Ride Report - Infiniti Q45
Apr 27, 2005, 1:13 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NY
Programs: Marriott Gold, UA Nobody, Hertz Gold, Avis Select
Posts: 786
Ride Report - Infiniti Q45
Last one for now 
^ ^ ^
This week my coworker rented and when I showed up at the airport he picked me up in a TOyota Corolla. I was VERY disappointed. It didn't even have remote entry! So, after work we headed over to Hertz to exchange it for something roomier that didn't cause my foot to hit the steering wheel. I'm 6'2" and need the extra leg room. We showed up and I was hoping they would give us something decent sized even if it's a Classic but I was not hoping for anything spectacular because we usually pick up cars in the morning and this was evening time so the regular desk people were probably home by now. To my surprise I saw some familiar faces which was good news. As I was asking if they had any Altimas or Subarus (I'm biased to those) they offered us a smoked in Camry and I said that would be a strong possibility if there is nothing that would be a nice ride. To my surprise one of the people there started asking us if we wanted to upgrade to a 45. Not quite knowing if this was the Infiniti M45 or the Q45 I told my coworker it was his call. The upgrade price was outstanding! 10$ a day which was better than my last week's ugprade charge. He agreed and off we were to our newfound replacement of a car.
In the stall was a shiny new Infiniti Q45. Not knowing anything about this car we jumped in and looked around. If I was to describe this in one word, I'd say "Posh". Heated leather seats, sun roof, power everything, LED headlights, navigation, back-up camera and much more.
Infiniti Q45 Homepage - http://www.infiniti.com/content/0,,c...-12001,00.html
Some basic stats:
4.5-liter V8 powerplant
340 hp @ 6,400 RPM
333 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
Seating: 5
Booking class: H (? Will update when we get the receipt)
It had under 1000 miles on the odometer with a fresh exterior. It had two Navigation systems (Hertz NL and Infiniti) as well as Sirrius Satellite radio. The only logical reason I came up with for having 2 systems was that people may be familiar with NL and may prefer that to the built-in one. However, the built-in one appears to have a lot more places and is definitely more capable than HL, to each his own I suppose. It looks like while they got most of the options they left out a few like the Intelligent Cruise control. First thing I noticed pulling out of the spot was how amazingly smooth the steering was. Infact, I was so used to cheapo cars I almost oversteered into the parked cars :-O Apparently this car came with some nifty features like: Vehicle-speed-sensing variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering, reverse camera, the navigation/system console will display a feed from the rear camera with super-imposed lines for backing up, there is no audible alert if you are too close however (booo). The driver side mirror will tilt down and in to show the line as well. It also came with rain-sensing windshield wipers but I have yet to witness this in action as it has not rained in Virginia. The navigation is not touch-screen which was a disappointment in a way but the joystick is not terribly hard to use but does take some getting used to, there are also voice commands for radio/navigation albeit not super intuitive. At first I wound up pressing a direction and enter at the same time for some interesting results. It has ample leg room although I found a minor bottle-neck section above the knees between the steering wheel and the seat. It took some getting used to but it does not pose significant discomfort. It also came with a toggle switch to turn off VDC and
The 4.5-liter v8 engine is amazingly quiet, powerful and responsive. It has a refined feel to it and getting up to speed is hardly noticable. The cabin is whisper quiet unless the sunroof or windows are open which did introduce a significant amount of highway noise. This car's power is evenly distributed from low to high rpm range with some extra umpf as the higher gears kick in. Acceleration is very smooth with only a vague sensation of being pulled firmly into the comfy power seats. Handling is excellent with very nice turning radius.
The 5 speed transmission had a manu-shift option. The suspension has a toggle switch to change from Auto to Sport both are comfortable enough with better road feel in Sport. The road feel is in a way disappointing, I would have hoped a much more noticable change in Sport vs Auto mode, the dampening of potholes is almost buick-like. The car shows fuel efficiency of about 18mpg for most of my driving.
The interior overall is well laid but I think they could have done a slightly better job with creating a smoother looking console. The wood appointed steering wheel has typical controls as well as a voice button on the left side and the cruise controls on the right side. There are dual climate controls which operate by the way of knobs, that was done much better in the FX with a more consistent look and feel. The BOSE stereo is good but I did not have a CD with me to test out the full range. The heated leather seats were very comfortable for long drives but for some reason the heater buttons are to the right of the shifter and it's not intuitive which one is for which seat. The steering wheel column will move up and the seat will move back for easier entry and exit. There is ample trunk space, I'd say for about 3 medium suitcases.
Some things I loved:
-handling
-power
-comfort
-reverse camera/tilting mirror
-sat radio
-navigation
Some minor gripes:
-Sat radio controls are odd, can't go up and down with steering wheel buttons (need to read the missing manual)
-no digital clock (Infiniti Trend apparently)
-Sat radio will cut out if you go under bridges (I think this happens with all Sat radios)
Overall, I found this car to be a very nice posh luxury vehicle and a pleasure to drive and if I can scoop it up for a modest upgrade fee, I'll gladly pay for this.
Not having much experience with Hertz Premium/Prestige classes I can't say how well it ranks within those classes but it's a very fun machine with plenty of space to move bodies and luggage, it can easily fit 4 people and 3 medium suitcases. I do know it's better than the FX though.
PS. Sorry for taking some wordage from my previous two, but the FX & Q45 are made by Infiniti so they do share a lot of similarities.
