Infiniti FX50S | The Brave Pill
Infinite opportunity or infinite peril?
The question of whether any Lexus can be considered courageous enough to be featured as a Brave Pill has already been asked twice. And seemingly answered, with a loud “no” ringing from the comment section after both a IS-F and a SC430 were featured, the pair generally reckoned to be no more perilous than a warm, bubbly bath.
This week brings something similar, but different. Yes, it’s another upmarket spin-off from a Japanese company - in this case, Nissan - but with the adventure-adding proviso that the brand in question no longer exists in Blighty. This 2010 FX50S is our first Infiniti, and although the level of risk is boosted slightly by both a six-figure mileage and plenty of complex dynamic kit, the more obvious hazard for future owners is the fact that Infiniti gave up on western Europe in 2020. There are still Authorized Repair centres, but it’s not hard to imagine that parts availability for aged, tech-filled examples won’t hold up for long.
Infiniti’s surrender was not, in truth, a huge surprise. The brand tried hard to make us fall in love with its combination of curvacious design and what was pitched as a VVIP dealership experience, but its products always struggled to live up to the marketing hype, especially the ones that were directly comparable to Lexus equivalents. Even Infiniti quietly slipped beneath the waves after a decade of slow sales it seems likely that most British car buyers had no idea the brand even existed, its quest for recognition often stymied by the fact the corporate badge looked like an upside-down Mazda logo.
Yet there were plenty of positives and, behind its surprised-looking front end, the FX was always one of Infiniti’s more convincing models. Despite its SUV-ish design it was much closer to being a high-riding estate than anything like a proper offroader, sitting on the same FM platform that underpinned the Nissan 350Z and 370Z. So although the FX had all-wheel drive as standard, this was rear-biased in its delivery and designed to boost on-road performance rather than to help it wade through the wilderness. Most British versions were fitted with a grumbly and profoundly unexciting 3.0-litre V6 diesel, but the range-topper got a 390hp naturally aspirated V8.
Our Pill is the only V8 currently in the Classifieds, and if you’re going to buy an FX then this is definitely the most appealing one. The big engine’s relaxed muscularity and high-rev zinginess working well with what was always an impressively athletic chassis. It was genuinely fun to punt down a twisting road.
The FX50’s downside was a distinct lack of waft, especially when on the largest 21-inch wheels. The ride was lumpy over everything but the smoothest surfaces, and corrugations could make it feel like a destroyer tackling a heavy sea. Refinement was also a constant disappointment, as in the other Japanese-designed Infinitis. It didn’t feel like it had been designed to cope with European cruising speeds; it was - as one road tester put it - a car that made 70mph feel like 100mph.
But the FX50’s biggest problem was its price. Recognising that factory orders would take months, Infiniti opted for what was basically kitchen sink standard specification. Apart from colour, the only substantive choice was the Sports Pack which gave bigger 21-inch wheels, active dampers and what was still the relatively unusual feature at the time of rear steering. But it also came with what was then a very chunky price tag: a £53,600 base price in 2009 making it slightly more expensive than a BMW X5 4.8i, although the Infiniti got much more standard kit.
Lines didn’t exactly form around Infiniti’s few dealerships, with fewer than 300 V8s being sold in five years. These days it doesn’t actually carry much of a premium over the diesel, which is both much more common - and much more common. A £12,500 asking price for this one seems reasonable for something so potent and rare.
So what could go wrong? Being a middle-aged Japanese car your flabber will likely be entirely ungasted to learn that the FX can suffer from underbody rust, especially on suspension components, although this generation is apparently less susceptible than the earlier version which wasn’t sold here. The sheer quantity of technology on board also means there are plenty of potential expensive failure points, even if it is relatively unlikely that any individual bit is going to check out. Worst of all, our Pill is wearing a 4D rear registration plate with non-standard spacing, a crime against taste which many PHers regard as unforgiveable.
The MOT history is reassuringly viridescent. There was a failure for cracked and unevenly worn front tyres in 2014 - at which point the car had only covered 37,900 miles. And then nothing of serious note until March 2022 with another flunk for a bald tyre, a non-functioning position lamp, inoperative windscreen washer and - you’ve guessed it - registration plates that “do not confirm to the specified requirements.”
In what seems to have been a victory of optimism over logic the car then failed another test three months later with exactly the same list of faults apart from the now sorted tyre. A clean test was recorded later the same month, one that suggests either a more liberal test centre was found, or the 4D plates were substituted for a legal set. (Which may well still be in the boot.)
Looking back on Infiniti’s modest list of product highlights you’d have to say that the FX50S actually came somewhere close to the top of the list given its combination of grace and pace. Of course, there was also the Vettel Edition, named after the then Formula 1 world champion and featuring a modest power increase and a ludicrous six-figure price tag. That one really was a special FX. This one is only a little less talented, but also much cheaper. Maybe we should think of it as the FX Mark Webber.
Rather this than a diesel Juke
I say that as a long term owner of one.
Infiniti aren’t in the U.K. anymore but a few of the Nissan dealers are now also Infiniti service centres.
I’ve had mine looked after by an independent for years
But they are brilliant cars
Think the problem Inifiniti had over here was they went all out as a direct rival to the big German brands, where as Lexus more seemed to take the direction of their cars being a (possible) loss leader to promote the Toyota group, providing aspiration cars for those were potentially going to spend years with Corollas and Avensis. Net result Inifniti struggled to make the sales and closed down where Lexus always have next to no new stock, just ordering as customers place deposits and a reliance on customer misuse and unluckiness to provide enough for the service teams to deal with. Wouldn't suprise me if the Lexus brand appears under the Toyota marketing department at a high level.
They (the dealer) had a Red Bull F1 car in the showroom to launch the Vettel-branded FX50S. We went to have a look at the F1 car and take some pics.
I was not impressed with the FX50 though. Ridiculously high boot floor and small boot. Didn't get to drive it though - might have half-forgiven it!
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