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Let's say you tour a model home and you fall in love with it. The place is beautiful, with nice touches everywhere. You return to dissect what you like about it, and you come up with ideas to improve it. So you huddle with an architect and create plans for your dream home. That's what Nissan did with its luxury Infiniti FX45. It took the best that's been done by everyone else, and made a better model.


Prices: US $44,375 base; as tested, $54,845. Warranty: 4 years/60,000 miles powertrain.

First Glance

I remember the first 2004 Infiniti FX45 that I saw on a highway. It turned my head around. Completely around. It was ... WOW! Photos don't do this "crossover" vehicle justice. It is drop-dead gorgeous, a visage from a Japanese Godzilla movie set in the year 2010. The design is fluid in the extreme, as if a wet-paint model had been set in a wind tunnel and the fan turned on "hurricane." Yes, it's a sport utility. Yes, it's car-like. Infiniti calls it "the radical fusion of sports car and premium SUV" and that's an apt description. It has all the utility of an SUV coupled with performance you won't find in any other luxury sports utility. And it has handling and braking up to its performance charactistics. This one scoots, takes curves as if on rails and stops with competent certainty. That beautiful body sits atop look-at-me 20-inch spoked wheels. Infiniti has overlooked nothing in improving this breed of vehicle.

The interior is as futuristic and technologically advanced as the exterior design hints. Some Nissan/Infiniti vehicle designs are so extreme that auto writers like to call them "love it or hate it". I see nothing to hate about the design of the 2004 Infiniti FX45. You want to be noticed when you arrive? Buy this one.

In the Driver's Seat

The 2004 Infiniti FX45 has high, luxurious leather seats (the front two being heated). Rear seats fold down to add cargo space and recline for passenger comfort. The leather-wrapped steering wheel adjusts four ways and the instrument panel moves up and down with it to maintain eyesight on the instruments. Our tester had almost every option, and that's the way to buy this vehicle. A center navigation system screen provides a "birds-eye" view of maps. It can be voice-controlled and it talks you to your destination. Put the SUV in reverse and a tiny video camera in the rear door displays on the screen a wide-angle view of what's behind the vehicle. The tester also had a DVD system. Its screen swings down from the roof; headphones for the kids keep grown-ups from hearing the soundtrack of "Finding Nemo" for the umpteenth time. For the grown-ups, there's one of the most incredible audio systems in any vehicle, with 11 speakers and enough power to blow out windows as you pass. Plus, our tester had satellite radio. You don't need a key to start the 2004 Infiniti FX45. Leave the remote fob in pocket or purse. The vehicle knows when you approach; it unlocks your driver's door. Turn a slotted knob on the dash--the FX45 starts.

On the Road

The sports car part of Infiniti's radical fusion comes thanks to a 315-horsepower V8. It is paired with a five-speed automatic transmission driving all wheels at the same time, minimizing the chance of slipping on wet or icy pavement. Infiniti added traction control, dynamic stability control and anti-lock brakes, so the vehicle helps a driver out of any accident scenario. The Infiniti FX45 has intelligent cruise control. Set your desired speed and the FX45 maintains a safe distance from cars ahead of you. They slow; intelligent cruise control slows you. They speed up and you return to your set speed. The FX45 has dual front and side air bags, a side curtain "head" air bag the length of the vehicle, a latch system for child seats, and superb head restraints. The biXenon headlights light up the night, with as good a vision as I've experienced with any vehicle. Our tester had the rare combination of roof rails and a sunroof. Performance is outstanding, but it's handling that sets the Infiniti FX45 above any competitor. This one corners with a car; it's not top-heavy or prone to rollover as most sport utility vehicles are. A downside is that the powerful V8 returns 15 mpg in the city and 19 on the highway.

Journey's End

The 2004 Infiniti FX45 generated envy wherever I drove it. It's that kind of vehicle. But its virtues go far beyond looks. Probe deeper and it is a top choice for utility and fun. At this price, with these options, only the Lexus RX330 (optioned to $47,108) competes, and the Infiniti FX45 is considerably more powerful. German competitors are also-rans, with higher price tags to boot. Surely the slow-moving titans of old autodom must be scratching their heads and cursing loss of sales. It is two Japanese automakers who now offer the top vehicles in class after class. If a five-passenger sport utility is your desire, none is better than the 2004 Infiniti FX45. The vehicle lacks absolutely nothing when optioned as our tester was. It's worth noting the prices of those options: Satellite radio, $400; Premium package with the 300-watt audio system, sunroof, Homelink, etc, $2,500; Technology package, with the navigation system, intelligent key fob, intelligent cruise control, rearview camera, etc, $4,300; DVD entertainment system, $1,600; and 20-inch wheels, $1,600. Of these, the premium and technology packages are most important to move the FX45 ahead of all others. Optioned this way, for 2004, the Infiniti FX45 is head of the class.

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