2009 Infiniti EX35 Journey: Crossover has drivers believing

By Mike Blake, Carlisle Events

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

There is a Journey song they play at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit at the Red Wings games, titled, “Don’t Stop Believing,” and the Nissan-built Infiniti is making believers in Detroit and elsewhere, with its Journey, a luxury crossover with style, performance and grace.

The EX35 debuted as an all-new model in December 2007, with the task of combining sportiness with elegance with the cargo carrying flexibility of a crossover.

With handling that many believe is carlike, the EX35 provides a high-tech interior, road worthiness, a pampering ride and exceptional good looks.

Measuring out at 182.3 inches long, 71 inches wide and 62.6 inches high on a 110.2-inch wheelbase, EX35 offers a minimum ground clearance of 5.7 inches and step-in heights of 16.5 inches in front and 16.6 in row two. Built with corrosion- resistant and high-strength steel and unibody construction, the EX35 utilizes design cues from its sister, the Infiniti G35 sedan, enabling Nissan to create a vehicle that is athletic, muscular, sporty and stylish. From the large, prominent double-arch front grille, to its forward sloping hood and shoulders, L-shaped headlights, and curved sides and rear, there is nothing boxy about this crossover. The exterior is nicely finished off with chrome-finished dual exhaust tips, rear hatch with integrated spoiler and center high-mount stoplight and a huge and useful advancement, scratch Shield “self-healing” clearcoat paint.

Under hood, as heralded by its name (EX35) is a 3.5-liter longitudinal V-6 with Teflon coated pistons. The intelligent all-wheel-drive system is coupled to a 5-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift mode, drive-sport mode and downshift rev matching and produces 297hp and 253 lbs.-ft. of torque. The power curve is broad and allows for good acceleration in all ranges. My 3975-lb. test vehicle performed well at the track, and I was able to outperform most CUVs with a zero-to-60mph time of 6.4 seconds while traversing the quarter-mile in 14.7.

EPA rated at 16mpg in city driving and 23 on the highway, my full week of mixed-use testing during high humidity and varied wet and dry conditions yielded an average of 19mpg.

Performing and responding in carlike fashion, EX35 aggressively smoothed out curves with its attentive engine-speed-sensitive variable assist steering. The CUV also softened road irregularities with a subframe-mounted independent double-wishbone front suspension, aided by aluminum-alloy upper and lower links, high-performance dual-flow pass shock absorbers and stabilizer bar, and an independent multi-link rear suspension with aluminum-alloy upper and lower links and axle housing, high-performance dual-flow pass shocks.

Steering and braking systems include vehicle speed-sensitive power-assisted steering and power-assisted front and rear discs (vented front) and standard Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brake force Distribution and Brake Assist. Also standard is Vehicle Dynamic Control with Traction Control System.

Acting more like a sport wagon than off-road ute, EX35 is not an extreme off-roader, and its towing capabilities are limited, but it doesn’t act or feel like either a wagon or a truck, so what you get is a very capable, large utility car with luxury appeal.

Inside is where EX35 really fills the luxury bill, though interior measurement are comparatively cozy with only 38.7 inches of front headroom (in moonroof models) and 37.7 for the second row; 54.8 inches of front shoulder room with 55.1 inches in row two, and 44.3 inches of front legroom, while second row passengers get squeezed a bit with 28.5 inches.

Cabin amenities include leather-appointed seating, RearView Monitor, rear HVAC power tilt/telescoping steering column, 7-inch color display for the tech and radio, “double-wave” instrument panel, easy-to-read high-contrast gauges with white-and-violet illumination, hospitality lighting with a pin LED light mounted over the center console and Infiniti-signature analog clock, coat hanger on the driver’s headrest and dual-zone automatic temperature control.

Safety features include Infiniti’s Advanced Air Bag System with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seatbelt and occupant classification sensors; driver and front passenger seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bags; roof-mounted curtain side-impact and rollover supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection; tire Pressure Monitoring System; Vehicle Security System and Infiniti Vehicle Engine Immobilizer. EX35 was awarded a perfect 5 stars in side crash tests and 4 stars in frontal crash and rollover tests.

Base priced at $37,400, my test vehicle was upgraded with nearly $6000 in add-ons.

The Technology Package added $2250 and came with the Around View Monitor Package as a companion. The Tech Package included Lane Departure Prevention System and Lane Departure Warning System, Intelligent Cruise Control, Distance Control Assist and Intelligent Brake Assist with Forward Collision warning.

The Around View Monitor Package (no charge) added front and rear sonar systems.

The Bose®& Navigation Package added $2000 and included Infiniti Hard Drive-based Navigation, Voice Recognition for HVAC, audio and navigation, XM®NavTraffic with Real-Time Traffic Information, 9.3GB Music Box hard drive with Compact Flash slot, AM/FM/single CD in-dash, Bose®Premium Audio System with Burr-Brown 24-bit Digital Audio Converter, 11 speakers including 2 subwoofers and Bluetooth®Hands-free Phone System.


The roof rail crossbar ($240), illuminated kick plates ($280) and destination charges of $805 increased the price as tested to $43,035.

The 2009 Infinity EX35 Journey has a new generation of CUV drivers believing.

Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.


Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, and former assistant editor of VETTE has been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

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Journalist note: Information about the Carlisle Events Group, its event listings, auction offerings and expo center is available to journalists by phone:


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Company Communications Specialist
717-243-7855 ext. 116
patrick@carlisleevents.com

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