That's right, they're here folks. Sorry for the delay in getting these up. Been busy the past few days. I'll give you folks a brief breakdown of my initial impression of the '09 FX in the post to come.

Lets start in the looks department. Arguably the most controversial subject regarding the new FX. I will say that unlike many recent Nissan/Infiniti designs which look better in the metal than they do in pictures (the V36 Sedan, V36 Coupe, EX and '09 Murano and I'm sure the '09 Maxima all come to mind), with the FX, what you see in pictures is what you get in person. That means if you love it in pictures, you'll love it in person. If not, it's not one of those designs that'll change your mind just because it's there in front of you in the daylight. I will say that the car looks MUCH better in darker colors than lighter ones. Unfortunately the majority of the pics I took were of a Moonlight White FX50 because that's the one I chose to drive seeing as the others were "just" 35s.







FX50 front fender vent (chrome)




The three shots above illustrate what I believe are the three more controversial design elements of the new FX. Starting with the grille, it's...well...it's "interesting" to say the least. I'm not a fan of the wavy insert. Honestly, what is that all about. It also seems a bit wider than it should be as well. The headlights are good looking...depending on where you're standing relative to the car. The FX is a car that looks good from some angles, and like complete and utter azz from others and the headlights are no exception. From dead on straight ahead they look like crap. But looking up at them from a lower 3/4 perspective really highlights them. The side vents are tacky and Ford Focus looking. I've said it once and I'll continue to say it, "what were they thinking?" So what if they're functionaly, they look completely out of place and the idea of them is so played out it's not even funny. At least the ones on the 35 are matte silver which is a bit less obnoxious than the chrome pieces found on the 50. Still, if I were to buy a new FX, these things would be removed and sent to a body shop to be color matched to the rest of the car immediately.



FX35 front fender vent (matte silver finish)




Overall the shape of the vehicle itself hasn't changed too much. The profile and beltline are instantly recognizeable as an FX. What I should have taken pics of are the tailights when they're lit up. Honestly the LED pattern looks similar to the one on the new WRX with it's sideways open square design, but it's better executed here.

























Rounding out design we come to the rear. As I said, I'll try to take pics of the car with the LEDs lit up so you can see the rear light pattern as it's pretty trick. The rear end is pretty funky itself. Everything juts out and I swear if you put a strip of chrome on the rear hatch it'd be identical to the lip on the V36 Sedan and Coupe. All supposedly done in the interest of aerodynamics apparently.

This brings us to the vehicle's shoes. The 50s 21s are VERY impressive and they fit the look of the car perfectly. The 35s we've received were all equipped with the optional 20" wheels which replace the base 18s, however their 5 spoke design make them look dinky compared with the old 8 spoke 20s on the first gen. As finding FX50 21s will be hard as hell, I'd suggest swapping out the older FX35 Sport 20s for the newer 5 spokes as I don't find them very attractive at all. A very ho-hum and boring design for such an otherwise avant-garde vehicle and NOT very aggressive at all.



FX50 21" Wheel


FX35 20" Wheel

 

As far as interior design goes, it goes without saying that the new FXs interior is miles better than the old one. If you've sat in an EX, you know what to expect. Again, I didn't take as many pics as I should have and forgot some important things. Starting with the gauge cluster, the gauges and needles fade in (when starting the car) and out (when shutting the car off) and do a needle sweep like the M. Very trick even if they are little touches. The gauges themselves look virtually identical to the ones on the current G and EX. One big thing you WILL notice however is that the gauge cluster no longer moves with the steering wheel. Like the M and the EX, the wheel moves independently from the cluster. Only the G Coupe and Sedan retain this feature. The center stack is finished in black lacquered wood as are the door trim panels on the 35. All 50s come with stained maple wood on the door which are optional on the 35 (all of our cars came equipped as such). Honestly if I were buying a 50, I'd probably inquire about finding someone to swap trim pieces with as there are so many materials on various panels it begins to look like the designers couldn't come to a consensus and just said "let's do a bit of everything."

Tech wise, the around view monitor is back and works just as flawlessly here as it does on the EX as does scratch shield paint. Some trick new features are available such as Distance Control Assist, Intelligent Braking Assist etc... I'll let you guys read up on these things rather than delve too deeply. One cool thing I noticed is that the seat belts seem to utilize the pre-crash seatbelt tensioners (on models equipped with pre-crash seatbelts) to tighten them once you fastened the belt and then loosen them just a bit for comfort. Then when you unfasten your belt, the tensioner is used to reel the belt in. Pretty trick stuff.

