé version's 3.7-litre V6 engine and will hit 62mph from a standing start in just 5.9 seconds, before crashing into an electronic limiter at 155mph.
On test in North Wales I got the opportunity to unleash all 316 horses charging underneath the bonnet to discover the £37,590 car is hardly short on poke. Not only is it quick but the throttle response is crisp and urgent, and with fat 19 inch alloy wheels, wrapped in winter rubber, the balance between grip and a ride is excellent.
Less appealing is the fact the G37 Convertible it's as thirsty as a dehydrated cow in the desert. Infiniti claims it will do a smidgen over 20 miles to the gallon but after just one and a half hours driving time I had already used quarter a tank of the smelly stuff. High CO2 emissions put it firmly in the top road tax band, too.
But if it's quality of design you are looking for then you won't be disappointed. The G37 features a leather-lined sports interior with strong driver focus. Infiniti design DNA is clearly evident in the dashboard's 'double wave' upper section linked to a central vertical spine for an unmistakable feeling of solidity.
And if you find yourself in desperate need of fuel may I suggest you try the sat nav system to find the nearest filling station because not only is it the best in-car computer I have used this year, but a fanfare greets you upon arrival at your destination.
Of course being December it wasn't the best time to test the retracting roof, but being a typical cabrio-loving Brit I couldn't resist giving it a try and taking the car for a spin in the open air. Yes, I did get a few strange look from the residents of Betws y Coed!
The experiment was worth the frostbite though as I got to witness the G37's folding hard-top that comes down in only 25 seconds and into three sections, which makes for more elegant styling roof up than those four-seater with two-sections.
The last luxury car manufacturer to make their mark in this country was Lexus when it began limited exports to the UK in 1990. Given the same period of time I expect Infiniti to be mentioned in the same breath.
By Richard Jones
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