^ ^ ^ This week my coworker rented and when I showed up at the airport he picked me up in a TOyota Corolla. I was VERY disappointed. It didn't even have remote entry! So, after work we headed over to Hertz to exchange it for something roomier that didn't cause my foot to hit the steering wheel. I'm 6'2" and need the extra leg room. We showed up and I was hoping they would give us something decent sized even if it's a Classic but I was not hoping for anything spectacular because we usually pick up cars in the morning and this was evening time so the regular desk people were probably home by now. To my surprise I saw some familiar faces which was good news. As I was asking if they had any Altimas or Subarus (I'm biased to those) they offered us a smoked in Camry and I said that would be a strong possibility if there is nothing that would be a nice ride. To my surprise one of the people there started asking us if we wanted to upgrade to a 45. Not quite knowing if this was the Infiniti M45 or the Q45 I told my coworker it was his call. The upgrade price was outstanding! 10$ a day which was better than my last week's ugprade charge. He agreed and off we were to our newfound replacement of a car.
In the stall was a shiny new Infiniti Q45. Not knowing anything about this car we jumped in and looked around. If I was to describe this in one word, I'd say "Posh". Heated leather seats, sun roof, power everything, LED headlights, navigation, back-up camera and much more.
Infiniti Q45 Homepage - http://www.infiniti.com/content/0,,c...-12001,00.html
Some basic stats:
4.5-liter V8 powerplant
340 hp @ 6,400 RPM
333 lb-ft @ 4,000 RPM
Seating: 5
Booking class: H (? Will update when we get the receipt)
It had under 1000 miles on the odometer with a fresh exterior. It had two Navigation systems (Hertz NL and Infiniti) as well as Sirrius Satellite radio. The only logical reason I came up with for having 2 systems was that people may be familiar with NL and may prefer that to the built-in one. However, the built-in one appears to have a lot more places and is definitely more capable than HL, to each his own I suppose. It looks like while they got most of the options they left out a few like the Intelligent Cruise control. First thing I noticed pulling out of the spot was how amazingly smooth the steering was. Infact, I was so used to cheapo cars I almost oversteered into the parked cars :-O Apparently this car came with some nifty features like: Vehicle-speed-sensing variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering, reverse camera, the navigation/system console will display a feed from the rear camera with super-imposed lines for backing up, there is no audible alert if you are too close however (booo). The driver side mirror will tilt down and in to show the line as well. It also came with rain-sensing windshield wipers but I have yet to witness this in action as it has not rained in Virginia. The navigation is not touch-screen which was a disappointment in a way but the joystick is not terribly hard to use but does take some getting used to, there are also voice commands for radio/navigation albeit not super intuitive. At first I wound up pressing a direction and enter at the same time for some interesting results. It has ample leg room although I found a minor bottle-neck section above the knees between the steering wheel and the seat. It took some getting used to but it does not pose significant discomfort. It also came with a toggle switch to turn off VDC and
The 4.5-liter v8 engine is amazingly quiet, powerful and responsive. It has a refined feel to it and getting up to speed is hardly noticable. The cabin is whisper quiet unless the sunroof or windows are open which did introduce a significant amount of highway noise. This car's power is evenly distributed from low to high rpm range with some extra umpf as the higher gears kick in. Acceleration is very smooth with only a vague sensation of being pulled firmly into the comfy power seats. Handling is excellent with very nice turning radius.
The 5 speed transmission had a manu-shift option. The suspension has a toggle switch to change from Auto to Sport both are comfortable enough with better road feel in Sport. The road feel is in a way disappointing, I would have hoped a much more noticable change in Sport vs Auto mode, the dampening of potholes is almost buick-like. The car shows fuel efficiency of about 18mpg for most of my driving.
The interior overall is well laid but I think they could have done a slightly better job with creating a smoother looking console. The wood appointed steering wheel has typical controls as well as a voice button on the left side and the cruise controls on the right side. There are dual climate controls which operate by the way of knobs, that was done much better in the FX with a more consistent look and feel. The BOSE stereo is good but I did not have a CD with me to test out the full range. The heated leather seats were very comfortable for long drives but for some reason the heater buttons are to the right of the shifter and it's not intuitive which one is for which seat. The steering wheel column will move up and the seat will move back for easier entry and exit. There is ample trunk space, I'd say for about 3 medium suitcases.
Some things I loved:
-handling
-power
-comfort
-reverse camera/tilting mirror
-sat radio
-navigation
Some minor gripes:
-Sat radio controls are odd, can't go up and down with steering wheel buttons (need to read the missing manual)
-no digital clock (Infiniti Trend apparently)
-Sat radio will cut out if you go under bridges (I think this happens with all Sat radios)
Overall, I found this car to be a very nice posh luxury vehicle and a pleasure to drive and if I can scoop it up for a modest upgrade fee, I'll gladly pay for this.
Not having much experience with Hertz Premium/Prestige classes I can't say how well it ranks within those classes but it's a very fun machine with plenty of space to move bodies and luggage, it can easily fit 4 people and 3 medium suitcases. I do know it's better than the FX though.
PS. Sorry for taking some wordage from my previous two, but the FX & Q45 are made by Infiniti so they do share a lot of similarities.
Apr 27, 2005, 11:03 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: North Jersey
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat, SPG Plat/LT Gold, MR Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 910
I reserved a c class with NL last week at BOS and found a Q45 waiting for me in my stall. I've got to say it is the nicest overall car that I've rented yet. I would take the Q over the Lincoln LS or Jag s Type any day. The acceleration and ride were equally smooth and the V8 seemed more powerful than the other two cars. The interior was also larger than the Jag and the LS. It is a rather large car without the large car look.