I did happen to get a look at all three interior colors. Wheat and Graphite are the same as always and Java is a bit darker than the Chestnut interior found in the EX. Of the three, Graphite (Black) works the best as it matches up the best with the various trim pieces throughout the cabin.

Wheat interior


Java Interior






And now comes the good stuff. How does it drive? Well, I sampled the 50 of course and let me tell you that this thing hauls azz. I have a strict policy whereby I never wind out new cars that haven't been broken in, but I will admit that I bent that rule here just a bit to see what she had. The exhaust note "seems" quieter from the driver's seat, but I think this can be chalked up to a quieter cabin and more sound deadening as from the outside the car sounded "t3h sex." The 35 also sounded very good. The 50 just pulls and pulls though. I can't wait for this motor to find its way into the M. It's just so sad that its debut comes at a time when gas is approaching $4.50 on it's way to $5.00 a gallon.

Handling, the car is as sharp as ever. I wasn't thrashing it around, but took some sweepers and turns and the turn in felt a bit more crisp than the current car. Can't wait to "reeeeally" wring one out. The brakes are more than up to the task of bringing this two ton beat to a halt.

FX50 brake rotors and calipers




The trans worked brilliantly and 7th makes for great cruising. I really hope this will improve the vehicle's fuel economy although I know that has more to do with my right foot than anything else. Still, 7th is a super tall overdrive ratio and I think it'll definitely demonstrate its worth on the highway.



Overall, the car feels like an FX that's been tweaked for both better on-road performance, but oddly enough, better on-road comfort as well. It's rare that a manufacturer is able to improve a vehicle in both categories but they've done so here with the FX, moreso in the second category comfort. Compared with the original '03 FX45, the updated '05 and '06 models felt a bit more compliant. The '09 feels miles ahead of all of them. Still drives like a sports car and rides like one, but much more liveable and less jarring over expansion joints.



All in all, I'm very impressed with the new FX. The styling has yet to fully grow on me, but I think it will over time. I still hope Infiniti chooses to tone down some of the funkier design elements (the grille, the tacky and ostentatious side vents) when the vehicle gets its mid-cycle refresh, but overall I think they've done a good job. Provided you can agree with the way the new one looks, if you're a fan of the original, you'll be an even bigger fan of the sequel.



More pics of the FX35 in various colors

Umbria Twilight










Liquid Platinum










Black Obsidian (arguably the best looking color on the FX. Midnight Mocha and Blue Slate should be impressive as well.)












*edit* Pics of the front and rear lighting and the Graphite interior, dash and trim added below.

 

Nice write-up but the pictures are two friggin huge. It's no fun scrolling across the page to see pieces of pictures.

Can you downsize them to a least half that size so we can view the pics in full.
Thanks

 

I am really beginning to like to new FX alot. Thanks for the pics

 

wow those are some big pics

 

Great pics and review, as always. Can't wait to see more!

 

i think they killed a clean lookin suv... its like they gave it to autozone to accessorize it for production... wtf is up with that chrome side vent and that front grill got pushed in a lil too far

 

bruddahmanmatt

Thank you very much for the pics... I have a FX50S in black with wheat interior, sport package and 21 inch summer tires on order.

These pics were taken at a dealer.. do you work there? Are those cars available for purchase or does Infiniti have an embargo on the sale of them until later this month (june 24)?

I've been trying to guess how long before mine arrives and when I should put my 2004 Lincoln Aviator up for sale on Ebay. If they are arriving at dealers now and available to be driven off, I guess I better get moving.

Your profile says Hawaii, does that mean the West coast will get the cars first and then East last? I've asked before where the port of entry is for these vehicles but no one seemed to know.

If you can, please take some pics of a black FX50S if there is one on the lot........ If not, please take pics of that black one once they take the transit packing off.

 

I have a black FX35 with black interior and all packages except DVD Entertainment System on order, should be delivered on June 25th at the dealership in Orlando. Can you post more pictures of the black interior, the wood trim around the shifter and maybe a video of the first ten seconds when you turn the ignition on, I want to see the light sequence. Also, I would love to see a comparison between the FX50 and FX35 headlights and what how much the first ones are darker than the second ones. Also, do you know the invoice of the two models? Thanks in advance.

 

The cars cannot be sold until the end of the month.

I'd get your car up ASAP as it's only a few weeks before they go on sale. We here in Hawaii get our cars first which is why I'm always able to beat the mainlanders to the punch when it comes to exclusive sneak peaks. East Coast gets their stuff last.

The black 35 in the pictures is already pre-sold. I doubt they'll unwrap it until it's time to detail it for sale. By then I'm sure someone else will have posted pics elsewhere. Sorry.



I'll be taking some pics of the interior in a bit. As I said in my first post, I want to capture the front and rear lighting as well as the gauge cluster and center stack when illuminated. I'll take pics of the light up sequence for you as well.

Pricing has not yet been released, however I don't plan on releasing invoice figures here on the boards even when that information is made available to us. I'm only showing you guys these pics to share my impressions and show you what I've had the opportunity to see and drive, not give out dealer cost figures. Honestly, if you want to know what invoice is, you can find the info online. I sell cars at work. On the boards, I'm just a fellow enthusiast.

Regarding the smoked lenses on the new FX, they're only available on sport package equipped 50s (FX50S). The 50 we have on our lot is a non-Sport model. Yes that's right, V8 FXs no longer come standard with Sport equipment. The sport package includes rear active steer, continuous damping control (CDC) suspension, AFS and sport seats in addition to the smoked head and tailight bezels. Perhaps someone else with access to a 50S here can post pics of a car so equipped. Either that or check out Nissannews.com. They have a slew of pics there.

Anyway, I'm off to take some pics. I'll upload them later on tonight when I get home from work.

 

Actually, pricing has been anounced:
http://www.motivemag.com/pub/news/Fo...nnounced.shtml

 

Hey, bruddahmanmatt. Good to see that you are up to your ol' tricks again. You're right, the new FX looks much better in darker colors. That obsidian is GORGEOUS! I'm not diggin' the "cheap" looking 20" wheels on the 35, though. I'd get a 35 and find some 50 wheels...if possible. They'll be crazy expensive, though. Thanks for the pics!

I'm headed to the dealer on the 10th of July for the launch party and what annoys me is I know they'll debut a 50 in liquid platinum. They always debut new vehicles in some sort of silver.

 

Not a cheap ride for sure. Dang.

 

*Note: All interior pics below are of a Graphite (black) interior FX*

Needle sweep on engine start. Either that or I'm doing 170 @ 8500 rpm. LOL




Fade out sequence on power down




Fully lit dash




Steering wheel (not too big a fan of the chrome trim around the buttons but it does look MUCH better on the Graphite and Java interiors than it does on the lighter Wheat)




Center stack




Maple wood center console (standard on 50, optional on 35).






Maple wood door trim (standard on 50, optional on 35)




Driver's side air vent (notice the funky arches and creases)




Passenger side dash (again notice the large arch that runs along the top of the dash. It's a pretty trippy design and I have to say that I like it very much.)




Quilted leather seating (standard on 50, optional on 35)




Rear seats and fold down armrest (1st gen owners note that the cupholders have been moved from below the middle seat to the armrest. I kind of liked the hidden cupholders in the 1st gen. I could spin around from the driver's seat and throw the jumbo cup back there when the front cupholder wouldn't suffice. It helps when when I pick up food for my family and have multiple drinks.)




Rear cargo area (note the cargo cover. Yes it is removable. The seats can still be dropped via handles on the sides of the cargo area. No fancy EX push buttons though. Only handles to drop, no switches to raise. This is a Manmobile, not a chickeemobile. Apparently we Men are able to raise our own seats according to Infiniti who is busy making decisions for buyers once again. An obvious cost cutting measure by Infiniti as they feel that typical buyers in the segment won't lament the absence of such a feature since the FX caters to a male demographic while the EX caters to a female one.




Headlights (low beam)




Headlights + foglights




Rear tails (headlights on)






Rear tails (brake lights)






Rear tails (headlights on + turn signal)

Turn signal off


Turn signal on (do you know how hard it is to time this with a 2.0 megapixel camera phone. Made me wish I brought my SLR to work)




If you have any further pic requests, feel free to post them up and I'll do my best to take shots of what you folks want to see.

 

bruddahmanmatt, I live in Louisiana and chose the wheat interior with the black on the FX50S because of the heat..... After seeing your pics, my wife has me second guessing my choice as she thinks the grey interior looks better. I'm just worried about that dark grey interior and a black car here in south Louisiana. What is your opinion on how the wheat looks with the black compared to the black/grey........ certainly you're in Hawaii and the heat is pretty intense there.... your thoughts? everyone's thoughts?